Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration

Singers Chloe, Lisa, Méav and Orla and Violinist Máiréad Perform Traditional and Contemporary Christmas Songs at Dublin’s Helix Centre –

With their enchanting mix of traditional Irish, contemporary and original songs, the multi-platinum super-group Celtic Woman has become a favorite of viewers since their smashing PBS debut in March 2005. CELTIC WOMAN: A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION, with singers Chloe, Lisa, Méav and Orla and fiddler Máiréad, will delight their many fans when the Irish superstars perform such popular classics as “White Christmas,” “O Holy Night” and “Let It Snow.” The special, which was filmed in Dublin’s Helix Centre, where the Celtic Woman phenomenon began, includes original pieces arranged by musical director David Downes: “Green the Whole Year Round,” a fiddle solo called “In the Bleak Midwinter” and “Christmas Pipes.” CELTIC WOMAN: A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION airs as part of the December 2007 pledge drive (check local listings) on PBS.

Chloe, already a musical veteran at age 18, won the Grand Prix at the First International Children’s Song Competition in Cairo, Egypt, in 1998, representing Ireland. She recorded her first album at age 12 and her second at 14.

Immersed in musical theatre, Lisa developed a love for the music of her native land when she became a featured vocalist in Riverdance — The Show. She toured the United States with the show for five years.

A former All-Ireland fiddle champion, Máiréad has been playing since age six. She began her professional career as violinist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and has worked with the likes of Van Morrison, Clannad and Emmylou Harris, among others.

Méav, raised in a home steeped in classical and Irish traditional music, studied singing, harp and piano. She has toured as solo vocalist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, as a principal soloist with the Celtic choral group Anúna, as Erin the Goddess in Lord of the Dance in the London and Dublin productions of Riverdance and as a soloist with the Irish National Chamber Choir.

Singer and harpist Orla won the International Feis Ceoil and International Pan Celtic competitions twice and toured in Europe and the U.S. as a soloist, often singing in Gaelic. She has performed for the pope at the Vatican and for the president of Ireland.

CELTIC WOMAN: A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION is a magical, winter-wonderland concert that includes:

“Carol of the Bells”
“Silent Night”
“White Christmas”
“Away in a Manger”
“Ding Dong Merrily on High”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“The Christmas Song”
“In the Bleak Midwinter”
“The First Noel”
“The Wexford Carol”
“Cristmas Pipes”
“O Holy Night”
“Panis Angelicus”
“Green the Whole Year Round”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
“Don Oiche Úd i Mbeithil” (That Night in Bethlehem)
“O Come All Ye Faithful”
“Let It Snow”

Since Celtic Woman’s debut in March 2005, the group has owned the Billboard World Music Chart, holding the #1 position for 95 consecutive weeks, only to be bumped by their own A Christmas Celebration CD and the follow-up A New Journey.