About
A Grammy- and Emmy-nominated artist, Máiréad Nesbitt has enchanted millions as the featured violinist and founding member of the globetrotting music phenomenon Celtic Woman. Loyal fans of all ages, across geographical and cultural boundaries far beyond Ireland’s musical heritage, have been captivated by her beguiling stage presence and versatile instrumental talents. She is the featured violin soloist on eleven Celtic Woman albums, all of which reached the number-one position on the Billboard World Music Chart.
Hailed as “a demon of a fiddle player” by The New York Times, Máiréad has emerged as one of Ireland’s most in-demand musicians. Her multitude of honors includes Irish Music Magazine’s Best Traditional Artist and Best Multi-Instrumentalist Artist awards.
Growing up in a multi-generational musical family in County Tipperary, Máiréad’s parents are renowned music educators, and all five of her siblings are award-winning musicians. She is a former All-Ireland fiddle champion and past member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. She completed her studies at CIT Cork School of Music under Cornelia Zanidache and at London’s Royal Academy of Music, with post-graduate studies under Emanuel Hurwitz in both violin and piano.
Máiréad launched her professional career at the age of sixteen with the prestigious RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Her playing was subsequently featured on the original Riverdance soundtrack, as well as Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames, touring the world with both productions. She also composed the original score for Irish Dance Invasion, featured on the Celtic Tenors’ Live in Concert DVD.
Her own solo albums—Raining Up, Hibernia, The Devil’s Bit Sessions, and her most recent, Celtic Spells—have garnered international acclaim and global chart success. The Devil’s Bit Sessions was recorded in her three-hundred-year-old family home in County Tipperary, while Celtic Spells features music from her eponymous immersive show, now touring to sold-out audiences across the USA.
Máiréad’s worldwide touring schedule extends beyond land-based venues; she is also a headlining guest artist on luxury cruise lines, bringing her high-energy Celtic performances to audiences on voyages across Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, and beyond. These concert cruises, where she shares Ireland’s musical spirit against the backdrop of the world’s oceans, have become a hallmark of her international calendar.
She has performed for four U.S. Presidents at the White House and the Pentagon, and at world-class venues including Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and London’s Hyde Park.
Máiréad’s distinctive blend of traditional Irish and classical styles is evident in collaborations with such renowned artists as Nigel Kennedy, Van Morrison, Sinéad O’Connor, Clannad, Emmylou Harris, Aslan, Chris De Burgh, Jimmy Webb, Sharon Shannon, Paul Brady, Frances Black, Cooney and Begley, Jimmy McCarthy, and Dónal Lunny’s Coolfin.
In 2018 Máiréad made her Broadway debut in Rocktopia, a multi-genre spectacular that enjoyed a sold-out run. An annual guest soloist at Carnegie Hall with Sybille Szaggars Redford and the Tim Janis Ensemble, she is also featured on Janis’ Celtic Lands album.
Máiréad has a close relationship with Disney, serving as the featured violin soloist on the soundtracks for Tinker Bell and Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. In 2022, she recorded a special Celtic segment for Harmonious, Disney’s Epcot presentation, later recreating the performance for Disney+’s first-ever live broadcast.
Splitting her time between Ireland and the USA, Máiréad maintains an active teaching studio and has created a line of Celtic violins, sold worldwide through music retailers and her website, MaireadNesbitt.com.