At 15, Chloë Agnew left her home in Dublin, Ireland, to become the youngest member of Celtic Woman.
“It was very hard leaving home at such a young age,” Agnew said from Lubbock, Texas, on one of the last stops of the group's “Isle of Hope” tour. “But it's been wonderful.”
The group will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa.
“We haven't played many casinos,” Agnew said. “We're so thankful that every place we've played have all been so welcoming.”
While previous tours have hit mostly major cities, “Isle of Hope” has taken Celtic Woman to a number of smaller venues across the country, including the McCallum Theatre last April.
“Playing smaller towns makes it easier for people to come see us and bring their families,” she said. “We're coming to people's hometowns. Whole families are coming to see us because they don't have so far to travel.”
Agnew, the daughter of Adele “Twink” Agnew, an Irish singer and stage actor, and David Agnew, a professional oboist, made her stage debut at the age of 4 months on her mother's television show.
Singing comes naturally to Agnew, and she was headed toward a solo recording career when David Downes, Celtic Woman's musical director, asked her to join the group.
She'd worked with Downes a few years earlier on a recording of “Holy Christmas Night,” which raised more than $40,000 for Irish children's charities.
Now 20, Agnew has spent a quarter of her life with the show that the New York Times has been called “Charlotte Church meets Enya meets Sarah Brightman” mixing soprano voices, Celtic, folk, classical and modern show tunes.
“I've learned so much from Celtic Woman about performing,” she said. “I've seen so much of the world. And I've grown so much with my colleagues” (Lisa Kelly, Lynn Hilary, Alex Sharpe and violinist Máiréad Nesbitt).
For the moment, Agnew is content to stay with Celtic Woman. There is a new show and CD, “Songs From The Heart,” that will debut next year on PBS. And a tour to back it up.
“I've found my niche here,” Agnew said. “At some point I'd like to work on an independent project, but I'm so lucky. I just take each day and treasure it.”
Mydesert.com
The Desert Sun Palm Springs, California
Judith Salkin
Desert Post Weekly
November 19, 2009
