Celtic Fiddle and more

Sat, 10/24/2020 - 7:30am

Story Location:
86 Townsend Avenue
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
United States

    Boothbay Harbor’s Opera House crew will be sweeping out the Halloween spirits to make way for the Celtic spirit of Hanneke Cassel’s fiddle and Yann Falquest’s guitar. The duo brings their music to the stage on Nov. 6, and as with all performances this season the seating will be limited and socially-distanced. The concert will feature tunes from their new album, “Over the Sea to Skye.”

    Effervescent and engaging, Boston-based fiddler Hanneke Cassel’s style fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton with Americana grooves and musical innovations, creating a cutting-edge acoustic sound that retains the integrity and spirit of the Scottish tradition. A native of Port Orford, Oregon, Cassel  started out as a Texas-style fiddler and went on to win the 1997 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, which awarded her the opportunity to study with Alasdair Fraser. Hanneke teaches regularly at Fraser’s Valley of the Moon and Sierra Fiddle Camps, the Mike Block String Camp (run by her husband, acclaimed cellist Mike Block), Harald Haugaard’s International Fiddle School, and the Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School. She has served as a guest instructor in the American Roots department at Berklee College of Music. Cassel tours internationally.

    While Cassel has established herself as a leader in the contemporary Scottish fiddle scene, this year she embarked on a project with guitarist Yann Falquet to record the traditional tunes that inspired her love for Scottish music. Falquet, who has toured regularly throughout Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia with Québécois band Genticorum (scheduled to appear at the Opera House in June 2021), is a driving, captivating musician who helps breathe life into these old reels, strathspeys, jigs and airs.

    Tickets for their concert are available at the Opera House box office, 86 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor or by calling 633-5159. Advance tickets are $20 and all seating is reserved. The concert begins at 7 pm, doors open at 6:30. The Opera House bar will be serving refreshments. Audience members must wear a mask while inside the Opera House, and are reminded to wear a comfortable coat or bring a blanket since the windows will be open.