Blackstone River Theatre will present Scottish fiddle and cello masters Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas on Friday, November 19, 8:00 p.m., at Blackstone River Theatre, 549 Broad St., Cumberland, RI. Admission is $27.00 advance, $32.00 day of show. For reservations or information call Blackstone River Theatre at (401) 725-9272.
The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as Scotland’s premier fiddle ambassador, and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music.
Fraser and Haas continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music. Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, radio and television credits, on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, and more). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She has performed and recorded with a who’s who of the fiddle world including Mark O’Connor, Natalie MacMaster, Solas, Altan, Liz Carroll, and Hanneke Cassel. This seemingly unlikely pairing is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser, whose cutting-edge musical explorations took him full circle to find a cellist who could help him return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music. “Going back to the 1700s, and as late as the early 20th century,” Fraser says, “fiddle and cello made up the dance band of choice in Scotland, with the cellist bowing bass lines and driving the rhythm. Pianos and accordions elbowed out the cello, relegating it to an orchestral setting.”
Masks are required for all patrons and staff at Blackstone River Theatre. Patrons will also be asked to show their vaccination card or a photo of their vaccination card before entering. If a patron is not able to show proof of vaccination they will not be allowed to attend the performance.