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A musical group whose album broke a record by remaining at No. 1 on Billboard’s World Music chart for 81 consecutive weeks is coming to Bloomington.

Celtic Woman, an ensemble comprised of 4 vocalists and one fiddler, will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at the IU Auditorium as part of their 2009 international “Isle of Hope” tour. The tour will feature Celtic favorites and traditional classic songs such as “Danny Boy” and “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You.”

Chloë Agnew, who at 20 is the youngest member of the group, joined Celtic Woman at 15 years old. Agnew has been singing most of her life.

At the age of 9, she won the Grand Prix at the First International Children’s Song Competition in Cairo. She recorded her first album at age 12, and said although her parents were both performers, she never imagined herself singing professionally.

“I think it all happened by accident, to be honest,” Agnew said.

The Indiana Daily Student asked Agnew about her career and experience with Celtic Woman. Here is what she had to say:

IDS: You were very young when you first joined (Celtic Woman). How did you balance schoolwork and travel?
Agnew: It was crazy. In hindsight I’m so delighted I kept it up. It was difficult, which meant early mornings and late nights. For any student it was hard trying to juggle both ... I was very lucky, blessed to work with supportive people around me who wanted me to do as well as I did. It is great to look back ... and do what I love at the same time. Education is important to me, it was something I was determined not to give up. I can say now I can focus entirely on Celtic Woman.

IDS: What has been your biggest achievement in the group so far?
Agnew: It’s ... you know something happens, we think ‘Wow, this is it, this is the greatest thing.’ One thing happens after the other. We’ve been really fortunate – we’ve performed for George Bush, Bill Clinton. There are great moments. I think one of our highlights was when we performed on “Dancing With The Stars” in April. We were big fans of the show. It was hard to focus on singing when you’re watching them dance. Other than that we’ve broken the record, longest No. 1 on Billboard music chart.

IDS: What is the group
dynamic? Are you all close with each other? How is your relationship since you’re the youngest in the group?
Agnew: I think the No. 1 question is “Do the five of you actually get along?” People look at five women together, and people initially think it’ll never work. And we were really lucky that the five of us are best friends. We’re like sisters. We have our good days and bad days, and we respect each other a lot. It is hard living together at five, six months at a time; we’re really great to have them. Packing your bags at 14, 15 and leaving home ... In life it was really that they never treated me differently from Day 1. I never felt like I was the kid of group, that was one of the things. We’re best friends. We love on our days off to go shopping. Kind of normal, really. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

IDS: What do you want people to feel when you hear their music?
Agnew: We’ve been so surprised by people we’ve met over the years. There are so many Irish people in America – families came over years ago, still part Irish or totally Irish. I think it’s really nice to see people in the audience. It’s very much history and where we came from. It’s nice to see people and audience express gratitude – there’s something in the music that reaches out to their families. You know, I think in the crazy world we live in, it’s two hours out of the day. I know there’s so many people we always go and say, “Enjoy yourself.” For only two hours, it’s the best two hours of the day. The best part is I think you know the music can help them stay from hard, trouble times.

IDS: What’s your favorite part of this career?
Agnew: Great things can happen to us. We win awards, go on shows. The most rewarding part is knowing what we love doing has meaning for somebody else. The most rewarding part is meeting people after the show, and when people come up to you on the street, having people listen to you sing, doing your own thing – you’re helping them. That really is something very special; you’re doing something you love. An opportunity to help somebody through something is really great.

IDS: Where do you see yourself heading in the future?
Agnew: I don’t know ... I guess when I was younger I wanted to do child psychology, but now it’s just taken me on a totally different path. Now I can’t see myself doing anything but this. I’m so young. I have so much ahead of me. One thing at a time I guess, to look at maybe pursuing acting, but still very much related to this. I think I’ll stick in this business for a while.

IDS: What advice do you have for aspiring singers/performers?
Agnew: Really it’s to never stop believing in yourself or what you love to do. I mean, I had no idea this was around the corner waiting for me. You have to have faith in yourself in any profession; there will always be hard times. Somebody will always be around the corner waiting to knock you down. You have to keep faith in yourself. At the end of the day, you’re the only one who can do what you want to do. You have the key to your dreams, you have to remind yourself ... you want to give up, it’s too much, too hard, but you have to be the one because nobody can stop you but yourself. My grandfather always taught me ... you were given so many chances, you have to give back what you can. I always think, just keep faith in yourself, as long as you’re doing what you love doing. There are so many people who aren’t happy with what they’re doing.
 
By  Rachel Krasnow
Indiana Daily Student
Bloomington, IN
POSTED AT 12:57 AM ON Nov. 6, 2009