Cello in traditional music
Day 4 Saturday 17|02
*FULL*
Natalie gives a workshop for cello players on the linguistic nature and rhythmic drive of traditional music. Several different themes are possible, including: finding your own voice on your instrument, becoming ‘groove’ aware, ensemble playing, arrangement, creativity & improvisation. The focus is on inclusivity and building community through music-making. She creates a safe, non-judgmental and non-competitive place to learn. All teaching is done by ear.
Natalie Haas
Natalie Haas is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She and Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser have toured as a duo for over twenty-three years, wowing audiences at festivals and concerts worldwide with their unique sound. Natalie has also toured with Mark O’Connor as a member of his Appalachia Waltz Trio. As a studio musician, Natalie has been a guest artist on over 100 albums, including those of Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster, Irish greats Altan, Solas, and Liz Carroll and Americana icon Dirk Powell.
A graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied with cellist Fred Sherry, 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 music 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, and to this day, the two continue to resurrect and reinvent the cello’s historic role
in Scottish music.
Natalie’s skills as an educator make her one of the most in demand teachers at fiddle camps across the globe. She also teaches privately and in a workshop setting.
photo © Irene Young
