Irish conductor Eímear Noone is to take charge at this year's Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

The Galway native will be the first woman to conduct the orchestra at an Oscars ceremony.

She will conduct excerpts from the five nominated scores at the 92nd Academy Awards on February 9th.

Noone will conduct the 42-piece Oscar orchestra at the Dolby Theatre.

On the announcement, she told Variety: "The wonderful producers at the Oscars decided that they would like to finally see a female presence on the podium after all these years."

She also praised Oscar musical director Rickey Minor as "an amazing kindred spirit who endeavours to elevate music and musicians at every possible turn."

On Twitter, she thanked "visionary producers Stephanie Allain and Lynette Howell Taylor" for inviting her to perform.

Thanks to visionary producers Stephanie Allain and Lynette Howell Taylor @TheAcademy and the incredible Rickey Minor, genius music director for the Oscars for inviting me to perform at the Oscars 2020! https://t.co/xh3VzoS0z7 pic.twitter.com/TAowbcYHGy

— Eimear Noone (@eimearnoone) January 23, 2020

Asked if she would be nervous, she said: "I'd be dead inside if I didn't have any concerns.

"Luckily for me, I have friends in the orchestra and I have friends on the page in front of me.

"The background changes, but the little black dots on the page are always home for me."

She has composed extensively for film and videogames, and is responsible for some of the most enduring soundscapes on 'World of Warcraft'.

She has conducted orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, Pittsburg Symphony and The Philadelphia orchestras - and has worked on scores for directors such as Gus Van Sant and Joe Dante.

Noone divides her time between homes in Dublin and California.

Main image: Conductor and Composer Eímear Noone pictured in Dublin | Image: Steve Humphreys