| Isabelle O'Connell Originally from Dublin and currently based in New York City, Isabelle O'Connell is a dynamic performer who's performances have taken her around the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Ireland. She made her New York Debut recital at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in January 2002 – only the second Irish pianist ever to perform there. Receiving a standing ovation, the New York Concert Review wrote: "She has the technical prowess… and a spirit and intelligence to bring it all together." She recently completed a tour of New Zealand with violinist Gregory Harrington and in May 2008 she will tour Australia with the Dublin-based CRASH ensemble. Isabelle O'Connell is a committed and energetic advocate of music by 20th and 21st century composers. She regularly commissions and premieres new works and her repertoire includes music by over a dozen Irish composers. Isabelle was co-Artistic Director of "New Music, New Ireland, New York", a concert showcasing contemporary Irish composers at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in October 2007. As part of this event she gave the world premiere of a specially commissioned piece by Donnacha Dennehy. Isabelle also has a particular interest in music that involves extended piano techniques. In 2005 she performed at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall in a concert of music by John Adams, conducted by the composer himself. The New York Times described it as "a zesty account…the ensemble played the piece brilliantly". In 2006 she performed at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, USA, with composer/singer Meredith Monk and members of the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Isabelle made her début as concerto soloist at the National Concert Hall in 1999. In 2004 she made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland under conductor William Eddins. She has given recitals at festivals in Europe and the US including the Pablo Casals Festival (France), Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival (USA), Mannes Contemporary Music Festival (USA), Sligo New Music Festival (Ireland), Waterford New Music Week (Ireland) and the West Cork Chamber Music Festival (Ireland). In 2003 Isabelle was invited to do a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada where she collaborated with various artists including the New Zealand String Quartet. She was invited to return in January 2004 as senior artist in residence and collaborative pianist. In addition to winning an award from Artists International in 2001, Isabelle has been the recipient of the Tibor Paul Medal, the 1998 Mabel Swainson Pianoforte Award at the Feis Ceoil (which led to her debut recital at the John Field Room in Dublin) and the Ulster Bank Music Foundation Piano Award (making a television appearance on the "Late Late Show"). Some of her other awards have included a Fulbright scholarship (1999), a Bank of Ireland Millenium Scholarship (2000) and a John F. Kennedy scholarship (1999-2002). Isabelle has appeared on television and radio on both sides of the Atlantic, including WFMT Chicago, BBC3, RTE and TV3. Her concerto and recital performances have also been broadcast on Lyric FM radio. In 1997, she represented Ireland in Germany, recording a CD that featured young European pianists and she has recently been awarded a grant from the Irish Arts Council to record her first solo CD. Isabelle studied with Nina Svetlanova at the Manhattan School of Music graduating with a Masters degree in 2001. She subsequently studied with Zitta Zohar in New York. Her earlier studies took place at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin (Reamonn Keary, Therese Fahy) where she received her B.A. in Music Performance in 1999. Isabelle is currently a member of the piano, theory and chamber music faculties at the Lucy Moses and Diller-Quaile Schools of Music in Manhattan. O1C Performances: REDSHIFT |
