Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to Play Hannaford Hallat USM Portland, 4/25

Portland Ovations brings the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc comprised of Olav Luksengård Mjelva (Norway), Anders Hall (Sweden) and Kevin Henderson (Shetland) to Hannaford Hall, USM Portland for an evening concert on April 25th at 8PM.

Olav is an award winning musician who is also a member of the acclaimed band SVER and widely recognized as one of Norway's finest fiddle players; Anders, also a member of SVER is continually cited as one of Sweden's leading fiddle players across a broad range of styles, while Kevin, one of Shetlands finest fiddle players, is a member of such bands as Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers' Bid and Session A9.

Considered three of the finest young fiddlers working in the international folk music scene today. They will be performing reels, polskas and ballads with mesmerizing fervor and graceful bowing, the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc brilliantly integrates old traditions with innovative ideas and expressions while blending their own individual styles to create a sound that is distinct, expressive and invigorating. The Herald states, "Seldom before have three fiddles sounded so much like four and at times five instruments without using electronic trickery."

At 5pm Portland Ovations invites all members of our fiddle-playing community to bring their instruments and join the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc at Hannaford Hall for an informal music-share before the concert. Whatever your style, bluegrass, maritime, southern, roundspeak - you are welcomed to join the trio for a fun afternoon of lively music.

One hour prior to the performance at 7pm Ovations Offstage offers a pre-performance lecture "Fiddle Dialects" with Don Roy and Erica Brown from 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth, will play and speak about fiddle dialects, including Old-Time, Bluegrass, Celtic, Franco-Acadian and more.

Tickets for Nordic Fiddlers Bloc are $32.40 for Ovations' Members, $36 for the general public and a limited amount of $10 student tickets are also available. The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc performance is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation. To purchase tickets visit www.portlandovations.org, call PortTix at 207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.