• Sharpe has performed in iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Red Rocks.

Alex Sharpe, a former member of the Grammy Award winning vocal group, Celtic Woman, will present a concert in Afton at the Ford Theatre, Saturday, February 17 at 7 p.m.  Sharpe brings selections from Celtic Woman as well as soft rock and pop favorites from throughout the ages.

Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Sharpe began singing at age nine or ten, when her older brother coaxed her to join the school choir by dangling the carrot that she would have Friday afternoons off from school. “To my surprise I just loved it,” said Sharpe in an interview with Duke Dance on the SVI Radio Network last week. “My mom realized that I had a singing voice and loved being on stage, which was quite ironic seeing as I was a very shy kid.” This shy kid enjoyed it so much that she chose a professional music career at age 19.

Her career launched with a role as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” After moving to London at age 27, she won a role in “The Beautiful Game” and spent several years doing concert work there.  In 2008, she was invited by composer, arranger and creator of Celtic Woman, David Downes, to work with Celtic Woman.

“I came on board with Celtic Woman thinking it would just be a short stint filling in for Lisa Kelly, and ended up staying for three years and going back occasionally throughout the years,” Sharpe explained.  “It was a fantastic opportunity as part of the Celtic Women to play in iconic places like Radio City Music Hall and Red Rocks, and they speak for themselves because of the history of legendary musicians and artists they have had there, but there’s something very, very special about going to these smaller regional theaters. There’s just a wonderful intimacy, and it really feels like the audience members are part of the show. I have an opportunity to just interact with them more and it’s just a very different and a very special experience.”

As a former Celtic Woman, Sharpe represents the music and culture of the group and her homeland to people throughout the world. “I get to bring a little bit of the Celtic Woman music [to small audiences]. I also get to cover a lot of other music like Fleetwood Mac or The Beatles or Don McLean or John Denver, sometimes with a little bit of a Celtic Style.”

Sharpe has a band from Logan that will accompany her in Afton. “We’re very lucky to have a fabulous band here from Cache Valley that I’ve been working with since the end of October. It’s a treat for me. A real span of different music, like some real iconic kind of Evergreen Classics that people will know. A little bit of a different program with more love songs and plenty of upbeat stuff. [The band have] all got such an incredible wealth of experience themselves so I’m really lucky to have them and the audience will be very blessed to have them. We are bringing together a lot of different talents and we’ve got some of the Celtic Woman tunes that they will recognize.”

For tickets, visit saltriverarts.com.