Fri, May 09
|Parish Hall
Second Friday Concerts present Hanneke Cassel (and her band!)
Join us on May 9, at 7:30 pm, for an inspiring evening with Hanneke Cassel and her band. Led by award-winning fiddler Hanneke Cassel, this dynamic group blends traditional Scottish music with contemporary influences, featuring Jenna Moynihan on a 5-string fiddle and Keith Murphy on guitar.
Time & Location
May 09, 2025, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Parish Hall, 404 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
About The Event
ABOUT HANNEKE CASSEL
Effervescent and engaging, Boston-based fiddler Hanneke Cassel is a performer, teacher and composer whose career spans over two decades. Her style fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island with Americana grooves and musical innovations, creating a cutting-edge acoustic sound that retains the integrity and spirit of the Scottish tradition. Hanneke’s music is a blend of the contemporary and traditional, described by the Boston Globe as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.”
A native of Port Orford, Oregon, Hanneke 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 and introduced her to fiddle camps and the folk community -- both of which continue to play an integral role in her life. 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 West Denmark Fiddle School. She has served as a guest instructor in the American Roots department at Berklee College of Music, where she received her Bachelor’s of Music in Violin Performance.
Hanneke is a sought-after performer who has graced stages across North America, Europe, Australia, India, and China. She has been featured at Celtic Connections (Glasgow, Scotland), KVMR Celtic Fest (Grass Valley, USA), Milwaukee Irish Fest (Milwaukee, USA), Celtic Colours (Cape Breton, Canada), WGBH Christmas Celtic Sojourn (Boston, USA) and the National Celtic Festival (Port Arlington, Australia). The Hanneke Cassel Band features Mike Block on cello and alternating guitarists Keith Murphy and Christopher Lewis.
ABOUT THE HANNEKE CASSEL BAND
The Hanneke Cassel Band features Boston-based fiddler and bandleader Hanneke Cassel on fiddle, Jenna Moynihan on 5-string fiddle/vocals and Keith Murphy on guitar/vocals. Jenna Moynihan is regarded as one of the best in the new generation of fiddle players. Versatile and inventive, her fiddling style draws strongly from the Scottish tradition, but is in no way bound by it. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Jenna performs as part of a duo with cutting edge harpist Mairi Chaimbeul and is the regular fiddler for the Seamus Egan Project. Newfoundland-born guitarist Keith Murphy began absorbing his native musical languages – folksongs, ballads and dance music – from an early age. A proficient multi-instrumentalist, he has long applied considerable energy to the rhythmic side of music, becoming a valued band member and highly sought-after sideman on guitar, mandolin and foot percussion. Together, the Hanneke Cassel Band creates a cutting-edge acoustic sound that retains the integrity and spirit of the Scottish tradition.
Please note: All ticket sales are final. No refunds.