Biography
Distant Oaks formed in 1992 as a traditional Celtic ensemble based in the San Francisco Bay area. Its core members are Deborah L. White on vocals, guitar, citole, cittern and fretted dulcimer, along with her sons Jared White, who plays recorders, whistles, krummhorn, Scottish smallpipes, Border pipes and bodhran, and Shayne White, who handles Celtic harp, Medieval harp and stepdancing. The group has appeared at venues across the western United States, among them the Berkeley Early Music Festival, the Hausmusik Concert Series, the Sebastopol Celtic Festival, the Camellia Inn Concert Series, the Cinnabar Theater Spring and Summer Music Festivals and the Festival of Harps. Regular engagements also take the trio to Highland Games, fairs, festivals and private celebrations. As a teaching ensemble focused on Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, Distant Oaks has offered music and language workshops at festivals and on college campuses since 1996 and has performed abroad in both Scotland and Ireland.
Deborah White entered the field of early and traditional music as a performer and recording artist in the mid-'70s. Music surrounded her from childhood, and she earned honors in Medieval and Renaissance vocal music at Dominican College of San Rafael before completing substantial postgraduate study in both traditional and early music. In the early '90s she began learning Scottish Gaelic and added Irish several years later. She maintains an active schedule of classes and workshops throughout Northern California, teaches online courses and runs Gaidhlig 4 U, an Internet mailing list for Scottish Gaelic beginners.
Both Jared and Shayne started their musical education on piano. Jared began recorder lessons in 1993 with master player Kit Higginson of Ensemble Alcatraz, later adding the Scottish smallpipes and further historical winds including the Irish wooden whistle, krummhorn and Scottish Border pipes, which share much of their character with the Highland bagpipes. He joined Distant Oaks in performance in 1994, the same year the band issued its debut album, Dance to Bright Steel. Jared also operates the website design firm GaelDesign and collaborates with Shayne on progressive electronic music. Shayne took up the harp in 1993 under master harper Cheryl Ann Fulton after Deborah returned from a Medieval music workshop with a lap harp. He began Scottish step-dancing the following year at a workshop led by Maggie Moore of Perthshire, Scotland, and continued his studies with Sara Gratiot of Marina, CA, and Mary Janet MacDonald of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Like his brother, he has performed with Distant Oaks since 1994. The band released Empty Your Heart of Its Mortal Dream in 1996 and Against the Tide in 1999; its sampler Byways appeared on MP3.com in 2001.
Deborah White entered the field of early and traditional music as a performer and recording artist in the mid-'70s. Music surrounded her from childhood, and she earned honors in Medieval and Renaissance vocal music at Dominican College of San Rafael before completing substantial postgraduate study in both traditional and early music. In the early '90s she began learning Scottish Gaelic and added Irish several years later. She maintains an active schedule of classes and workshops throughout Northern California, teaches online courses and runs Gaidhlig 4 U, an Internet mailing list for Scottish Gaelic beginners.
Both Jared and Shayne started their musical education on piano. Jared began recorder lessons in 1993 with master player Kit Higginson of Ensemble Alcatraz, later adding the Scottish smallpipes and further historical winds including the Irish wooden whistle, krummhorn and Scottish Border pipes, which share much of their character with the Highland bagpipes. He joined Distant Oaks in performance in 1994, the same year the band issued its debut album, Dance to Bright Steel. Jared also operates the website design firm GaelDesign and collaborates with Shayne on progressive electronic music. Shayne took up the harp in 1993 under master harper Cheryl Ann Fulton after Deborah returned from a Medieval music workshop with a lap harp. He began Scottish step-dancing the following year at a workshop led by Maggie Moore of Perthshire, Scotland, and continued his studies with Sara Gratiot of Marina, CA, and Mary Janet MacDonald of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Like his brother, he has performed with Distant Oaks since 1994. The band released Empty Your Heart of Its Mortal Dream in 1996 and Against the Tide in 1999; its sampler Byways appeared on MP3.com in 2001.
Albums
Sleep Routine
2026
Deep Sleep
2026
Dance to Bright Steel
2004
Gach Là agus Oidhche: Music of Carmina Gadelica
2003
Against the Tide
1999
Singles
