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 and chamber musician she has performed around the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy and Ireland. Receiving a standing ovation at her New York Debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in January 2002 and only the second Irish pianist ever to perform there, the New York Concert Review wrote: “She has the technical prowess… and a spirit and intelligence to bring it all together.”

Isabelle has performed with the CRASH ensemble, joining them on tours of Australia and the United States and performing at the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival, Sydney Conservatoire, Kennedy Center and Le Poisson Rouge in New York. She also joined Alarm Will Sound for a residency and performance at Duke University in North Carolina in 2009.

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 also has a particular interest in music involving extended piano techniques and is often invited to give masterclasses and workshops on the topic.

Isabelle made her début as concerto soloist at the National Concert Hall, Dublin in 1999. In 2004 she made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland under conductor William Eddins. She has performed at festivals in Europe and the U.S. including the Pablo Casals Festival (France), Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (USA), Mannes Contemporary Music Festival (USA), Belfast Festival (N. Ireland), Sligo New Music Festival (Ireland), Waterford New Music Week (Ireland) and the West Cork Chamber Music Festival (Ireland). In 2003 Isabelle gave a solo recital at the John Field Room in Dublin to benefit Amnesty International’s Irish section and the global struggle for human rights. Isabelle was invited to do a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada from 2003 – 2004 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), Bank of Ireland Millenium Scholarship (2000), John F. Kennedy scholarship (1999-2002), the Music Network Touring award and multiple awards from the Irish Arts Council.

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 recently recorded her first solo CD featuring piano music by contemporary Irish composers, with a grant from the Arts Council/Music Network.

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 on the piano and theory faculty at both the Lucy Moses and Diller-Quaile Schools of Music in Manhattan.

© Copyright Isabelle O’Connell 2008-2010