Celtic Woman: Songs From The Heart will premiere in the New York area Wednesday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21. Celtic Woman is a musical ensemble consisting of Irish female artists: vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt. The group's repertoire ranges from traditional Irish tunes to modern favorites.
The scope of the perfomance was increased for this event with the 12-member Aontas Choir, a 27-piece film orchestra, the twenty member Discovery Gospel Choir, ten-member Extreme Rhythm Drummers and an eleven piece bagpipe ensemble. All this helps to bring musical director and composer David Downes’ unique vision to life. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Downes studied music and composition, and has been musical director of Riverdance for the US and European touring company.
The musical selection ranges from lively traditional pieces to innovative arrangements of Irish classics, contemporary covers and original compositions such as their latest hit single, O, America! Each rendition of a song, whether it be a traditional classic or a pop hit, is given a Celtic touch, and thus each item in their repertoire is unique to their particular musical style.
This is the fifth collaboration between the multi-platinum group and PBS. The performance was recorded in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, at the historic Powerscourt House and Gardens. The special was filmed in HD in July 2009 before an audience of 1,000 fans who gathered at the 13th-century castle and surrounding 47-acre estate, The breathtaking gardens, based on those at the Palace of Versailles, were an ideal location that complimented the powerful vocal and musical performance by the ladies as well as the additional artists.
The initial Celtic Woman special was filmed on September 15, 2004 for PBS Television at The Helix, Dublin, in front of a sold out audience. This performance was first broadcast in March, 2005 in the United States, and within weeks the group's impressive debut album Celtic Woman reached #1 on Billboard's World Music chart, eventually breaking Andrea Bocelli's long standing record by staying at #1 for an incredible 81 weeks.
The group has performed a total of three tours in America. The new Songs from the Heart tour, is scheduled to begin in February 2010. Celtic Woman will be performing in New York City at Radio City Music Hall February 26, and 27.
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