`The first notes sound classical, with lush and proper piano chords meeting the high sweet arc of a violin. As the rhythmic pulse thickens, you're sure it's traditional music, some dark, ancient Celtic air. Then, Laura Risk's fiddle pushes the melody's pedal to the floor, and you don't care what it is. It's just beautiful." The Boston Globe

LAURA RISK

106 Harvard Ave, Medford, MA 02155 (781) 488-5084 Irisk@wellesley.edu

Laura Risk has captivated audiences internationally with her expressive performances of Scottish, Irish, and Cape Breton fiddle music. "A virtuoso fiddler. Her fluency in fiddle styles from Cape Breton to Appalachia is remarkable;" says The Boston Globe. Says Dirty Linen, "Her fiddling skips weightlessly... with flawless ornamentation and expansive phrasing"; Grammy-winning filmmaker Ken Burns calls her playing "a revelation and achingly beautiful:" After a two-year stint with acclaimed American-roots band Cordelia's Dad, Laura now plays with pianist Jacqueline Schwab, with Celtic ensembles Greenfire and Ensemble Galilei, and with percussive dancer Sandy Silva. Laura is also a Music Instructor at Wellesley College.

On her new recording Celtic Dialogue (Dorian), Laura joins forces with pianist Jacqueline Schwab in a musical exploration of the classical/traditional crossover in 18th-century Scotland. The duo's unusual approach to this rarely-heard repertoire combines scholarly research with modern improvisations informed by a traditional sensibility. "Beautifully performed," says The Washington Post. Declares WBUR (Boston), "[Celtic Dialogue] presents both artists at their ground-breaking best, very traditional yet compositionally elegant and provocatively improvisational... Equal parts classical chamber set and wild Celtic ceilidh..:"

Laura also works with hammer dulcimer player Ken Kolodner in the Celtic ensemble Greenfire. Their first album, Walking Stones, has sold over 30,000 copies and was Allegro Corporation's # 1 World Music Title for over three months. In October 1998 it was named one of BMG's Top 15 Bestsellers (Encore Record Club). 'The beauty and the beat of Celtic music are always wellserved," says The Washington Post of Walking Stones, citing Risk's "bittersweet lyricism... [and] aggressive attack. " Recent Greenfire performances include Baltimore's Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and an appearance as soloists with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. The latter concert, which included a suite of traditional tunes arranged for Greenfire and string orchestra, was broadcast to over 500,000 viewers in the Washington DC area on WMAR TV (ABC).

Laura has also performed with Celtic artists John Whelan, Alasdair Fraser, Aine Minogue, Athena Tergis, and Helicon; Turtle Island String Quartet founder Darol Anger; American roots band Cordelia's Dad; Celtic/early music group Ensemble Galilei; percussive dancer Sandy Silva; the Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra and the American Bach Soloists. She has appeared at many of North America's most prestigious acoustic music festivals, including the Newport, Winnipeg, and Philadelphia Folk Festivals; Celtic Colors (Cape Breton Island); and City Stages (Birmingham, AL). She is in high demand as a fiddling instructor and has taught at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Math from the University of California at Berkeley.

Selected Discography