Music Network Presents The Iona Connection: Nasc Oileán Í (USA/Scotland/Ireland), May 7th – 18th, 20
Featuring: Alasdair Fraser, fiddle, Natalie Haas, cello, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, fiddle/voice.
“The musical chemistry between Scottish fiddle legend Alasdair Fraser and young cello ace Natalie Haas is a rare, felicitous thing.” – Boston Herald
“Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s beautiful airs had us begging for more. Every corner seemed to echo with her voice long after the music had stopped.”– Dublin Evening Press
Join Scots fiddler, Alasdair Fraser, Californian cellist, Natalie Haas and Donegal native Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh as they explore the connections between traditional Scots, Irish and American Old Time music in what promises to be a tour to remember from May 7th – 18th. Details at www.musicnetwork.ie. Supported by RTÉ lyric fm. Music Network is funded by the Arts Council.
The remote Hebridean isle of Iona is a unique place, sitting at the crossroads of Irish and Scottish culture and at the same time a sending place for monks and travellers sailing west to the New World. It’s the inspiration for Scots fiddler, Alasdair Fraser, Californian cellist, Natalie Haas and Donegal native, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh as they explore the connections between traditional Irish, Scottish and Old Time American music, following in the musical footsteps of tunes that have emigrated and found their way home once more.
The result: all the raw beauty and energy you’d expect from a community on the edge of the known world, as Haas returns the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music. It’s a dream collaboration for Fraser, long regarded as one of Scotland’s premier fiddlers and a proud ambassador for Gaelic culture and traditions. He and Haas have been creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across Europe and America, and for this tour they are performing for the first time with the inestimable Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. One of the foremost singers in the Irish language and co–founder of trad legends Altan, Mairéad will revisit the themes of ‘Edge’ and ‘Threshold’ explored on her first solo album Imeall, together with Haas and Fraser.
For further information www.musicnetwork.ie
