A Woman’s Heart Featuring Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Sharon Shannon and Cara Dillon to Perform at the Kimmel Center
October 25, 2005
Mary Black
On Sunday, November 13, 2005 at 3pm, Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Sharon Shannon and Cara Dillon bring their spellbinding Irish vocals to the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall in A Woman’s Heart. Part of the American Debut Tour of the eponymous bestselling CD series, these captivating singers will mesmerize audience members with their renditions of traditional and contemporary Irish music.
“Some sounds are unmistakable, such as the sound of a bagpiper early in the morning, an ethereal and earthy voice singing classical songs, or a fiddler blowing that unmistakable whistle,” said Kimmel Center President and CEO Janice Price. “My heritage is Scottish and these sights and sounds still take my breath away. I never miss an opportunity to get whisked off by the unmistakable Celtic, Irish and Scottish sounds.”
A Woman’s Heart is the sixth performance in the Sovereign Bank World Pop Mix series. Upcoming performances in the series include: Savion Glover® in Classical Savion® on November 15, 2005; Max Raabe and Palast Orchester on December 1, 2005; Vienna Choir Boys on December 10, 2005; and A Very Geator Christmas featuring Al Martino on December 22, 2005.
Tickets for A Women’s Heart are $61, $58, $51, $44 and $36 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online or at the Kimmel Center Box Office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply) For group sales call 215-893-5883.
Since its launch in July 1992, A Woman’s Heart has sold upwards of 750,000 copies, and remained the number one album in the Irish charts for nearly 20 weeks. The CD series captures the varied vocal and musical talents of Maura O’Connell, Frances Black, Dolores Kean, Sharon Shannon, Mary Black and more. The third installment of the series titled A Woman’s Heart “A Decade On” was released to critical acclaim and featured alumnae members Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Sharon Shannon as well as some newcomers including Cara Dillon.
A living legend in her homeland of Ireland, Mary Black has long held the attention of the followers of Irish Music as one of the finest vocalists in the world. She instantly received high acclaim for her first solo album, “Mary Black” and went on to record eight more bestselling works including “No Frontier,” “The Holy Ground,” and “Shine.” She has also been awarded as the Best Female Artist by the Irish Recorded Music Awards five times, and named Irish Music Magazine’s 2000 Best Female Artist.
Since her debut twenty-four years ago, Maura O’Connell has applied her luminescent voice to the songs of Tom Waits, Janis Ian, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Hiatt, Karla Bonoff, Paul Carrack, and Shawn Colvin among many other song poets. She has earned a Grammy Award nomination and notoriety from multi-platinum sales in her native Ireland. Her most notable works in the A Woman’s Heart series are “Summer Fly” from the first installment and renditions of Gerry O’Beirne’s “Western Highway” and Nanci Griffith’s “Trouble in the Fields” featured on the third installment.
Sharon Shannon comes from County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, an area steeped in traditional music. An inspired accordion player, she began playing music as a child and while still in her teens provided the music for a stage production of Brendan Behan’s play, The Hostage. With a recording career that has spanned over 15 years, Shannon has been an integral member of the The Waterboy’s while catering to her own successful solo career.
At the age of 14 Cara Dillon won the All Ireland Singing Trophy and has graced audiences with her ethereal voice ever since. A native of Dungiven, Ireland, she started her career as the vocalist for the local band Oige, and in 1995 became the vocalist for the Irish “folk super-group”, Equation. Dillon released her self-titled album in July of 2001 and has gone on to work with musicians such as Mike Oldfield and Phil Coulter. Her award list continues with two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and two Horizon Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Traditional Track.
Tickets for A Women’s Heart are $61, $58, $51, $44 and $36 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online or at the Kimmel Center Box Office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply) For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for all Kimmel Center Presents performances at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased 2.5 hours prior to evening performances and at 11:30am for matinees.
Sponsors of the 2005/2006 Kimmel Center Presents season include Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, and Verizon Foundation. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co., Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit.
NBC-10 is the Media Partner for the Kimmel Center’s Sovereign Bank World Pop Mix Series.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Sovereign Bank World Pop Mix
Sunday, November 13, 2005 | 3pm
Verizon Hall
A Woman’s Heart
Mary Black
Maura O’Connell
Sharon Shannon
Cara Dillon
FREE IN THE PLAZA
Commonwealth Plaza
1:30pm
Svitanya: Eastern European Women’s Vocal Ensemble
Svitanya (svee-TAH-nya), which means “the light at sunrise” in Croatian and Ukranian, is a nine-member, multi-generational women’s a cappella ensemble that specializes in music from Eastern Europe. Evoking the spirit of traditional village music, some songs are modern arrangements, some were learned from village source recordings, and all songs are sung in their original languages.
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