Saturday, December 18, 2010

Fiddler Natalie MacMaster brings sounds of Nova Scotia close to home

Fiddler Natalie MacMaster brings sounds of Nova Scotia close to home | fiddle, violin, nova - Life - Gaston Gazette: "In the grand scheme of things, whether you want to call it the fiddle or the violin, it’s all the same, said Natalie MacMaster. But if you’re at “Christmas in Cape Breton,” the upcoming holiday concert at Knight Theater in Charlotte featuring MacMaster, expect to hear plenty of traditional Celtic fiddle music.

“Some people consider a fiddle folk music and the violin classical,” said MacMaster, who grew up in the Cape Breton region of Nova Scotia and picked up the fiddle at 9 years old. “I’m sure I call it a fiddle more often, but I think they’re interchangeable in my mind.”

Hailed as “a ball of fire, performing jigs and reels with unstoppable, foot-tapping energy and ballads with irresistible, keening passion” by the “Los Angles Times,” MacMaster has appeared onstage with rock guitarist Carlos Santana and fellow fiddler Alison Krauss. She’s also recorded with the legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and is a distant relative of singer/guitarist Jack White of the White Stripes."

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