Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 02/19/2008 11:55 AM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 03/13/2008 05:14 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
:
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas --Scottish fiddle and Mello music of Unrivalled Beauty
Angels Camp, CA...Master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as one of Scotland’s premier musical ambassadors, will present the music of his homeland with unsurpassed eloquence and energy when he performs in Angels Camp in Calaveras County on Sunday, March 16. Fraser will appear with his favored current pairing with the young American cellist Natalie Haas....
continuing the classic musical marriage between big and small fiddles. The event takes place in the 350-seat Bret Harte Performing Arts Center at 323 Highway 49, as part of the on-going “Ovations” series of the Calaveras Arts Council.
Alasdair Fraser engages audiences with his unique stage presence and thorough knowledge of Scotland's music. The Los Angels Times describes Fraser’s playing as “…. the expressive gamut from deep Celtic melancholy to joyful jig, with his fiddle imitations of the bagpipe almost unbelievable, and the whole rendered with a humble sincerity, flawless virtuosity and just about the sweetest sound since Fritz Kreisler."
The combination of Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas create a near-telepathic interplay is dazzling both for its breathtaking technical prowess, be it in tunes from the 18th century, the age of Burns and Gow, or Fraser’s own memorable compositions.
Fraser and Haas met when, at age 11, Natalie first attended Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School in California. She began performing in concert with Fraser just four years later.. As a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, Haas regularly performs throughout the US and Europe with Fraser, and is a member of American fiddler Mark O’Connor’s Appalachian Waltz Trio. Fraser says this about Haas, “She unleashes textures and deep, powerful rhythms that drive fiddle tunes. We can 'duck and dive' around each other -- swap melody and harmony lines, and improvise on each other's rhythmic riffs. She has such a great sense of exploration and excitement for the music; it's a joy to play with her!'
Alasdair Fraser has been featured on over 100 television and radio shows in the UK, and on several nationally-broadcast programs in the US, including CBS Sunday Morning, NPR Morning Edition, A Prairie Home Companion, and The Thistle & Shamrock. On The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS TV) Fraser played a spcecial solo tribute to honoree Sean Connery, a fellow Scot, in a segment that included Catherine Zeta-Jones. Alasdair has made guest appearances with groups as diverse as Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Waterboys and The Chieftains, and as featured soloist along with Itzhak Perlman at New York's Lincoln Center. His film credits include solo performances on the soundtracks of several major films, including The Last of the Mohicans and Titanic
Fraser lives with his wife and two sons in the Sierra Nevada foothills north of Calaveras County.
Tickets to the performance are $25 for adults; $10 for youth 18 and under. They may be reserved on-line at www.highsierratickets.com. For more information, contact the non-profit Calaveras Arts Council at (209)754-1774; website is www.calaverasarts.org. The last concert of the 2008 Ovations season will feature the Mother Lode Friends of Music Orchestra on March 29 at the Bret Harte Performing Arts Center, Angesl Camp.
|