The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling”, 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. They 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, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). 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, Irish supergroups Solas and Altan, Liz Carroll, Dirk Powell, Brittany Haas, Darol Anger, Jeremy Kittel, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese, and many more.
This seemingly unlikely pairing of fiddle and cello is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser. His search eventually led him to find a cellist who could help return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music, where it stood for hundreds of years before being relegated to the orchestra. The duo’s debut recording, Fire & Grace, won the coveted the Scots Trad Music Album of the Year award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy. Since its release, the two have gone on to record five more critically acclaimed albums that blend a profound understanding of the Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations. In additional to performing, they both have motivated generations of string players through their teaching at fiddle camps across the globe.
" … you would think they'd been playing together for centuries. While his fiddle dances, her cello throbs darkly or plucks puckishly. Then [Haas] opens her cello's throat, joining Fraser in soaring sustains, windswept refrains, and sudden, jazzy explosions. Their sound is as urbane as a Manhattan midnight, and as wild as a Clackmannan winter." / Boston Globe
"As many gigs as they must have played together, there remains a striking spontaneity about Fraser and Haas's music-making. He has tonal variation and attack to spare, but what makes them so consistently absorbing is the responsiveness each shows to the other. Haas is more than a cellist: she's the rhythm section who uses the percussive chip'n'chop of her bowing and the double bass-like pulse of her pizzicato playing to great effect. The accompanist's role moves so fluently between them, building tension all the while, and then they'll slip into unison and it's like floodgates opening. " / The Herald
"Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner...A positive joy." / The Scotsman
Tickets £21.50
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Most of our shows use ‘cabaret-style’ seating. This means that your seats will be unreserved, which allows you to decide where to sit when you arrive.
The stalls (downstairs) are set up informally, with chairs around small tables, for a sociable, relaxed atmosphere, and somewhere to put your drink. Cabaret seating also allows space for dancing, which is highly encouraged at Victoria Hall!
For those who prefer a more ‘traditional’ theatre experience, the balcony seats are laid out in rows and raked, ensuring all seats have an excellent view.
For parties of six or more, tables in the stalls can be reserved- contact us to reserve a table. If you have reserved a table, we ask that at least one of your party turn up at least 30 minutes before the performance start time, in order to secure your table.
We can always reserve seating or wheelchair spaces in the stalls for those unable to use the stairs- just let us know when you book your tickets.
Please note, online bookings are subject to a booking fee. Tickets can also be bought by phone on 01729 825718, or in person at our box office. Opening hours are 10am-2pm, Monday-Friday.
Show end times given are an estimate only. Doors open 45 minutes before show start times.
Settle Victoria Hall reserves the right to turn away any customers not adhering to social-distancing laws, government guidelines, and/ or venue safeguarding policies.
Tickets are non-refundable, except in the case that the event or date has been changed by Settle Victoria Hall.
