Máiréad Nesbitt ( , ) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

musician. She is known for performing Celtic and classical music and being the former fiddler for ''

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

''. She was also one of the two original fiddlers in

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', ''Feet of Flames'', and ''Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 milli ...

’s '' Lord of the Dance'' in the mid to late 1990s, along with its extended version ''

Feet of Flames ''Feet of Flames'' is an Irish dance show directed by Michael Flatley and scored by Ronan Hardiman. Flatley was known for the shows ''Riverdance'' and ''Lord of the Dance (musical), Lord of the Dance''. History Hyde Park 1998 The Hyde Park sho ...

'' in the early 2000s.

Background

Nesbitt was born to John and

Kathleen Nesbitt Kathleen Nesbitt is an Irish fiddle player and teacher. She is the mother of famous Irish fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt. Background Kathleen Nesbitt began teaching fiddle in 1967 and is among the most well known music teachers in Ireland. In 1983, s ...

, both music teachers in Co.Tipperary, Ireland. She has a sister, Frances, and four brothers, Seán, Michael, Noel and Karl, all of whom are musicians. She has been a piano player since the age of four, and began playing the violin at age six. Her formal musical studies began at The Ursuline Convent in

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

and progressed through the

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

and the

Cork School of Music Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Chorcaí) was an institute of technology, located in Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, engineering, music, dra ...

, during which time she participated in the

National Youth Orchestra of Ireland The National Youth Orchestra of Ireland (NYOI, ir, Ceolfhoireann Náisiúnta Óige na hÉireann) is the national youth orchestra of Ireland, founded in 1970 by Olive Smith and the Music Association of Ireland. It is a member of the European Fed ...

. Nesbitt completed postgraduate studies at

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

and

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

in London under

Emanuel Hurwitz Emanuel Hurwitz (7 May 1919 – 19 November 2006) was a British violinist. He was born in London to parents of Russian-Jewish ancestry. He started playing the violin when he was five years old, and took up a scholarship at the Royal Academy of ...

. Besides her family, Nesbitt has stated that her influences range from

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

and Michael Coleman to bluegrass artist

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

and rock's

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Personal life

Nesbitt has been married to Jim Mustapha Jr., Celtic Woman's then-lighting director, since 2011.

Discography

; Solo *''

Raining Up ''Raining Up'' is Máiréad Nesbitt's solo musical album, which was recorded and published in 2001 by Vertical Records, UK. It was also released in North America 2006 under the label Manhattan. The musical CD contains a combination of traditional ...

'' (2001 UK Release; 2006 US Release) *''

Hibernia ''Hibernia'' () is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (c. 320 BC), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). ...

'' (December 2016) ; With Celtic Woman *''

'' (March 2005) *'' Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration'' (October 2006) *'' Celtic Woman: A New Journey'' (January 2007) *'' Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey'' (October 2008) *'' Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart'' (January 2010) *'' Celtic Woman: Lullaby'' (February 2011) *'' Celtic Woman: Believe'' (May 2011, January 2012) *'' Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas'' (October 2012) *'' Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems'' (February 2014) *'' Celtic Woman: Destiny'' (October 2015) *'' Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas'' (November 2017) ; With

The Dhol Foundation The Dhol Foundation is both a dhol drum institute in London and a musical group playing bhangra music. The dhol school was founded in 1989 by former Alaap member Johnny Kalsi when several musicians asked him to be their teacher, and a first alb ...

*''Drum-Believable'' (2005) ; Other contributions *'' Lord of the Dance'' (March 1997) *''

'' (February 1999) *''

Tinker Bell Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation ''Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 an ...

'' (soundtrack) (October 2008) *''

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure ''Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure'' is a 2009 American computer-animated adventure film directed by Klay Hall (in his feature directorial debut) and the second installment in the ''Disney Fairies'' franchise. Produced by DisneyToon Studios, i ...

'' (soundtrack) (September 2009) *'' Devil's Bit Sessions'' (June 2017) * ''Harmonious'' (soundtrack) (October 2021)

Filmography

*'' Lord of the Dance'' (November 1999) *''

'' (March 2005) *'' Celtic Woman: A New Journey'' (January 2007) *'' Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration'' (October 2007) *'' Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey'' (October 2008) *'' Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart'' (January 2010) *'' Celtic Woman: Believe'' (January 2012) *'' Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas'' (October 2013) *'' Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems'' (February 2014) *'' Celtic Woman: Destiny'' (October 2015)

References

* * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbitt, Mairead Celtic Woman members 20th-century Irish musicians Irish fiddlers Irish violinists 1979 births Living people Musicians from County Tipperary Alumni of Trinity College of Music Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of Waterford Institute of Technology Alumni of Cork Institute of Technology 21st-century Irish musicians 20th-century Irish women musicians 21st-century Irish women musicians 20th-century violinists 21st-century violinists Irish women violinists Women violinists Vertical Records artists