Fiddle player Eileen Ivers and band Immigrant Soul perform Thursday at Von Braun Center

Published: Monday, November 29, 2010, 10:42 AM     Updated: Monday, November 29, 2010, 10:55 AM

HUNTSVILLE, AL. - Grammy-winning artist Eileen Ivers has been hailed byThe New York Times as the Jimi Hendrix of the violin, but she admits it’s an interesting analogy that someone “added back in the day.”

“Hendrix, of course, was a masterful musician and the guitar was an extension of his sprit,” said Ivers, who will be performing with her band, Immigrant Soul, when the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra presents “An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas with Eileen Ivers” as part of this season’s Pops Series Thursday night. “It’s very humbling for me to think of myself like that.”

Ivers was raised in the Bronx by Irish-born parents, and her family had an inkling she would be a fiddle player when they saw her in the apartment regularly playing the “air violin” at about age 3 with a pink guitar and a wooden spoon.

Of all musical instruments, why the relationship to the violin at such a young age?

“It’s something that must have been in the DNA,” Ivers said. “The instrument just really spoke to me and it still does.

“I have memories of myself always being drawn to the fiddle and remember hearing recordings in the house, which was a lot of country and bluegrass.”

Even in college and graduate school, Ivers played the violin professionally, but never thought it would develop into a career. She said that performing was always one of her loves and to work in a music career now is not only a calling, but an absolute blessing.

And that it is. Ivers is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, has performed with an array of symphonies, played with rock all-time bests like Sting and Hall and Oates, was an original musical star of “Riverdance,” and has recorded for blockbuster soundtracks such as “Gangs of New York.”

Irish music to Ivers is very emotional, she said, and a bit of an extension of her personality. Ivers, however, does prefer to spice up her act every now and then by plugging in her electric fiddle.

“It doesn’t hurt, plus it’s fun,” she said. “It’s important to vary the performance, which is something I certainly like to do.”

Thursday evening’s performance at the Von Braun Center Smith Concert Hall will be rooted in traditional Irish carols and melodies, including the addition of a few favorite American carols. The group will also perform Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” what Ivers lightheartedly calls the “Jesus Jig.”

“It’s a nice sprinkling of songs and tunes that are both fast and slow,” she said. “It’s also an evening full of contemporary and joyful tunes that are pertinent to the season we are entering.”

Check it out

What: Huntsville Symphony Orchestra presents “An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas with Eileen Ivers”

When: Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Von Braun Center Smith Concert Hall, 700 Monroe St.

How much: Starts at $28 to $68

Information: 256-539-4818 or hso.org