“I joined last July so it hasn’t even been a whole year yet,” McNeil said recently, speaking over the telephone from her room at the Sheraton Hotel in Pittsburgh. “I recorded the album in August and we hit the road in September. We were in South Africa, China and Korea. We were in the United States in December and now we’re back on a four-month tour of the States.
"It has been crazy but I'm absolutely loving every minute of it," she said. "It's been an awesome whirlwind, I guess is the best way to describe it because I've been swept up in it all. They've kept me very busy but I get to do what I love. I get to be on stage almost every night and I'm up there with an incredible bunch of musicians and singers. I'm very honored to be a part of it."
McNeil made her recorded debut with Celtic Woman on the 2016 album, “Voices of Angels.” It was the group’s 11th studio release and features McNeil, bandmates Mairead Carlin, Susan McFadden and Eabha McMahon and a 72-piece orchestra. McNeil even solos on the tracks “For the Love of a Princess” and “Across the World.”
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“I was very happy to step into this group,” McNeil said. “It’s the type of music I just adore. I get to perform violin and harp and play these beautiful arrangements. It’s very exciting but it’s a lot of hard work.
"Whenever you watch a concert or see the PBS specials, you see the final results," she said. "You see this wonderful image, but a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes. I wasn't aware of that when I joined the group but I'm very happy to make every show as good as it can be."
For McNeil, the biggest adjustment has been adapting to being away from home for extended stretches.
“We left Ireland at the end of February and we don’t go back until the very end of June,” she said. “I love Ireland and I love my family, so I’m more homesick than I thought I’d be. But everybody is making me feel at home here.”
WANT TO GO?
Who: Celtic Woman
Where: Schuster Center, Second and Main streets, Dayton
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21
Cost: $42-$102
More info: 937-228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage. com
Artist info: www.celticwoman.com
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