Fiddler Hanneke Cassel and her trio stop at The Shedd on tour in support of her newly-released CD, Dot The Dragon's Eyes. "Exuberant and rhythmic, somehow both wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness," says The Boston Globe about Hanneke Cassel's playing. Dirty Linen writes "Elegant, graceful...Cassel’s tunes capture the mixture of sadness and hope found in much Scottish and Irish music and give it a fresh West coast spin.”
Such charismatic fiddling has brought the native Oregonian and Berklee College of Music graduate many honors and awards, including the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion. Influences from Scotland to China, along with grooves and musical innovations from the hip Boston bluegrass/Americana scene, fuse together to give Hanneke a uniquely American approach to Scottish music. She creates sounds on the cutting edge of acoustic music, while retaining the integrity and soul of the tradition. Hanneke tours regularly with Baroque/Celtic group Ensemble Galilei, and has performed with the Cathie Ryan Band, Cherish the Ladies, Alasdair Fraser, and Matt Glaser and the Wayfaring Strangers. She has performed and taught across North America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, China, Korea, and Kenya. She has released 7 CDs, from 2001's My Joy to Calm The Raging Sea (2007) and For Reasons Unseen (2009).