About this Artist
EILEEN IVERS will change the way you think about the violin.
Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul; 9-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion; performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony at The Kennedy Center, the Boston Pops, The Chieftains, Hall and Oates, Sting, Afrocelts, Patti Smith, Paula Cole, Al Di Meola, and Steve Gadd; original musical star of Riverdance; founding member of Cherish the Ladies, Grammy-awarded musician; performances for presidents and royalty worldwide – this is a short list of her accomplishments, headliners, tours, and affiliations. Ivers has established herself as the pre-eminent exponent of the Irish fiddle in the world today.
It is a rare and select grade of spectacular artists whose work is so boldly imaginative and clearly virtuosic that it alters the medium. It has been said that the task of respectfully exploring the traditions and progression of the Celtic fiddle is quite literally on Eileen Ivers’ shoulders. The Washington Post states, “She suggests the future of the Celtic fiddle.”
She’s been called a “sensation” by Billboard magazine and “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by The New York Times. “She electrifies the crowd with a dazzling show of virtuoso playing,” says The Irish Times. Ivers’ recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores. She is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and world music genres.
The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen Ivers grew up in the culturally diverse neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. Rooted in Irish traditional music since the age of eight, Eileen proceeded to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, a tenth on tenor banjo and over 30 championship medals, making her one of the most awarded persons ever to compete in these prestigious competitions.
Being an Irish-American, the intrigue of learning more about the multicultural sounds of her childhood took hold. After graduating magna cum laude in Mathematics from Iona College and while continuing her post-graduate work in Mathematics, Eileen fully immersed herself in the different genres of music that she experienced while growing up in New York. Perhaps it was the mathematical mind coupled with her passion for seeking parallels in certain traditional music styles that contributed to what has become the signature sound featured in many of Eileen’s recordings since the late 1980s.
In 1999 Eileen established a touring production to present the music that now encompasses Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul. The ensemble headlines prestigious performing arts centers, guest stars with numerous symphonies, performs at major festivals worldwide, and has appeared on national and international television. The Los Angeles Times proclaims, “Ivers’ presentation was music with the kind of life and spirit that come together when talented artists from different backgrounds find the linkages that connect all forms of music...no wonder the audience loved every minute.”
Eileen created Beyond the Bog Road, a multimedia concert of music, story, dance and film. The concert celebrates the journey of the Irish immigrant and showcases how Irish music and dance have integrated with various roots music of North America to create one of the richest cross-fertilizations of folk music styles in the world. It is a celebration of the immigrant’s journey – it is the story of the Irish immigrant’s impact on America and America’s impact on the Irish immigrant.
Eileen is also privileged to share the stage with two of the world’s most celebrated violinists, classical virtuoso Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and jazz great Regina Carter, in the critically acclaimed “Fiddlers Three.” This show continues to fascinate symphony audiences throughout the U.S.
ZETA Music, the world’s leading electric stringed instrument maker, has recently introduced the Eileen Ivers Signature Series Violin.