Townsman, 1991-09, Page 12demands and requests. "My music will
never go huge, huge, but even moderate
success can involve a lot of things."
"Up until now, it has been an unusu-
al formula," she admits. "Most musi-
cians don't have their own office."
For many years, the songstress oper-
ated the business end of her career from
the tranquil atmosphere of her home in
the countryside outside Stratford. But,
this began to upset the carefully orches-
trated balance of her life, by infringing
on her personal time."It became obvious
that my home was no longer a home,"
she summarized. Where she was once
able to find a place of rustic peace, she
no longer had a tranquil harbour due to
the pressing demands of business. So,
this past January, she relocated that part
of her life into an office in the heart of
the Festival city.
With the requirements of her job tak-
ing her away more frequently into the
cosmopolitan life of Canada, the States
and Europe, she appreciates even more
thesanctuary of her home. "I live for the
land, for the country. A city can be so
demoralizing, unless you are very care-
ful. The people can be so shallow.
Everytime I am away, I feel so lucky to
have this base to return to; to be able to
come back to the quiet of the farm."
Her love of the area, extends beyond
the rural boundaries of the Stratford area
as well. Ms McKennitt, who will be
doing a fund-raising concert at Blyth
Festival on November 3, remembers a
time when she was a member of the
Blyth company, several summers ago.
"I worked in a play called `Lilly, Alta.' I
remember, with real fondness, those
evening drives back to Stratford after
the performance. To sit back and
breathe in that glorious southwestern
Ontario air."
Clean air is only one of many con-
cerns, that Ms McKennitt has hoisted
her placard for over the years. She has
spearheaded environmental and archi-
tectural preservation groups. A few
years ago, she met with local farmers to
work to save the stands of trees lining
the road she lives on. She fought Free
Trade and helped save an old historic
building from demoliton. Now, howev-
er, with her career affording her less
free time, she channels her efforts
another way. Last year she organized a
concert in Vancouver, the proceeds of
which went to the universal fight against
AIDS. "1 can't spend time participating
in as many projects, but by putting
money into the coffers I can do my part
and promote awareness."
Adding another dimension to the
persona of this brilliantly talented
woman, is her humble, down-home atti-
tude. As comfortable sipping coffee at
the local Tim Horton's or dropping into
an Irish pub, as she is behind a desk, or
on stage, there is more to Loreena
McKennitt than can be ascertained in a
brief sitting. One thing for certain, is
that her sense of commitment, and pur-
pose comes from her love of her music.
The chain effect of burgeoning notoriety
is, to Ms McKennitt, not only superfi-
cial, but not eagerly anticipated. The
trappings of stardom are unattractive,
and, one senses, even somewhat embar-
rassing to her. "I am not interested in
the celebrity part of all this," she
explained, earnestly . "Actually, to be
quite honest, I feel uncomfortable with
the idea of celebrity status. For me, it is
just something that comes with my
career. It is an unavoidable attachment
that I am self-conscious over. I am sim-
ply, just doing this because it is what I
enjoy."
We're all going
to the
Book Shop
for great books!
At Both Locations:
10 TOWNSMAN/SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1991
LISTOWEL BLYTH
150 Wallace Ave. N. 114 Queen St. S.
291-2145 523-9141