Celtic Woman

David Downes

Musical Director/Composer

David Downes is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, where he studied music and composition. Previously Downes had been Musical Director of Riverdance for the US touring company, European touring company, and on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre. He was also the orchestrator of Riverdance On Broadway. As a producer David has recorded four albums with oboist David Agnew, achieving Gold status in Ireland and Europe, and recently the Gold debut album of young Irish singer Chlöe. He has also worked as orchestrator and arranger for Bonnie Tyler, Charlotte Church, and Secret Garden.

Recording credits as soloist include Grammy-award winning Michael W. Smith, Michael Crawford (on his Disney album), Clannad, Moya Brennan, and Bill Whelan.

Chlöe

Vocalist

Chlöe Agnew is a gifted musician studying piano, guitar and recorder as well as being a magnificent singer. Agnew made her debut television performance at just four weeks old and first sang on television at the age of six! She won the Grand Prix at the first International Children's Song Competition in Cairo in 1998 representing Ireland with a song entitled "The Friendship Tree.”

She recorded and released her debut album, Chlöe, at the young age of twelve. Her second Album Walking in the Air, was released and drew huge attention in the internationally. It was the interest in her album and Celtic Collections other Irish Female Soloists that spawned the concept for the Celtic Woman show.

Lisa

Vocalist

Lisa Kelly was born in Dublin and has been singing since the age of 7. Classically trained in both piano and singing, Lisa started her professional career in musicals. She has played many roles including “Velma Kelly” in Chicago, “Florence” in Chess, “Laurie” in Oklahoma and “Sandy” in Grease. Lisa has also performed in many concerts at Dublin’s National Concert Hall including: “The Magic of Gershwin,” “The Music of Cole Porter,” and “From Romberg to Rodgers” to name but a few.

Lisa was the lead female vocalist of Riverdance. It was here that she met her husband Scott and they toured with the show for four years taking in cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Toronto and many more. Lisa recorded her debut album entitled Lisa. Now a mother to two boys, Cian and Jack, Lisa has just finished filming her first Solo DVD,

Deirdre Shannon

Soloist

Deirdre Shannon, a versatile singer, has been classically trained at Dublin’s College of Music. She is one of the brightest talents to emerge in classical cross-over music.

Deirdre has recorded and performed with a wide range of artists such as The Cheiftains, Michael Crawford, Elvis Costello and Air Supply. In 1997 she performed in Lord of the Dance as the soloist “Erin the Goddess” in an international tour of North, Central and South America. Deirdre has performed in The Royal Albert Hall in London and Radio City in New York.

In 2003 she toured with Dionne Warwick. Deirdre has toured with the Celtic Tenors as a featured soloist over the past few years in the UK, Germany,Holland, North America and of course Ireland. She has also been featured in Television appearances with them including PBS in the USA. Deirdre opened the BBC’s annual “Music Live” event in 2004, where she performed alongside Jamie Cullem, Bob Geldof, Brian Kennedy and Moya Brennan.

She is planning a new album and a production of an innovative folk version of the classic “Tristan and Isolde” to be directed in France by Patrick Bergen. Deirdre is performing as one of the 5 soloists in the summer tour of Celtic Woman in place of her friend Méav who has just had a baby. More information about Deirdre can be found on her website www.deirdreshannon.com

Orla

Harpist & Singer

Orla has featured as a soloist in concerts around Ireland at such venues as The National Concert Hall, Dublin, The Opera House, Belfast and The Waterfront Theatre, Belfast. She has recorded, performed and toured with Internationally renowned groups Clannad and Anuna, as well as the oboist David Agnew.

A popular soloist in the corporate sector in Dublin, Orla appears regularly at such venues as Dublin Castle, Humewood Castle, The Royal Hospital Kilmainham and Luttrellstown Castle. Orla was invited to play for The Pope in Rome and she is invited regularly to perform at Aras An Uactarain for The President Of Ireland. Orla’s debut album The Water is Wide has earned her much critical acclaim and has led to countless television and radio broadcasts. She has toured extensively throughout Europe and North America where her reputation is steadily growing for her renditions of haunting Irish airs as well as her own vocal and instrumental compositions.

Mairead Nesbitt

Fiddle Player

Máiréad, who began playing the piano at the age of 4 and the fiddle at 6, is a former All-Ireland fiddle champion. She began formal training in music at an early age, at the Ursuline Convent in Thurles, and continued at The Waterford Institute of Technology, at the Cork School of Music under Cornelia Zanidache and at the London Royal Academy, London Trinity College, with Post Graduate Studies under Emanuel Hurwitz on violin and piano. She is a past member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland.

Following her formal training, she became a professional violinist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in 1991. She also worked on-stage and in-studio with many well-known musicians, among them Nigel Kennedy, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor, Clannad, Emmylou Harris, Aslan, Chris De Burgh and Jimmy Webb, and including more traditional Irish artists Dónal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, Paul Brady, Frances Black, Cooney and Begley, and Jimmy McCarthy. Mairead had the honor of performing privately for HRH - The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) on her secret visit to Dublin last September.