Alasdair Fraser was born in Clackmannan
(Scotland) and started to play the violin at the age of 8, encouraged by a whole
family of musicians. In 1973 he won the National Mod violin contest. He
graduated in Physics at the University of Edinburgh and worked as a
petro-physician until 1985, when he decided to devote himself completely to
music.
Alasdair has achieved international recognition as a lead performer, record
company artist and teacher of the rich violin tradition of his native Scotland.
Famous for his expressive touch, open personality and deep understanding of the
music from Scotland, Alasdair is always in great demand as a soloist and for
concerts with different groups. He has worked with the singer Jean Redpath and
the guitar player Tony McManus and has collaborated with very different groups
that go from the Master Chorale of Los Angeles, the Waterboys or the Chieftains
. He has also shared performance as a soloist at the Lincoln Centre in New York
with the classical violin player Itzhak Perlman. He represented Scotland
internationally in performances sponsored by the British Council.
As a record company artist , Alasdair Fraser has already edited under his name ,
with great reviews from the critic , eight records and a life video with his own
record label. Some of his compositions and performances have also been included
in Celtic and “new age” collections. (Celtic twilight, Celticlullabies, Narada
Wilderness collection, Celtic Odissey and The Road North).
His record Dawn Dance
was awarded in 1996 with the independent prize of the best Celtic album of the
year. He can also be heard in the soundtracks of films like
Titanic, The last
mohican, Wyatt Earp and The spitfire grill, he has also taken part in more than
a hundred radio and television programmes in Great Britain as well as in various
American nationwide programmes . His compositions have also been used by the new
Ballet and Shiftworks Dance Ensemble of Richmond (Virginia).
After the important sextet Skydance, composed by the Irish and Celitc bagpipe
player Eric Rigler, Chris Norman at the wooden flute, the percussionist Peter
Maund, specialist in medieval and renaissance music and the bassist Michael
McLinden, Alasdair Fraser has worked in a new project, together with his old
friend, the compositor and pianist Paul Machlis. In his most recent show,
nevertheless, he proposes something completely new, an exquisite duo with the
cellist Natalie Haas, togeher with whom he has just published his latest albums
"Fire and Grace" and the two volumes of the "Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle". An
exquisite proposal.
