Very Good Interview with Orla. You will enjoy!
Orla Fallon – Today show RTÉ Ireland 1-26-2015#

Very good interview. You will enjoy.

Susan McFadden & Mairéad Nesbitt– Celtic Woman on Late Lunch Ireland Part 1  

Susan McFadden & Mairéad Nesbitt– Celtic Woman on Late Lunch Ireland Part 2

Singer Méav of Celtic Woman took a moment to reflect as the group embarked on its 10th anniversary tour.

“Everything’s falling into place,” she said the day the tour was to start in Syracuse, N.Y. “I’m excited for the first show.”

Celtic Woman will appear at 8 p.m. Saturday at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre.

Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, who goes by Méav, was one of the original members of the group and returned for some stops on the anniversary tour. She said it’s amazing to be on the road 10 years later, and visiting some of the same venues they performed at on their first tour.

The lineup has changed over the years — fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt is also an original member — but the singers like Méav have rotated in and out to keep the group fresh and evolving.

“It spices it up, because we can do different songs, and have different voices come in,” she said, adding that she was joking with their drummer that he’s been telling the same jokes for 10 years.

“That’s not strictly true,” she laughed. “But it is lovely. I think that was part of the idea when the group was formed, that it would showcase a group of individual performers who would then come together for some numbers, and different artists appearing at different times. It’s lovely to be invited back and see some of the musicians who’ve been here all along, and meet the new people who are coming up as well.”

The lineup at the Kirby Center will also include singers Máiréad Carlin and Susan McFadden. The group debuted in 2004, and their repertoire ranges from traditional Irish tunes to modern songs.

“It’s a bit of a melting pot, but there is certainly a respect for the traditional,” she said, adding traditional Irish music has always been popular among musicians.

“It’s performed a lot today. It’s not frozen in time. People are experimenting with it. That keeps it alive and always evolving.”

Since they’ve traveled the world, Méav said audiences are different wherever they go. Some are quiet while the group performs, and clap at the end to show their appreciation. Others, especially American audiences, like to “whoop it up a bit.”

She’s also noticed that their audiences comes from all backgrounds, not just people with Irish heritage.

“We get an audience that has no connection to the country whatsoever. It’s lovely,” she said. “It changes from night to night. We feed off their energy.”



By Kristen Gaydos
citizensvoice.com
March 12, 2015

Fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt reflects on Celtic Woman's 10th anniversary before Syracuse tour stop



Left to right: Méav, Susan McFadden, Máiréad Carlin and Máiréad Nesbitt

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Celtic Woman will kick off the North American leg of its 10th anniversary world tour in Syracuse on Friday, March 6.

Celtic Woman made its television debut in 2005 with a sold-out performance at The Helix in Dublin. PBS filmed and broadcast the show in the United States. Although it was intended as a one-time event, the group followed with a debut concert tour in the U.S. Since then, Celtic Woman has performed every year in North America, expanding its reach across the globe to six continents and 23 countries.


Máiréad Nesbitt of Celtic Woman performs on The Emerald World Tour at Comcast Arena in Everett, Wash. on March 25, 2014.Photo by David Conger / davidconger.com

The performers will stop in Syracuse for one night only with vocalists Susan McFadden, Máiréad Carlin, Méav (one word) and Celtic violinist Máiréad Nesbitt (pronounced like parade with an M).

Celtic Woman has always featured three or four alternating vocalists, but Nesbitt has been the only original member to play continuously with the group since its founding.

For Nesbitt, it doesn't feel like it's been 10 years since Celtic Woman began.

"It's kind of flown by, really," said Nesbitt, in a March 3 phone interview. "It's gone by so fast. It's a great achievement for our group."

Celtic Woman 10th Anniversary World Tour

In the Celtic Woman commercial above, the anniversary tour promotes the group as more lively than ever. The thing is, Nesbitt has always brought vivacity to the show, fiddling furiously and bounding across the stage with brio. Young fans always ask Nesbitt how to move on stage the way she does.

"I always say to them, it's a bonus to do that," she said. "It's not reallCeltic Woman 10th Anniversary World Toury about that, it's about the music. For me, it's always been a natural thing to do. I wouldn't be able to do very choreographed moves in my solos. I only do what makes sense to me."

Over the last 10 years, Nesbitt said the show has become more interactive and more dynamic.

"Dynamic doesn't mean lively all the time," she said. "We're more aware of the lows -- the more intimate settings -- as well as the medium and higher levels of performance. The dynamic is much broader."

The tour's set features Irish classics as "Danny Boy" and "Mo Ghile Mhear," alongside contemporary compositions like "Scarborough Fair" and "You Raise Me Up."

The 15-member ensemble also includes Irish dancers, the Aontas Choir and a full band playing an array of traditional Celtic instruments including bodhran, hand-crafted tin whistle, bouzouki, bagpipes and Uilleann pipes.
I wouldn't be able to do very choreographed moves in my solos. I only do what makes sense to me.

The ages of the featured performers range from mid-20s to late 30s.

"For me, being there for 10 years, you always have to approach it with freshness," Nesbitt said. "You have to stay true to yourself and not follow the pack. If there are people leaving or not leaving, decide for yourself what you want to do."


Máiréad Nesbitt of Celtic Woman.
Many vocalists have come and gone through Celtic Woman, but it's not a simple rotation. Director David Downes handpicks each "Celtic Woman" to fit in both vocally and with the chemistry of the other singers offstage and on.

"We all support each other because it's hard traveling all the time, minding yourself and being on top of things," Nesbitt said. "There's isn't room not to be. We work very hard because we like it and and we know other people like it."

For Nesbitt, the hardest part of the tours is the travel.

"From that point of view, I'm in the wrong job," Nesbitt said, laughing. "I really love being at home. I've always been that way. I used to get really bad travel sickness."

But the travel is worth it once Nesbitt meets the audiences.

"You're there only for them," she said. "You can see what music does for them, the healing aspect of it. That's very humbling and very special. It balances it all out."

The tour has been so busy that Nesbitt hasn't yet thought about how she plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary herself.

"I need to sit back and go, 'Wow,'" she said. "Some members of the band have been with us for 10 years too. I think we're just going to have a glass of champagne."

Katrina Tulloch
syracuse.com
March 04, 2015 at 8:20 AM    

Irish designer Synan O'Mahony dressing the four singers Susan McFadden, Mairead Nesbit, Mairead Carlin and Lynn Hilary from Celtic Women for their upcoming world tour. Picture:Arthur Carron

The 10th anniversary Celtic Woman tour sets off around the world packed with talent, new songs and a mesmerising array of Irish fashion to impress audiences across Europe, America, Australia and the Far East.

The man behind the glamorous gunas is Limerick-born, Dublin-based couturier, Synan O'Mahony, who burned the midnight oil to have 12 new dresses completed for the tour premiere at Dublin's 3Arena last Saturday.

When the four performers - vocalists Susan McFadden, Mairead Carlin, Lynn Hilary and violinist Mairead Nesbitt - tried on their new outfits at Synan's Dun Laoghaire studio, the designer stressed the importance of stage craft, marrying drama-filled, sexy silhouettes with layers of luxurious fabrics that the lights will love.

However, a crucial factor is playing to the strengths of each performer's personality in fabric and embellishment.

"I asked the girls for a list of their likes and dislikes and then I sketched solo dresses that played to their personalities and their performances on stage," said Synan.

"Mairead Nesbitt moves around the stage a lot with her violin so I did sequinned leggings with a mini skirt with bustle. I knew how she loved her Michael Kors rose gold jewellery, so I designed a gold gown for her," he said.

There was synchronicity when Mairead Carlin sent a picture from Derry of a black dress she had seen on a red carpet and it turns out that Synan had already designed a black, beaded tulle gown with plunging neckline for her.

For petite singer Lynn Hilary - who is a niece of the broadcaster and former singer, Maxi - Synan created a stunning beaded and satin gown in shades of teal.

One of Susan McFadden's bewitching outfits in the show is a royal blue duchesse satin corset with a silk, ruffled, hourglass skirt that plays up her shapely, Jessica Rabbit figure.

Irish Independent

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