Unlikely pairing explores new territories of cello and fiddle

CORVALLIS - Scottish master fiddler Alasdair Fraser met Natalie Haas when she was just 11 years old and one of just a handful of cello students to attend his Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp in Northern California.

"Natalie came along and I gradually realized that she had a hunger for it, a similar hunger to what I had," Fraser said."Plus she had this amazing strength and backbone to her, even as a kid."

"That kind of confidence - not even confidence - just a willingness to launch off and try things and live in the moment of it was something I'd been looking for," Fraser said. "You know, a free-spirited cello player who wasn't going to say 'Do you have the music for this?'"

"We started playing together when I was 15 or 16," Haas remembers.

"I'm very lucky in having Alasdair as a partner because he's always treated me as an equal," she said.

The duo released their first album, "Fire and Grace," in 2004. In the meantime, Haas completed a degree in classical music at Julliard and the two continued to collaborate on tours and composing, often writing new music together while travelling.

Their latest CD, "In the Moment" (2008), features a host of original songs conjured up during their travels.

"It's very organic, mostly by ear," said Haas, who at age 25 has become a seasoned performer based out of Boston, where she also teaches at the Berklee College of Music.

"The challenge for our band is finding paper," she joked, recalling a song from the new CD, "Giga De Tenerite," that had to be jotted down on the inside of an airplane barf bag.

Another song, "Between," was written by Haas on a plane returning her from a tour with Fraser in Spain back to her studies in New York City.

"I was in this thoughtful place," Haas said. "Between sort of the Spanish culture and American culture; and between work and school; time zones; worlds; different lifestyles."

All in all the CD is a highly personal project for both Fraser and Haas. Case in point, the song "Natalie Mariah" was composed by Fraser as a musical portrait of Haas. Each movement is meant to capture a part of her personality.

There are also songs named for Fraser's fiddle teacher Willie Fernie, his father, Rob Fraser, and colleague Laura Risk, whose music has been an inspiration to the pair.

Haas and Fraser are currently in the process of transcribing their first two CDs into sheet music for eager fans. They also began the process of recording a third CD and will share some of their newest music at the concert, according to Fraser.

Originally from Clackmannan, Scotland, Fraser has made his home in Nevada City, Calif., for about 18 years. He has a wife and two sons.

"I never really made any decision to leave Scotland," Fraser said. "But, here I am. I followed my bliss."

Fraser still makes frequent trips to Scotland and to Spain, where he has large followings and has established fiddle camps, like the one where he met Haas in California.

Fraser's television and music credits are extensive. In the U.S. alone, his music has been featured on "CBS Sunday Morning," "NPR Morning Edition," "A Prairie Home Companion," "Thistle and Shamrock" and "The Kennedy Center Honors" episode honoring fellow Scot Sean Connery. In addition he has solo fiddle performances on the soundtracks of several major films including "Last of the Mohicans" and "Titanic," and directs the 60-member Scottish Fiddle Orchestra based in San Francisco.

Over the years, Fraser's curiosity has helped him become a noted historian of traditional fiddle music.

"I'm kind of amazed at it myself," Fraser said. "I follow the fiddle, and the fiddle just starts to shake and vibrate when I find things, when I find tunes that nobody is playing, and I think, well, why are they not playing them?"

"So, I look back and I find out, well, maybe the music was banned or it became unpopular," Fraser said. "It's fascinating to me. This social history emerges of where the music has been."

According to Fraser, fiddle and cello combos used to be the dance band of choice in Scotland.

"It became sort of a passion of mine to put the cello back in the center," Fraser said. "And it's fun, it's great to kind of shoot down myths." "And say here, 'let's check this old idea,' is there a reason that we're not doing it anymore."

Fraser and Haas are continuing a tradition of music that harkens back to Northeast Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet, at the same time they've created a sound that is completely their own.

"The album with Natalie is very much a kind of let's see where we're at now," Fraser said. "It's more in the land of 'What if?'"

CHECK IT OUT

WHO: Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas

WHAT: Master Scottish fiddler and Julliard-trained cellist.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 18.

WHERE: Corvallis High School Mainstage Theater, 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave., Corvallis.

COST: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets available at Gracewinds Music, online at www.corvallistheaters.com and at the door.

INFO: www.stringsconcerts.com.