Saturday, December 5, 2009

Celtic Woman magic in so many ways

Hello everyone!

Well, since my last blog much has happened. You just can't go wrong with Celtic Woman artists past and present!!

November saw me attend a string of shows in the southwest US. Lubbock started it all off followed by El Paso, Albuquerque, and Tucson. We had large forum gatherings in the two middle cities. Along the way I had my uncle, brother, and niece whom I treated to shows and meet & greets. I was able to see each of the artists at one point or another after a show and each were delightful.

Most special of all though was Albuquerque where I had the honor of presenting Mairead with a $2000 check from her forum for her charity of choice, Oxfam Ireland Unwrapped. She was most gracious in accepting, posing for photos, and in her kind comments. As I told her that night she has a way of inspiring so much in so many and in so many ways. What a blessing from God she is for so many. I hope many will be blessed in the money given to that charity in her name and that of her forum.

This past night though was something else. I attended for the first time a concert held by a former member of Celtic Woman. Orlagh Fallon performed at the WVIZ studios in Cleveland. We had 14 forum folks there to greet and support her during the show and after. She was accompanied by Dan and Mary who were fine artists themselves. The show was a lovely mix of harp and vocals, Irish and English, in a setting that allowed for questions and interactions that were truly special. All of us who attended were incredibly impressed. After the show Orlagh spent a considerable amount of time with us forum folks and was most giving of herself for photos and signing things. She was presented with many gifts and her kind comments to each of us were very touching. We already supported her in her solo efforts, but now she has created the kind of special memories and moments that can energize those who were there to more active promotion of her to all we know.

Deirdre has been quite successful in her solo career after Celtic Woman. That is even more true now that she has been signed to perform with Celtic Thunder. Hayley Westenra already had a brilliant career before her brief stint with Celtic Woman, and that has continued to soar in the time since. Meav has been a bit less active but has a bright future if she wants it and does have some things on the horizon coming up. Orlagh is destined to be a very big success as she performs and wins hearts wherever she goes. There will come a time when others within Celtic Woman will move back to solo careers as well and there can be no doubt they will florish too. Certainly for me when that time comes for Mairead she will have built a committed and energized base of support from her forum. If she follows the paths she has already started and then looks at the success of those such as Orlagh, Deirdre, and Hayley, she will be an incredibly popular artist playing to ever increasing audiences. For now the current Celtic Woman status quo appears to be holding.

I encourage each of you to support the individual artists endeavors as well as the enesemble itself. We are their first line of promotion and certainly the most passionate. We don't do it for money but out of our love for these incredible artists who have touched us each so deeply. The new Celtic Woman show Songs From The Heart began to air last week and is another winner by David Downes and the artists on stage. I was blessed in having attended the show recording and the video certainly does it justice.

We have a lot to be grateful for in this season of light that is Christmas. Each of these artists deserve your support and I thank them each for following their hearts and doing what they were born to do. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful new year to each of you. Special thanks to Mairead for a reamarkable year that saw so many special moments, and thanks to Orlagh or a truly lovely night.

All the best, Scott

1 comment:

  1. Sounds awesome. I think Gaby put her picture with mine to be signed as after El Paso it has gone missing. Either way, Merry Xmas!

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