Visit Deirdre's official website at www.deirdreshannon.com
One of the brightest new talents to emerge on the classical cross-over scene, this versatile young singer - classically trained in Ireland’s College of Music, embarked on a solo career after an illustrious series of achievements in many critically acclaimed singing groups and shows around the world.
Deirdre's music career began when she was welcomed into the exclusive Irish choir 'Anúna', of 'Riverdance' fame, where she became a prominent soloist in concerts all over Europe, notably featuring on their album 'Behind the Closed Eye' with The Ulster Orchestra. She was then chosen by Michael Flatley to star as his vocal soloist in the phenomenal show 'Lord of the Dance'. Cast as 'Erin the Goddess', she performed over four years extensively in the USA, South America, Canada and Mexico to great critical acclaim. In 2002 she featured as the soloist with respected Irish-American pianist Eily O’Grady on her sell-out US tour, paying tribute to Eily’s late husband Frank Patterson. Following her return, Deirdre joined forces with the legendary Dionne Warwick on her sweeping UK tour.
Her performances have placed her on some of the world’s most prestigious stages such as the Royal Albert Hall (London), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Point Depot (Dublin), Grand Ole Opry (Nashville), Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall (New York). She has featured as soloist around the American continent with the following orchestras - Cincinnati Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Redlands Symphony, West Virginia Symphony and Toronto Symphony, soloing in Patrick Cassidy's 'Famine Remembrance' in the Roy Thomson Symphony Hall.
Recently Deirdre toured the US as a soloist in the hit show 'Celtic Woman' (topping the World Music Charts for a staggering 82 weeks) earning her both a gold and platinum disc from EMI. She left that show after a year to complete work on her self-titled album 'Deirdre Shannon'. This has since received many awards: Album Of The Year 2006 and Track of the Year 2006 (for her outstanding a capella version of She Moved Through The Fair) from Scottish radio programme 'No Celtic Boundaries' and 'Highlander Radio' in the USA. For her outstanding version of 'The Prayer', Deirdre has also received an award from American-based 'Celtic Radio' earlier this year.
Deirdre’s live TV performances include the BBC's major annual event 'Music Live', performing alongside Jamie Cullum, Bob Geldof, Brian Kennedy and Moya Brennan. Other TV appearances include CBS Morning News and Fox Morning TV (USA), The Jools Holland Show and The Proms (UK), The Late Late Show, The Gerry Kelly Show and Open House on Irish television. Earlier, Deirdre recorded 'The Celtic Tenors' Special for PBS TV which aired coast to coast in America and on prime-time German and Irish television. She also contributed to the vocal soundtrack for the RTE historical TV documentary series called 'The Island'. This was subsequently released under that same title.
Her ability to 'cross-over' diverse singing styles has made her equally comfortable performing and recording with a wide range of artists such as 'The Chieftains', Michael Crawford and Elvis Costello and more recently 'Air Supply' on their new recording of 'I’m All Out of Love'. Deirdre has featured as guest soloist with 'The Celtic Tenors' for the last number of years and has toured with them in virtually every continent. She features extensively on their latest album 'We are not Islands' (Ireland)/'Remember Me' (Worldwide).
Check out her official site at http://www.deirdreshannon.com/ to learn more or to purchase this wonderful album!
