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HAAS is the combination of one of the most sought after cellist in traditional music (Natalie Haas), and one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation (Brittany Haas).
Sisters Natalie (cello) and Brittany (fiddle) Haas began their musical lives together, filling their childhood home with Bach suites and old-time tunes alike.
It was on their own, however - following divergent paths through disparate musical traditions, countries, and cultures - that they both arrived as virtuosi and composers at the highest levels of contemporary string music. Fans of acoustic music can hardly mention one without referencing the other's work.
With HAAS, these singular musicians finally record together - in duo form - for the first time.
Credited with putting cello on the map of contemporary Celtic music, Natalie brings a wealth of world influences to her instrument, fashioning a tone and rhythmic sense that transcends any single tradition. Along with her longtime collaborator Alasdair Fraser, with whom she has released seven albums, Natalie has charted a new course through the string music of Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and beyond—all without losing the influence of classical technique or her American roots, the combination of which have been on display since her earliest years, particularly in her remarkable ease in toggling between the worlds of traditional fiddle camps and Juilliard, where she studied classical performance.
Among the most influential fiddlers of her generation, Brittany has combined a world-renowned virtuosity with a musical sensibility all her own—a combination that has gained the attention, and elicited the admiration, of some of the greatest musicians in the world. Having studied under Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger, Brittany went on to join Anger’s Republic of Strings, Crooked Still, Tony Trischka and Steve Martin, Dave Rawlings Machine, and most recently her own quartet, Hawktail (formed alongside Paul Kowert, Jordan Tice, and Dominick Leslie). A mainstay of Chris Thile’s “Live From Here,” Brittany’s fiddle has made waves throughout American music, crossing genres and generations in a new approach to her instrument.
On HAAS, these two brightest lights of contemporary strings join forces as a duo all their own. It is a collaboration a lifetime in the making, and a music encompassing travels through time and through the world From Nashville to Norway, the Celtic Isles to California, Natalie and Brittany have absorbed, adapted, and made their own world of music. The result? HAAS.
ABOUT NATALIE HAAS
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Natalie is one of the most sought after cellists playing 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. Their first album together, Fire & Grace, was awarded Best Album of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards 2004. Natalie has also toured with Mark O'Connor as a member of his Appalachia Waltz Trio. 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. 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.
ABOUT BRITTANY HAAS
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Brittany Haas is widely regarded as one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation. Born in Northern California, Brittany grew up honing her craft at string camps nationwide, and developed her unique style of fiddling at the influence of her mentors, Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger. A prodigious youth, Haas began touring with Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings at the age of fourteen. At seventeen, she released her debut, self-titled solo album (produced by Anger). Haas continued to tour and record while simultaneously earning a degree in Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University (where she also minored in Music Performance). It was during her time at Princeton that Brittany was asked to join the seminal “chamber-grass” band Crooked Still, with whom she has made four recordings and toured the world.
Haas has always been a much sought-after collaborator and session musician. She has performed on Late Night With David Letterman and Saturday Night Live as part of Steve Martin’s bluegrass band, and features on Martin’s Grammy-winning album “The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo.” Over the years, she has performed with Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Tony Trischka, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Waybacks, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas (her cellist sister), and more.
Now residing in Nashville, TN, Brittany is currently involved in many exciting projects. In January of 2020, her quartet Hawktail (formerly Haas Kowert Tice, featuring bassist Paul Kowert of Punch Brothers, guitarist Jordan Tice, and mandolinist Dominick Leslie) released their follow-up album to 2018’s “Unless.” They continue to tour around the country with their original material. In 2015, Haas began touring with the Dave Rawlings Machine (featuring Gillian Welch) and can be found on their latest releases “Nashville Obsolete” and "Poor David's Almanack." In the fall of 2016, Haas began performing as part of the house band for Live From Here (formerly known as ‘A Prairie Home Companion’) hosted by Chris Thile. Brittany also continues to collaborate with her cellist sister Natalie Haas, Quebecois guitarist Yann Falquet, master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, Swedish fiddler Lena Jonsson, and percussive dancer Nic Gareiss.
In addition to her work as a performer, Haas is an instructor at various string and fiddle camps across the globe, sharing her knowledge and passion in hopes of inspiring the next generation of fiddle players.