Mairead Nesbitt

"Energy" and "Beauty' are the two words that Máiréad feels best describe what she strives for as a musician and as a person. A fiddle player since the age of 6, Máiréad 's Loughmore, Co.Tipperary background is steeped in music in the way that only those who grow up in a family of accomplished musicians can be. Her parents John and Kathleen, her sister Frances and brothers Sean, Michael, Noel and Karl are all musicians and in addition to them, Máiréad cites such diverse influences as classical violinist Itzakh Pearlman, Irish Fiddlers Liz Carroll, Michael Coleman and Andy McGann, Jazz musician Stephane Grappelli, Country player Alison Kraus and rock performers David Bowie, Sting, U2 and Bjork.

A former All-Ireland fiddle champion, Máiréad began formal training in music at the Ursuline Convent in Thurles, and continued at The Waterford Institute of Technology, the Cork School of Music under Cornelia Zanidache and at the London Royal Academy, London Trinity College, with post graduate studies under Emanuel Hurwitz on violin and piano. She is also a past member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland.

All along, Máiréad 's career has been one that has encompassed the contrasting styles of classical and traditional music. "Growing up, I split the two in my head," she explains. "You can count on your hand the number of fiddle players that play both classical and traditional music professionally. It's an easy thing to mix styles up badly but an altogether harder thing to do it in a professional, tasteful way given that both styles are completely different disciplines and ways of playing with distinctive techniques." Although she was advised by her teachers not to try to learn both methods of playing, she was driven to master the two differing styles.

Whereas in classical music, players read sheet music, Irish music is typically improvised or played by ear. Classical music also includes a vibrato sound not typically found in Irish music, but which Máiréad has introduced into her playing. "I knew from an early age that I wanted to play in both styles so I developed different bow-holds for each. Then I learned to compartmentalize everything in order to play both styles to the level that I wanted to. Once you get to a certain level you can bring a few elements from Irish music into classical music and vice versa. I've also brought in elements of jazz as well. I studied hard because before you break the rules, you have to be able to do everything perfectly and then you can break the odd rule and it will be tastefully done and true to the music."