In 2005, while I was still in the startup phase of the fansite dedicated to Méav, I began corresponding with Andreja Malir, the concert harpist who performed with Méav during her Netherlands tour in 2003. I requested to use some of Andreja's clips as background music for my website. All I wanted were a few 30-second clips from Andreja's official website, but I was delighted when she sent me her CD and allowed me to use the full clips for the music page. (Méav had performed on three of the songs on "Through the Mirror of Sound.") I instantly fell in love with harp music! To me, Andreja brought harp music to a new dimension of auditory excellence.

The woman behind the harp.
CW fans will remember that Andreja Malir was featured as the Celtic Woman harpist in the 2005 DVD. She performed on all three CDs as the concert harpist with the orchestra, conducted by David Downes. One her most unforgettable performances was the "Ave Maria" harp duet with Orla Fallon.

"That first time performing with Celtic Woman was a bit of a baptism of fire so to speak, but I think all of us in the orchestra were totally stunned with the quality of the musical arrangements and then we were quite blown away by the whole production when we came to do the TV recording," Andreja recalls.

Andreja is a true music lover and performer. Having been born to a musical family, she was destined to take a musical journey herself.

"I often think I was genetically modified to be a musician," she said. "There was never any discussion that I would be anything else, so I think I was lucky that way that I never had to go searching for a career - it almost came to me. I suppose most musicians will say the same thing, but I'll say it again.

"There is an incredible sense of freedom when one is performing; when it's going as well as possible, you really do get into a kind of 'zone' which in real life - or life off the concert stage - can't even touch. You realise at that point you're totally in the right place and it's a very powerful feeling - not exactly that you're exerting power over an audience, but you're hearing the music in a more translucent way and have the freedom to express it in a more engaging way. It's like saying to the audience, 'I love this music and I want you to love it too.' One can't get it during rehearsals or in the practice room, but having said that, it's in the practice room that you give the music the time and yourself space to prepare and to feel so comfortable that you can express the sound that you've created. It's entirely reserved for the stage and the audience and that's what makes it so rewarding and keeps me coming back for more."

"It's an odd thing to try and pinpoint one's first encounter with music, which looking back such a long way now, has been there since the very beginning. Music has always been in the family. My father is a horn player (and his father, too) and was with what was the then the RTESO (Radio Telefis Eireann Symphony Orchestra) so since I can remember as kids, we always got taken to the Friday symphony concerts and anything else Dad was involved in. At the time in the late sixties into the seventies the RTESO used to be known as the 'United Nations' orchestra due to the amazing number of what we would call now 'foreign nationals' - mostly from eastern Europe - that were in the orchestra. My father came to Ireland from Slovenia in 1954 along with an amazing bunch of musicians whose legacy of teaching is still felt in the country today."

In Ireland, Andreja is known as one of today's most prolific concert harpists. In 1988 Andreja was one of the youngest principals to be appointed to the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and has appeared many times as soloist with the N.S.O.I. playing all the major harp concerti.

"There's the old saying: musicians are born not made, so I guess the bottom line is, my life, for better or worse, revolves around music. It certainly has defined who I am; I have a job with a title 'principal harpist' and there are not many people who wouldn't know me for that title. It has opened so many doors for me in that respect, that I'm eternally grateful for it, but if you're asking where Andreja the musician begins and Andreja the person ends, well I don't think I could ever answer that but I'm happy enough not to even try."

Andreja explained how the harp became her true calling: "Well it was kind of love at first sight, with the harp. I believe I had my parents terrorised to let me learn - I was already playing the piano, but was completely bored with it. I have the great distinction of being asked to leave the Royal Irish Academy of music as a piano student. I was told 'not to bother.'' But the harp was another story. When I was nine, Dad brought me to a rehearsal one day and introduced me to the harpist of the symphony orchestra. What a beautiful lady she was, and still is to this day. She simply asked me if I wanted to learn the harp - pointing to a beautiful gold harp beside her, and that was that! I never looked back, and I think my parents breathed a sigh of relief when they realised I wasn't getting bored with this one."

"I do know that music in all its disguises has brought me around the world, sent me on a few roller coasters at times, scared the living daylights out of me, brought me into contact with terrific people (and the odd nightmare), given me a load of laughs, caused a few tears but at least it's never been boring!"

The CD "Through the Mirror of Sound"
Andreja's first solo CD is a departure from the conventional classical harp CDs out there. It features well known airs and original composition with a distinct Celtic flair. During the conception of this CD, Andreja's only choice for the vocals for the song "Down By the Salley Gardens" was Méav. And Méav made a very special contribution to the CD when she was inspired to add lyrics to the songs Goltrai and Suantrai, which were originally just intrumentals.


For me, Andreja's harp songs were the music that accompanied the journey of the CelticMéav fansite. The website would not have been a success if not for all the friends we have met along the way. Andreja was the very first of many who supported our humble site from its beginnings in 2005, and we would like to thank Andreja for her friendship and for her continuing gift of inspiring music.

Click here http://www.andrejamalir.com/samples.html to listen to song samples and purchase this unique CD of Andreja's harp music, featuring Méav's vocals on three unforgettable songs.