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Isabelle O’Connell
pianist
Biography
Originally from Dublin and currently based in New York City, Isabelle O’Connell is one of Ireland’s most
successful pianists with a growing international career that has taken her across four continents. As soloist she has
performed around the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Ireland. Earlier this year she
toured New Zealand with violinist Gregory Harrington and in May 2008 she joined the CRASH ensemble for
their Australian tour including performances at the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival.
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.”
Isabelle O’Connell has a reputation for being a dynamic interpreter 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. In 2007, Isabelle was co-Artistic Director of “New Music, New Ireland, New
York”, a concert that showcased contemporary Irish composers at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. As part of this
event she gave the world premiere of a specially commissioned piece by Donnacha Dennehy. 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 is currently a member of REDSHIFT, a bicoastal new music
ensemble based out of New York and San Francisco. She also has a particular interest in music involving
extended piano techniques and is frequently invited to give masterclasses and workshops on the topic.
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), Norfolk 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.
In addition to winning an award from Artists International in 2001, Isabelle was 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 featuring piano music by contemporary
Irish composers.
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 faculty member at both the Lucy Moses and Diller-Quaile Schools of Music in
Manhattan.
47-55 44th St, #2F, Woodside, NY 11377
Tel: 917-547-1156 email: [email protected]