Fiona Wight

Evoking traditional, Celtic and many other influences from around the world, the debut solo album from Fiona will have your emotions soaring and tumbling as they are swept along the journey of a young woman’s life and loves.

Fiona’s powerful collaboration with Cathal Synnott, Musical Director of Riverdance, and Ireland’s premiere young producer, Mark McCabe, has created an exciting and emotional contemporary Celtic World album.

Singing, writing, producing and playing the piano on her debut solo album, Fiona amply demonstrates the talent and skills she has developed during her musical life. Her work is greatly inspired by her travels around the world.

“I want to make my songs accessible to the world of today. Weaving together the expressions, music and styles of many cultures and times I have created an emotional journey, which I hope will leave you uplifted and refreshed. My friends, like yours, are culturally, politically and ethnically diverse. But we all love, live and suffer the same way. As a child I thought my family was my world. As a woman I know the world is my family.”
Fiona, November 2006

She has sung in 21 countries on 5 continents over the past 10 years. At just 16 years old Fiona was invited to join the National Youth Choir of Great Britain on their World Tour as a soloist, before her singing was to bring her further international acclaim with Anúna and Riverdance.

The Last Rose features new music from Fiona and writing partner Cathal Synnott as well as stunning new interpretations of traditional songs. Other composers and contributors include John McGlynn of Anúna, Lord of the Dance composer Ronan Hardiman and Secret Garden’s Rolf Lovland.

With strong Celtic roots and a love of all music, Fiona’s first memories are of singing folk songs from around the world with her sisters. She grew up surrounded by the music of the bagpipes, fiddle, bodhrán, tuba, trumpet, piano, bass guitar, clarinet, mbira, drums...to name a few. Music and singing were the most natural output for her emotions, from the melancholy of folk songs to the spiritual joy of church music, much of which influences her writing, composing and singing today.

Fiona was classically trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London after she won the prestigious BBC UK Choirgirl of the Year competition and also the Royal School of Church music Choirgirl of the Year as a young teen. She became a well-known face on TV and made regular radio broadcasts in the UK. At 13 she was the ‘Little Match Girl’ in a Christmas day spectacular at the Royal Albert Hall on BBC1, and went on to sing at venues all over the UK and tour internationally. At the start of the phenomenon of young classical singers, her first album was a top ten classical chart release at the age of 14. Recorded with the UK Choirboy of the Year, it was received to national acclaim, “…together they give the best performance I have heard of Lloyd Weber’s Pie Jesu.” The Daily Mail.

Drawn to the west Fiona moved to Ireland, where she joined world-renowned Celtic chamber choir Anúna. She fast became a well-loved soloist with the group, and was selected to represent Irish President Mary McAleese on her state visit to South America. She toured Europe and America, recorded for TV and radio, and performed on Anúna albums and music videos during her time with the group. Fiona’s distinctive, crystalline voice was soon to be picked up by Riverdance, and she became the lead singer in the show touring Ireland, Japan, Taiwan and America.

Some live performance and media credits include:

Theatres and concert halls across Europe, America, South America, South East Asia and Australasia. Some highlights from the UK and Ireland include: The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin (Riverdance); The Glasgow Festival Hall (Celtic Connections); The Royal Albert Hall, London (with Sir Cliff Richard); The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall, Southbank in London; The National Concert Hall, Ireland; Buxton Opera House; Grand Opera House, Northern Ireland; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; (Anúna); The Hippodrome, London; The Churchill Theatre (with BBC Radio Two Young Musician of the Year); UK Houses of Parliament (Sarah Ferguson fundraising gala with Boy George); Charity event with the Archbishop of Canterbury; Westminster Central Hall, London; Saint James’s Palace (for Prince Edward).

BBC 1; ITV; FOX Television (USA); Classic FM; BBC Radio 2; BBC Radio 4; BBC World Service; RTE (Ireland); TV3 (Ireland). Some highlights include: BBC Children in Need (Her voice was ‘auctioned’ by Terry Wogan); GMTV (ITV); Joy to the World (BBC); Songs of Praise (BBC); Gloria Hunniford’s Christmas Gala concert (BBC); Good Morning Sunday (BBC); Spring Harvest (BBC).