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Irish singer-harpist Orla Fallon

It can't be easy walking away from a world-famous group at the peak of its popularity. But that's exactly what Irish singer-harpist Orla Fallon did earlier this year when she left Celtic Woman.

"It was a fabulous experience," she said by phone from Cleveland, where she had just taped a PBS special. "It was a rollercoaster ride of playing venues I had before only ever dreamed about."

Fallon, who in addition to her own set will be singing a few numbers with headliner Jim Brickman on Monday at Merrill Auditorium, co-founded Celtic Woman in 2004. During her four-year tenure, the performing troupe released three albums that spent a record-setting 95 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard World Music chart.

While still a member of the group in 2006, Fallon issued the album "The Water is Wide," which featured just her stirring vocals and equally emotive harp playing.

Her first post-Celtic Woman solo release, "Distant Shore," which features a full band, dropped stateside in September. It delicately balances traditional Irish and glossy New Age.

"It's really important for me to be true to my roots and heritage, because it's very much about me and who I am," Fallon said. "But, I also spent four years on the road here (in the U.S.) with Celtic Woman, and can't help but to be influenced – you are influenced by all the sounds you hear."

"On 'Distant Shore' we were pushing the boundaries," she continued. "But it's important that everything be done with integrity and, with my hand on heart, I can say it was."

The catchiest song on the album, "Dancing in the Moonlight," will go to radio as a single after the holidays. Like the title suggests, it's wonderfully romantic. Melodically, it's at once vibrant and soothing. Extraordinarily, it's the first song Fallon wrote – ever.

"I was just fiddling around on the harp one day and this tune came into my head," she said. "I thought I would just leave it as a harp (instrumental), but then I couldn't stop singing along. It's about young love."

"Distant Shore" closes somberly. Fallon delivers a sparse, tender rendition of the Stephen Foster standard "Hard Times." Although written in the 1850s, the hymn of pathos and perseverance could easily be the theme song for our current Great Recession. "Many days you have lingered by my cabin door," goes the refrain, "Oh, hard times, come again no more."

"I've always loved the song, but any recordings I heard were up-tempo and didn't let the words speak for themselves," Fallon said. "And with the way the world is today, I do think it has a special message."

On a lighter note, Fallon just issued the holiday single "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." It's a childhood favorite of hers that brought back numerous warm memories such as watching "It's a Wonderful Life."

"My mom said listening to me sing it, she pictured children ice skating," Fallon said.

Wade Tatangelo is a freelance writer based in Fort Collins, Colo. His work appears in publications nationwide.