Vibrant young cellist Natalie Haas is already a seasoned performer, recording artist, and teacher. She has joined master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser for festival and concert appearances in Scotland, Spain, France, and throughout the U.S., including Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, Scotland, the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in France, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. "People may be familiar with the gorgeous, melodic cello sound," says Fraser, "but they're surprised to learn that the cello used to comprise the rhythm section in Scottish dance bands. Natalie Haas 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!"
A recent graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City, Natalie discovered the cello at age nine. In addition to having extensive classical music training, she is accomplished in a broad array of fiddle genres. Her musical journey found purpose when she fell in love with Celtic music at the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School at age 11. Inspired and encouraged by director Fraser, she began to investigate the cello's potential for rhythmic accompaniment to fiddle tunes. Her and Fraser's duo release, Fire & Grace, was awarded the Best Album of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards 2004.
A California native, Natalie has also toured extensively with Mark O'Connor as a member of his Appalachia Waltz Trio. The trio released a live CD, Crossing Bridges, to rave reviews in November 2004. She and O'Connor premiered his double concerto for violin and cello, "For The Heroes," with the Grand Rapids, East Texas, and San Diego Symphonies. Natalie has also toured and recorded with fiddler Natalie MacMaster. She teaches privately, in a workshop setting, at various fiddle camps, and at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
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| "She's so simpatico that we can have these wonderfully shared musical journeys that actually very rarely would involve planning, other than to say, 'Here's where we're going to begin, here's where we're going to end up, and we know the material, now let's just connect.' I think that's something a lot of musicians strive for, and I feel very fortunate to have someone I can play with that goes there." |
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- Alasdair Fraser, Master Scottish Fiddler |
| “Natalie is a 19-year old cellist who has traditional music very much figured out, has grasped it by the short-hairs, and is helping to lead it into new territory. She is among the first of a very new breed of young musicians who are approaching music traditions with the highest level of virtuosity and respect for the old-fashioned styles, but at the same time breathing into them the new life that will ensure they remain with us. Natalie makes the tunes her own. She plays with solid rhythm, warmth of tone and depth of feeling...I know we'll be hearing more about Natalie.” |
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- Bruce Molsky, Appalachian Fiddle Master |
| "Haas can switch just as effortlessly as Fraser from a gentle singing tone to driving, dancing melody; and more than once she showed (gasp!) rock'n'roll influences bordering on the sinful." |
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- Brian Miller, Celtic Roots, BBC Radio Scotland |
| "With the fiddle taking the lead melody, Natalie's funky, syncopated rhythm accompaniment had the audience enthralled, then the cello swung into action with Alasdair providing harmonies. The ability of both musicians to compliment the other's playing was fluent, varied, and highly entertaining." |
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- Kathie Costello, Celtic Roots, BBC Radio Scotland |
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"Haas can make her instrument sound like the drone of a hurdy-gurdy, the jangle of a guitar, or the thump of a string bass, and she can carry the tune of fast jigs and reels as well. It is a fascinating combination, one that occasionally sounds like a baroque duo. And then you realize that some of the great fiddle tunes by people such as Neil Gow were indeed written in the 18th century. When he played, often with a cellist, at Blair Castle, it probably sounded just like that." |
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- Robert Dawson Scott, The Times |
| "A welcome trend of recent years has been the cello's reinvention as a folk instrument (or rather, in Scotland, its re-emergence - it used to be a regular fixture in dance bands). As 18-year-old Natalie Haas brilliantly demonstrated on Thursday, accompanying the California-based Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, its depth of resonance and percussive potential put a potent spin on the rhythms of Celtic music." |
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- Sue Wilson, Sunday Herald |
| "Cellist Natalie Haas has a traditional side and a progressive side...[she] is also an amazing player and in her hands the cello plays deeply melancholic lines, raucous rhythms, and lively melodies that would make even the nimblest fiddler proud." |
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- Michael John Simmons |
| "In the hands of Natalie Haas, the cello becomes a truly magical instrument." |
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- Green Man |