In 2004, David Downes, a former music director of the Irish stage show, Riverdance, pulled together five female artists whom he know but who had not performed together in the past. His vision was to combine Irish elements of music and dance with the energy associated with all-girl pop bands like the Spice Girls.

Celtic Woman

there's not a song that I would ever get tired of singing and I think that's the beauty of Celtic Woman, is that all of us have been assigned songs or have chosen songs that actually suit us and that we're well used to singing and that we enjoy singing, which is very important when you're performing the same stuff every night.

Creating Something Beautiful

In 2004, David Downes, a former music director of the Irish stage show, Riverdance, pulled together five female artists whom he know but who had not performed together in the past. His vision was to combine Irish elements of music and dance with the energy associated with all-girl pop bands like the Spice Girls.

They gave a sold-out performance in Dublin, Ireland.. The concert was filmed for public television.  Within weeks of the show, their album, Celtic Woman, was at #1 on the Billboard World Music chart.  It stayed there for 81 weeks.  Interestingly, the album to knock Celtic Woman to the #2 spot was their second album, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration.

An International Sensation

Over the next few years, the roster changed, but the group remained wildly popular.  They toured internationally in 2005 and again in 2007 and 2008.  Their 2004 album, Celtic Woman: A New Journey, opened at #4 and sold 71,000 copies in its first week.  Three months later, the album was certified double platinum, having sold over 500,000 units.

In 2008, Celtic Woman released a compilation album, titled Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey and in early 2010, they released their fourth album, Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart.  The Songs from the Heart tour was launched in February, 2010.  Performances combine Irish classics, pop hits, and some original songs written by David Downes and Brendan Graham.  In December of 2009, PBS taped a show as a sneak peak of sorts.  The performance included a 27-member orchestra, Discovery Gospel choir, 12-member Aontas Choir, 10-member extreme rhythm drummers, and an 11-piece bagpipe ensemble.

2010 and Beyond

The general cast of Celtic Woman has changed over the years,the sound and style of the group remains constant.  Original members were Chloe Agnew, Orla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, and Mairead Nesbitt.  In subsequent years, Mhaolchatha left to have a baby and was replaced by Dierdre Shannon until her return; Hayley Westenre joined the group; and Mhaolchatha left the group permanently, to be replaced by Lynn Hilary.

Upon the completion of their current tour, Celtic Woman is reportedly returning to the studio for their next album.  They have been invited to perform in Washington DC for this year's tree lighting ceremony and are possibly planning to tour other parts of the world.  Fans follow the ensemble on line as well as in the concert venues.  Singles and albums are available and in demand at their website as well as various music sites.  Fans can download their favorite music in mp3 format.

Did you know . . .

1. For each cd, Celtic Woman has released a companion dvd.

2. Vocalist Chloe Agnew, one of the original members of Celtic Woman had released two albums before her 14^th birthday.

3. Founder David Downes has worked as orchestral arranger for Bonnie Tyler and Charlotte Church.

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