Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance. In 2004, he recruited five Irish female musicians who had not previously performed together: vocalists Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt, and shaped them into the first lineup of the group that he named "Celtic Woman", a specialty group. Downes chose a repertoire that ranged from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs.
The group's line-up has changed over the years; in 2009, the group consisted of Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt; Alex Sharpe left the group in May 2010. Eleven albums have been released under the name "Celtic Woman": Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, Celtic Woman: A New Journey, Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey, Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart, Celtic Woman: Lullaby, Celtic Woman: Believe, Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas, Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems, Celtic Woman: Destiny, and Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels. The group has undertaken a number of world tours. Cumulatively, albums by Celtic Woman have sold over nine million records worldwide.
The foundation for Celtic music's popularity outside Ireland and Europe was built by tapping into the success of artists such as Enya, Moya Brennan and Clannad, along with stage shows Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Celtic Woman has been described as being "Riverdance for the voice."
Celtic Woman has been named Billboard World Album Artist of the Year six times.
Video Celtic Woman
Members
Current
The current members of Celtic Woman are (in alphabetical order of family name):
- Máiréad Carlin (5 December 1988) is an Irish singer and a member of the ensemble Celtic Woman. Carlin was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. She began her career at the age of 15 when she won the title role of 'The Rose' in BBC Talents 'Young Singers' competition in The Little Prince (opera) by Rachel Portman. Máiréad has since performed for the President of Ireland, celebrated the Irish Anthem for the England-Ireland Rugby International to a TV audience of millions and recently, she has shared the stage with Snow Patrol and The Priests at the 2013 BBC TV Gala Concert 'Sons and Daughters' to mark Derry's year as City of Culture. She also recorded the City of Culture anthem 'Let the River Run' with Glee star Damian McGinty. Carlin subsequently released the single under her own label Iris Records/Walled City Records. After finishing her degree, Máiréad was signed to Decca Records and recorded her debut album, 'Songbook' with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Air Studios and British Grove Studios. On 5 August 2013, the Celtic Woman website reported that Chloë Agnew would be taking a break from Celtic Woman to work on solo projects, and on 23 August 2013, it reported that Máiréad Carlin would be taking Chloë's place.
- Susan McFadden (8 February 1983) is an actress and singer born in Dublin, Ireland. She has also been a member of the all-female Celtic music group, Celtic Woman, since 2012. She is the younger sister of former Westlife member, Brian McFadden. In 2008, McFadden recorded two songs for the CD Act One - Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange, an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records. She played the lead role of Milly in the stage adaption of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, with Steven Houghton. McFadden starred in the original west end cast of the musical Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End playing Elle Woods after originating the role of Serena. Official reviews and audience reaction were extremely positive. On 5 January 2012, McFadden was named as a replacement for Lisa Kelly, then going on maternity leave, in the all- female ensemble Celtic Woman. McFadden debuted with Celtic Woman in February at Nashville, Tennessee for the kickoff of the "Believe" North American Tour and continued with the European, Australian and South African Tours in 2012. After Lisa Kelly announced her departure from the group in January 2013, McFadden has since become a full-time member of Celtic Woman.
- Éabha McMahon (9 December 1990) In 2007, she became the youngest member of the group Anúna at the age of 16. She debuted with Celtic Woman in the album and DVD / TV special Celtic Woman: Destiny in 2015 and has a solo album due in 2018.
- Tara McNeill (27 July) is Celtic Woman's newest member. She has performed with Anúna from 2012 to 2016. She replaced Máiréad Nesbitt in their South Africa, South Korea and China Destiny tour shows in 2016. Her debut album with Celtic Woman was Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels (2016). She will appear with the group on the Home for Christmas symphony tour in 2016 and on the group's Voices of Angels tour in 2017.
Past
The past members of Celtic Woman are (in alphabetical order of family name):
- Chloë Agnew Chloë Agnew is an Irish singer. She appeared as part of the group at The Helix in Dublin in 2004 as its youngest member. On 5 August 2013, the Celtic Woman website announced that Agnew would be taking a break from to focus on solo projects. Her position was filled by Derry-born singer Máiréad Carlin.
- Órla Fallon Órla Fallon is an Irish soloist, songwriter. In 2004, she was invited by composer David Downes and became one of the founding members of the group. In some songs, Fallon has performed the harp as well as singing - some examples of the songs she has performed are "Isle of Innisfree" and "Carrickfergus." She has also performed the harp for fellow member Chloë Agnew's performance of Guun's "Ave Maria." Fallon was featured in the self-titled debut album Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, and Celtic Woman: A New Journey, as well as in the tie-in PBS television specials and DVDs filmed in 2004, 2007, and 2006 respectively. She also toured with the group in 2005 on the inaugural North American Tour, the 2006-07 A New Journey tour, and again in 2007-08 on the second A New Journey tour. In 2009, Fallon announced that she would be leaving to have a full break and spend time with her family, and was replaced as a member by actress and vocalist Alex Sharpe.
- Lynn Hilary Lynn Hilary is an Irish singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 2007, longtime member Méav Ní Mhaolchatha decided to leave the group to focus on her solo career. As a result, Hilary joined the group in time to feature in the A New Journey tour, which started on 10 October 2007 in Estero, FL. She was the first new member to join the group since its inception in 2004. On 14 February 2014, it was announced that Lynn would be returning for their Emerald tour in March while Lisa Lambe goes on a short 'leave of absence.'
- Lisa Kelly Lisa Kelly is a singer of both classical and Celtic music. She was a founding member of the group. During the A New Journey tour, and again during the "Believe" 2012 tour, Lisa took a break for the birth of her children and was replaced by Alex Sharpe who later became a full-time member when Órla Fallon left. Later, in the Believe tour, she was replaced by Susan McFadden. In December 2011, Lisa announced that she was taking a maternity leave and would not participate in the 2012 Believe Tour. She was replaced by Susan McFadden. At the time it was thought to be a short-term leave only; however, in January 2013 Lisa announced her departure and moved to Peachtree City, Georgia, USA, where she announced the opening of The Lisa Kelly Voice Academy, indicating a switch from performing to teaching. The new voice academy is being run in conjunction with her husband Scott Porter, the former CEO of Celtic Woman Ltd.
- Lisa Lambe Lisa Lambe is an Irish singer and actress. After Songs From the Heart Tour, in November 2010, she announced that she was leaving to return to Ireland. It was later announced that Lisa Lambe would join the group as part of the 2011 tour lineup. On the official Celtic Woman website, she said that she was "delighted to be joining Celtic Woman! It is a privilege to be part of this amazing show and I am looking forward to it being an incredible experience."
- Méav Ní Mhaolchatha Méav Ní Mhaolchatha is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music of her homeland. She gained musical stardom as a founding member of the group in 2004. Her singing is a prominent element of Celtic Woman's first three albums, Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, and Celtic Woman: A New Journey. In 2005, Méav was expecting her first child and took maternity leave and was replaced by Deirdre Shannon. In 2006, she returned to record the New Journey CD and DVD and toured extensively with the group in the US and Japan in 2006 and 2007. She has been featured in Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey Essential Collection. In 2007, following the filming of Celtic Woman's Christmas DVD at the Helix, Dublin, she left the group to concentrate on her solo career. The first time she appeared with Celtic Woman again after her leaving was in 2012 when she featured as a guest soloist on their Christmas album Home for Christmas. Méav was also featured in the Celtic Woman PBS special, "Home for Christmas", which was recorded on 7 August 2013.
- Máiréad Nesbitt Máiréad Nesbitt is an Irish classical and Celtic music performer, most notably as a violinist. In 2004, she was invited to play for a performance at the Helix Theatre in Dublin, called "Celtic Woman". The popularity of this and subsequent performances on television and live albums led to five tours across the United States. The group has released a total of eight albums to date: Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, Celtic Woman: A New Journey, Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey, Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart, Celtic Woman: Lullaby, Celtic Woman: Believe, and Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas. On 7 August 2016, it was announced that Nesbitt would be stepping away to focus on her own projects.
- Deirdre Shannon Deirdre Shannon is an Irish singer who has also toured with other Celtic music groups, such as Anúna, and Celtic Thunder. She has also been a principal singer in the group, but was never featured in the studio DVDs.
- Alex Sharpe Alex Sharpe is an Irish performer known for her musical roles. When founding member Lisa Kelly went on maternity leave, Sharpe became a temporary member in 2008. In 2009, Sharpe became a permanent member, in effect replacing Órla Fallon. She has toured with the group on their 2009 Isle of Hope tour, and has recorded a CD and DVD with the group, both entitled Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart, released in January 2010. The group toured North America from February to May 2010 on their 'Songs from the Heart' tour. After the tour finished, Sharpe announced she would be leaving to be with her family full-time.
- Hayley Westenra Hayley Westenra is a New Zealand singer, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. She joined in August 2006 and was featured on Celtic Woman: A New Journey CD and DVD, toured on their 2007 Spring Tour, and was also featured on their DVD, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection, released in 2008.
Maps Celtic Woman
Albums
Celtic Woman was taped on 15 September 2004 for PBS television at The Helix, Dublin, Ireland, in front of a sold-out audience. Organized by producer Sharon Browne, Chairman & CEO Dave Kavanagh, television producer and director Avril MacRory, and musical director and composer David Downes, this performance was first broadcast on PBS during March 2005 in the United States, and within weeks the group's eponymous debut album, Celtic Woman, reached No. 1 on Billboard's World Music chart, eventually breaking Andrea Bocelli's long-standing record of chart-topping longevity on 22 July 2006 by having stayed at No. 1 for 68 weeks. The album held the top position on the Billboard World Music chart for 81 weeks total. Much of the group's success in America has been credited to the extensive PBS publicity throughout 2005. The live performance at The Helix was released on DVD alongside the studio album.
The release of the second album, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, on 19 October 2006 knocked their first album to the No. 2 spot on the World Music chart.
In preparation for their third studio album, Celtic Woman performed at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland, on 23 and 24 August 2006, with this show airing on PBS during December 2006. The studio album, titled Celtic Woman: A New Journey, was released on 30 January 2007. As with their debut, the live performance was released on DVD simultaneously. This album immediately hit the Billboard 200 at No. 4 and the Billboard World Music chart at No. 1, moving their previous two releases down a notch and securing the top three positions on that chart for the group.
In response to the popularity of the performance at Slane Castle in 2006, PBS aired a special concert of Celtic Woman performing again in The Helix Theatre, Dublin, Ireland on 7 December 2007. This performance included songs from the group's second album, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration.
A fourth album, Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey, was released on 28 October 2008. The group's fifth album, Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart, was released 26 January 2010. It peaked at No. 48 in July 2010 on the ARIA Top 50 Albums chart.
The group recently released their sixth album, Lullaby, available through PBS pledge or the QVC shopping website. On 15 February 2011, it was released by other major retailers as a limited edition album. It reached No. 1 on the World Charts and No. 3 on the Children's Charts, a first for Celtic Woman.
The group filmed a new special on 6 and 7 September 2011 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta for PBS broadcast and DVD release. It is titled Celtic Woman: Believe. The show aired on PBS stations on 3 December 2011. The CD/DVD was released on 24 January 2012.
On 9 October 2012, the group released its second worldwide Christmas album Home for Christmas. This album features the voices of Lisa Lambe, Chloë Agnew, Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, and Mairead Nesbitt on the fiddle. Another Christmas album, Celtic Woman: Silent Night was released on the same day for the United States exclusively.
In July 2013, Celtic Woman released a promotional video on its YouTube channel for a new PBS special, due to be screened in early 2014. On 24 February 2014, Celtic Woman released a new CD/DVD set and PBS Special, called Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems. It features Lisa Lambe, Chloë Agnew, Mairead Nesbitt, and Susan McFadden. The DVD was filmed in April 2013 at a tour stop in South Bend, Indiana and was aired on PBS, starting in March.
In August 2015, the group filmed a DVD / TV special and recorded an accompanying album called Celtic Woman: Destiny. It was the first time that Mairead Carlin and Éabha McMahon were featured with the group on an album or DVD / TV special. It was the group's first release without any of the founding members as principal singers, although Meav Ni Mhaolchatha appeared and sang as a guest. Celtic Woman: Destiny was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. This was the first Grammy nomination for the group.
In August 2016, the group recorded an album called Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels. The album was the first to feature Tara McNeill and was also the first album to feature none of the founding members, although Meav Ni Mhaolchatha was the vocal director and once again performed as a guest.
Celtic Woman recorded a live album, Celtic Woman: Homecoming - Live from Ireland, at the 3Arena in Dublin on September 2, 2017. The album released in January 2018. It was the first album released by the group to consist entirely of live tracks.
Tours
Celtic Woman has performed three tours in America, with additional performances overseas. The group appeared live in more than a dozen US cities in 2005 for their original album debut. The group toured the United States twice with their "Celtic Woman: A New Journey" tour, visiting 88 cities in 2007 and over 75 cities in 2008. In early April 2008 it was announced that The High Kings would be opening the act for the group through June 2008.
The 2009 Isle of Hope Tour was announced in late 2008, and features a blend of original music from composer David Downes and Brendan Graham (the author of the group favourite "You Raise Me Up"), renditions of songs such as "Fields of Gold" and "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" and traditional performances of "Danny Boy", "The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun" and "Spanish Lady". This tour finished on 22 November 2009.
The 2010-11 tour called Songs from the Heart, featured some of the same music and some new music. The tour featured Chloë Agnew, Lisa Kelly, Lynn Hilary, Alex Sharpe, and Mairead Nesbitt. It began in February 2010. PBS television presented a special concert starting 28 November 2009. It was taped in HD at the Powerscourt House & Gardens in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland. It included a 27-member film orchestra, Discovery Gospel choir, 12-member Aontas Choir, 10-member Extreme Rhythm Drummers with an 11-piece bag pipe ensemble.
A second "Songs from the Heart" tour opened in February 2011 with Agnew, Kelly, new member Lisa Lambe, and Nesbitt and consisted of about 80 concerts in North America in spring 2011 and 10 performances in Germany and Austria during summer 2011.
The Symphony Tour featuring songs from their Christmas Album A Christmas Celebration took place during December 2011.
The BELIEVE 2012 North American Tour ran between February 2012 and April 2012. Following directly onto this, the BELIEVE European tour took place between May and June 2012. Lisa Kelly, who was expecting her fourth child, did not participate in the 2012 tours, and was replaced by Susan McFadden, the younger sister of former Westlife member Brian McFadden.
Another Symphony Tour was announced for the 2012 Christmas season, featuring Agnew, Lambe, Nesbitt and McFadden. The tour began on 1 December and continued on till 22 December. Celtic Woman took "Believe" on tour again from February to June 2013, with the same line-up. On 15 January 2013, Lisa Kelly announced her intentions to open "The Lisa Kelly Voice Academy", located in Peachtree City, GA. In addition to this, Kelly confirmed that she will not be returning to Celtic Woman. Her husband, Scott Porter, also announced his departure as CEO of Celtic Woman.
Celtic Woman took "Believe" to Europe in October 2013 and visited the US on their Symphony Tour in December 2013. The Australian Tour for "Believe", previously scheduled for September 2013, was rescheduled to January 2014. Celtic Woman toured in the US from February to June 2014 on their Emerald Tour to celebrate the heritage of the Emerald Isles and to promote their new album called Celtic Woman: Emerald Musical Gems. Lynn Hilary will be coming back for the Emerald Tour as Lisa Lambe is leaving in mid-March for a role in the play Breaking Dad, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly's sequel to Between Foxrock and a Hard Place, in which Lisa had played Sorcha. Breaking Dad, will run from 25 April to 17 May at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. As well as the US, Celtic Woman visited Brazil, the UK, and Europe in Autumn 2014 on their Emerald Tour - making their debut in Brazil and the UK.
Additionally, Celtic Woman toured the US for their Symphony Tour in December 2014 and again for the Tenth Anniversary Tour in March 2015 to celebrate the group's 10th anniversary. Also, Celtic Woman's November 2014 European Tour, which was part of the Emerald World Tour, was rescheduled from November 2014 to February 2015, and now part of the Tenth Anniversary Tour instead of the Emerald Tour. They also visited Australia for the 10th Anniversary Tour in September 2015 for the first time since the Believe Tour in January 2014, and returned to the UK again in November 2015. Celtic Woman: The Show- 20 July 2005 - 16 October 2006 A New Journey Tour (Celtic Woman)- 14 February 2007 - 6 October 2008 Isle of Hope Tour- 11 February - 22 November 2009 Songs from the Heart Tour-9 February 2010 - 27 September 2011 Christmas Celebration Symphony Tour-1-21 of December 2011 and 1-22 December 2012 Believe Tour-3 February 2012 - 26 October 2013 Emerald Tour- 14 February - 7 September 2014 Decade Tour- 24 January - 23 November 2015 Destiny World Tour (Celtic Woman)- 4 March - 29 October 2016 Voices of Angels World Tour- 2 March - 25 June 2017 as of yet
On October 6, 2017, Celtic Woman officially announced their 2018 tour, the Homecoming World Tour. The North American leg of the Homecoming tour will run from March 1, 2018 - June 17, 2018.
Membership
The original performers in Celtic Woman were Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and Máiréad Nesbitt. During Méav's pregnancy in 2005, Deirdre Shannon was selected to fill her place during tours. Méav returned to the group in time to record A New Journey and tour for that album, coinciding with Deirdre's departure from the group in February 2006.
The second line-up change was announced on 6 September 2006, with the announcement that Hayley Westenra officially joined Celtic Woman on 24 August 2006. As well as being featured on the album and DVD for A New Journey, Hayley alternated with Méav during tour events to maintain the live five-person line-up.
On 20 August 2007, Méav left Celtic Woman to focus on her solo career. Méav's replacement, Lynn Hilary, made her first appearance on 10 October 2007 in Estero, Florida, United States.
In December 2007, Lisa Kelly, who was expecting a new child in 2008, took maternity leave from the group. Alex Sharpe filled her position on the A New Journey tour during this leave. It was announced on the group's website in 2009 that Órla Fallon was taking a full break to spend time with her family and to focus on recording a new solo album, and that as a result of this, Alex would be replacing Órla as a member of Celtic Woman.
For the 2009 Isle of Hope Tour, the group comprised vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, and Alex Sharpe; and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt. This group completed the entire 2009 tour as well as the first leg of the Songs from the Heart tour, from February to May 2010, with this line-up. After the tour ended, it was announced that Alex Sharpe would take a full-time break from Celtic Woman to spend time with her family.
After the Songs from the Heart tour, in November 2010, Lynn Hilary announced that she was leaving the group to return to Ireland. Singer and actress Lisa Lambe joined the group as a replacement for Lynn in early 2011.
In December 2011, Lisa Kelly announced that she would be taking maternity leave from the group after the "Symphony Tour" was over. The group's website announced in January 2012 that actress Susan McFadden would be filling in for Kelly until she returned to the group. However, Kelly announced the opening of "The Lisa Kelly Voice Academy" in Peachtree City, Georgia, in January 2013 indicating that she was moving on from performing to teaching. Susan has since become a full member of the line-up and will appear on the new Celtic Woman PBS special and DVD, due for release in early 2014.
In 2012, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha returned briefly to Celtic Woman to record Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas, the first time she had appeared with the group since her departure in 2007. Méav returned to the group again, albeit on a temporary basis, in August 2013 to film the Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas PBS show and DVD. At the same time, it was announced on the Celtic Woman website on 5 August 2013 that Chloë Agnew would be taking a break from Celtic Woman to work on solo projects. In addition to this, she was not featured in the PBS special and DVD for Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas. On 23 August 2013 it was announced that Derry-born singer Mairead Carlin would be taking Chloë's place.
Shortly before the beginning of the Emerald Tour on 14 February 2014, management announced that Lisa Lambe would be leaving the tour at the beginning of March, with Lynn Hilary returning to take her place. Lambe was, however, slated to return during the summer, though no specific date was given.
It was announced late 2014 that Lisa Lambe will be leaving Celtic Woman for a while to work on a solo album. Former Celtic Woman, Lynn Hilary, will again be returning in Lambe's place. It was later announced that former Celtic Woman Alex Sharpe will be returning for the 10th Anniversary tour along with Méav Ní Mhaolchatha.
On 11 August 2015, it was announced that Eabha McMahon was joining Celtic Woman as a principal singer.
On 7 August 2016, it was announced that long-time member Máiréad Nesbitt was stepping away from Celtic Woman to focus on her own projects. Tara McNeill, a violinist, harpist, and singer, was announced as a new member of Celtic Woman.
From March 11 - 23, 2018, McFadden took a leave from the Celtic Woman: Homecoming tour to attend to a family emergency. Sharpe temporarily took McFadden's place in the lineup. McFadden returned to the tour on March 24, 2018.
When asked how the group members got along, founding former member Lisa Kelly responded,
"We get along because we're so different. Chloë Agnew is hip, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha is rational, Orla Fallon is angelic, and Mairead Nesbitt is energetic."
According to Chloë Agnew, the friendship between the vocalists was the number one question they were asked. She explained:
"I think people are always looking for a 'Desperate Housewives' story, that they all hate each other and nobody actually gets along. It's all for show. And the truth of the matter is, it's not. The reality is we do all get along. The five of us are like sisters, best friends."
Member Timeline
Discography
The original Celtic Woman five performed "Song for the Mira" with multiple Grammy Award winner Anne Murray for her 2007 EMI release "Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends." A "Song of the Mira" performance/interview montage appears on a DVD which was included with "Anne Murray's Christmas Album," released in 2008.
In 2017, Celtic Woman Album (Voice of Angels) was selling in America and Ireland. The Performers are Tara McNeill, Mairead Carlin, Eabha McMahon and Susan McFadden.
Awards and honours
In 2007, Celtic Woman won an EBBA Award. Each year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognise the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year. Celtic Woman: Destiny received a nomination for the 59th (2017) Grammy Awards in the "Best World Music Album" category.
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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