harald@haraldh.dk

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band spiller i november tre koncerter i samarbejde med Slesvigske Musikkorps under ledelse af dirigenten Henrik Vagn Christensen. Koncerterne spilles under titlen “Hviden Strand” fra Carl Nielsen og Adam Oehlenschlägers sang “Underlige Aftenlufte”. Stor poesi, Carl Nielsen, bjertagende messingblæsere og masser af spilleglæde er i centrum ved de tre koncerter i hhv Toftlund, Nyborg og Aabenraa.

This year’s US tour includes the 5th edition of Haugaard’s West Denmark Fiddle School (sold out), three duo concerts with fiddler and guitar player Antti Järvelä (FIN), two exclusive duo concerts with Blum & Haugaard as well as a number of performances with the Blum & Haugaard Band in Oregon. The tour runs from June 9th-23rd.

Blum & Haugaard Band leverer i år et musikalsk bidrag til Haderslevs traditionsrige Lysfest. Med udgangspunkt i temaet “Fred Frihed og Forsoning” fremfører Blum & Haugaard Band sammen med Haderslev Domkirkes Pigekor og Slesvigske Musikkorps under dirigenten René Bjerregaards ledelse et dynamisk og fængende værk med titlen “Et Øjebliks Stilhed” på Haderslev kaserne lørdag d. 4. maj kl. 22.00. Der er gratis entré til arrangementet.

I 2018 var det 10 år siden Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band optrådte for første gang. Anledningen var en Skt Hans fest på herregården Steensgaard ved Faaborg. En masse koncerter, indspilninger, rejser og ikke mindst drømme senere giver bandet tre eksklusive jubilæumskoncerter under titlen “Alt hvad vi drømte” i Odense (Magasinet), København (DR Koncerthuset) og Århus (Musikhuset) i slutningen af marts og begyndelsen af april. Repertoiret samler både op på de seneste 10 år og ser fremad. Bandet optræder som 6-tet ved alle koncerter med Kirstine Elise Pedersen (cello), Mikkel Grue (guitarer), Mathæus Bech (kontrabas) og Sune Rahbek (slagtøj). Billetsalget til alle tre koncerter er begyndt.

For the first time the Helene Blum and Harald Haugaard Nordic Christmas Tour isn’t only Nordic. The two Danes have invited Swedish guitar player Mattias Pérez along side with Austrian fiddler Julia Lacherstorfer, cellist Sophie Abraham and trumpet player Simon Zöchbauer in a cross European cultural meeting from the sea to the mountains: “Berg and Meer zwischen Nordic Folk und Alpenklänge”.

The tour plays in:

5/12 Helios Teateret, Faaborg (DK)

6/12 Konzerthaus, Wien (AT)

7/12 Altes Kino, St Florian (AT)

8/12 Zehntschuer, Ravensburg (D)

9/12 Schloß Nymphenburg, München (D)

10/12 Dreikönigskirche, Dresden (D) FEW TICKETS

12/12 Gewandhaus zu Leipzig (D)

13/12 Passionskirche, Berlin (D)

14/12 St Jürgenkirche, Flensburg (D)

15/12 Stadttheater, Minden (D) SOLD OUT

16/12 Johs. Larsen Museet, Kerteminde (DK)

More info and tickets under schedule

Den årligt tilbagevendende kammermusikfestival Klassiske Dage Holstebro har indbudt Helene Blum, Christoffer Møller og Harald Haugaard til en koncert på Nr. Vosborg søndag d. 7. oktober kl. 11.00. I tillæg til dette uropfører et til lejligheden sammensat kammermusikensemble “Carl’s Fiddle” komponeret af Haugaard til lejligheden på Knudsens Hotel lørdag d. 6. oktober kl. 19.30 i forbindelse med koncerten “Via Baltica”.

Yderligere information: http://klassiskedage.dk

Summer has begun. Harald Haugaard does a number of festivals in Germany, Austria, Finland, Denmark and the US with the Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band as well as his two fiddle schools in West Denmark, Wisconsin and Breklum Slesvig-Holsten. Both fiddle schools are sold out but offer a number of public concerts. In addition to this he appears with the European SHARING HERITAGE Love Tree Ensemble in Berlin June 21st at the opening of the SHARING HERITAGE Summit.

More info – see schedule.

Harald Haugaard takes three more years as artistic director of the music festival folkBALTICA. The annual festival takes places in the German/Danish borders and offers approximately 30 events during a nine days time periode and attracts around 6.000 people. Haugaard has been the artistic director since 2013 when he followed founder and former artistic director Jens Peter Müller. The new contract between the board of the festival and Haugaard includes another three festivals 2019 – 2021.

The official press realize (in German):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x3f78iwx254uw9i/PM%20Harald%20Haugaard%20verlängert%20seinen%20Vertrag%20als%20künstlerischer%20Leiter%20von%20folkBALTICA.pdf?dl=0

Under overskriften “I krig og kærlighed” spiller Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band tre koncerter i samarbejde med Prinsens Musikkorps under ledelse af dirigent Henrik Vagn Christensen. Repertoiret er Blum & Haugaards sange og stykke, f.eks. Slesvig, Et Øjebliks Stilhed og Favn udsat for et 16 personers militærorkester. Det musikalske møde åbner nye kunstneriske døre og løfter begge ensemble ind i et hidtil ukendt musikalsk univers. Koncerterne spilles på Skive Theater (8. marts), Viborg Musiksal (10. marts) og Bilernes Hus i Silkeborg (11. marts).

Billetter og yderligere info: http://prinsensmusikkorps.dk

Kulturmaskinen i Odense slår for første gang dørene op for “Kyndelmissefest”, som er en to-dages festival med udgangspunkt i folkemusik. Afsætte er Helene Blums “Dråber af tid”-koncert med Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band på Magasinet februar 2017, som også i år optræder med en gallakoncert fredag d. 2. februar med udvidet band og de tre gæster Kiki Brandt, Peter Uhrbrand og Juncker. Foruden denne gallakoncert er der “talk” med Bertel Haarder, showcases med unge folkemusikbands, kyndelmissemad, koncerter med Dreamers’ Circus og Mynsterland samt fællessang, dans, jam og ikke mindst masser af lys i mørket.

Billetter: https://www.ticketmaster.dk/event/kyndelmissefest-2018-gallakoncert-billetter/435163

December means Nordic Christmas Tour for Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard. This year makes no exception. Blum & Haugaard has invited four outstanding musicians from the Nordic countries to join their almost two weeks tour in Denmark and Germany under the name “Vær Velkommen”. Key harp player Josefina Paulson (S), box player Kristoffer Kleiveland (N), pianist Christoffer Møller (DK) and bass player Mathæus Bech (DK) joins Blum & Haugaard in this festive concert. There are still tickets to get for some of the shows.

Siden udgivelsen af “Dråber af tid” d. 1. februar har Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard band turneret i Europa og Nordamerika med musikken fra albummet. Nu er turen kommet til Danmark. I løbet af de næste to uger giver Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band otte koncerter rundt i Danmark med repertoire fra albummet samt nye indslag. Besætningen inkluderer Kirstine Elise Pedersen (cello), Mikkel Grue (guitarer), Mathæus Bech (kontrabas) og Sune Rahbek (slagtøj). Turnéplan og billetsalg under schedule.

Intro til turnéen: https://www.facebook.com/HeleneBlumHaraldHaugaard/videos/10155451601711998/

The southern German venue Zehntscheuer in Ravensburg has every year since 1989 selected one of their concerts as outstanding and given an award, the “Ravensburger Kupferle” to the artist. Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band is the winner of this year’s program. The jury:

“A Nordic sound this quality was never heard in at the Zehntscheuer, so the jury agreed quickly”.

The band receives the award Saturday 4th of November at a concert in Ravensburg.

More info: http://www.zehntscheuer-ravensburg.de/page/programm/kulturpreis-ravensburger-kupferle.php

D. 30. oktober fylder Sønderborgs pragtfulde koncertsal Alsion 10 år. Ved jubilæumskoncerten samme aften bidrager Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band med et mindre sæt tilegnet den sønderjyske region med bl.a. “Slesvig” og Helene Blums version af “Det haver så nyligen regnet”. Udover Blum & Haugaard optræder bl.a. også Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Sønderjysk Pigekor (billedet) og Tim Christensen.

Yderligere info: http://www.alsion.dk/saesonplan.aspx?id=7

Times are up for the 9th Harald Haugaard’s International Fiddle School which is held in Breklum, Nordfreisland July 30th – August 5th. 130 fiddlers from 15 countries join each other and 11 star fiddlers and singers in music, singing and dancing. Hanneke Cassel, Kevin Henderson, Antti Järvelä, Karen Mose, Helene Blum, Lykke Søndergaard, Johnnie Frederiksen, Julia Lacherstorfer, Pete Cooper, Rudolf Pietsch and Leo Svensson form this year’s line up of teachers. The Fiddle School offers two public event: the teachers’ concert Wednesday 2nd in Bredstedt Church and the finale concert Friday 4th in Niebüll Church.

More info: www.haugaardsfiddleschool.com

Harald Haugaard has been asked to compose new music for the opening concert of the 28th Førde Festival in Norway “Klangen av Norden” together with three fellow Nordic composers. Haugaard’s contribution to the concert consists of several movements inspired by the Nordic nature, people and history. Haugaard’s music will be performed by the Nordic Sound Folk Orchestra consisting of 50 Nordic folk musicians Thursday 6th of July at Førdehuset. The work is support by Statens Kunstfond.

More info:

http://www.fordefestival.no

On Sunday 11th of June Harald Haugaard opens the 3rd West Denmark Fiddle School in the village of West Denmark, Luck, Wisconsin (USA). The school offers three fiddle classes, inter mediate, advanced and super advanced and ends Thursday 15th with a finale concert in West Denmark’s church. Finnish Antti Järvelä, American Hanneke Cassel and Kevin Henderson from Shetland joins Haugaard as tutors at the camp. The four teachers have planned a common teachers’ concert Tuesday 13th in West Denmark.

More info: www.westdenmark.net

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band performs a “Droplets of Time” concert in the Mozartsaal at one of Europe’s most legendary concert houses, the Konzerthaus in Vienna. The concert is part of the Jeunesse concert series and there are still tickets available. Blum & Haugaard are joined by cellist Kirstine Elise Pedersen, guitarist Mikkel Grue and percussionist Sune Rahbek. It is their fourth appearance in this legendary hall.

Tickets: https://www.konzerthaus.at/konzert/eventid/55092

Med udgangspunkt i albummet “Big Folk” møder Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band i den kommende uge Fyns professionelle big band Tip Toe i tre koncerter fordelt i Esbjerg, Kolding og Odenses nye koncerthus Odeon. “Big Folk” var oprindeligt et samarbejde om koncerter og album mellem Tip Toe Big Band og Harald Haugaard alene, men ved de kommende tre koncerter er det hele Blum & Haugaard Band inkl. sanger Helene Blum, guitarist Mikkel Grue, cellist Kirstine Elise Pedersen og slagtøjsspiller Sune Rahbek, der slår sig sammen med det 17-mand store ensemble og dirigenten Torben Sminge. Koncertens første sæt bliver baseret på Blum & Haugaard Ensembles lyd og udtryk med gæster fra big bandet. “Friheden Station”, “En lille dråbe blod”, og den gamle Serras klassiker ’99 er på sætlisten. Andet sæt består derimod af de af Harald Haugaards numre, som blev indspillet på albummet Big Folk, bl.a. “Den Femte Søster”, “K2” og “Favn” samt to nye arrangementer af Helene Blums sang “Et øjebliks stilhed” og Carl Nielsens “Tit er jeg glad”. Den store big band lyd møder akustisk folk. Kraftfulde og poetiske udtryk og masser af spilleglæde er i højsædet ved de tre koncerter.

Yderliger info: http://tiptoebigband.dk

The German leg of the Droplets of Time Tour has begun and will continue with seven more concerts in Dresden, Berlin, Weimar, Blaubeuren, Ravensburg, Esslingen and Bonn. Daily news Osnabrücker Zeitung wrote about the second concert in Lutherhaus:

“Diese Musik spricht tatsächlich eine universelle Sprache, die jeder versteht”

The line up includes percussionist Sune Rahbek, guitarist Mikkel Grue and Finnish bass player Tapani Varis. The tour is presented by Deutschlandfunk and there are still tickets to get for all remaining concerts.

Den 1. februar udkommer Helene Blums nye album “Dråber af Tid”. I den forbindelse spiller Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard releasekoncert på Magasinet i Odense kl. 20.00. Repertoiret kommer foruden sangene fra det nye album forbi Carl Nielsen, Kyndelmissekoncerterne og Helene Blums tidligere albums. Bandet er til lejligheden udvidet med pianist Christoffer Møller, guitarist Rasmus Zeeberg, bassist Mathæus Bech samt diverse gæster.

Billetter kan købes for 210,- inkl gebyr på: http://www.ticketmaster.dk/event/helene-blum-draber-af-tid-releasekoncert-billetter/418995

Harald Haugaard and Helene Blum have been appointed as ambassadors for the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 in a press conference held at the Altes Museum in Berlin December 19th.  The European Cultural Heritage Year is funded by the European Commission and it has focus on common cultural heritage. In light of a heterogeneous European social structure and against the background of current political, social and economic change, the potential for identification, participation and development will be brought into focus. At the event Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard performed two songs. The other ambassadors are:  Sir David Chipperfield, Architect, Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. mult. Hermann Parzinger, President of Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. Sabine Kunst, president of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and writer Janne Teller.

A quote from Haugaard’s statement:

The 10th Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Nordic Christmas Tour begins today. The title is “Julerosen” after Helene Blum’s song and this year’s musicians are five popular guests from the past 10 years Finnish pianist Timo Alakotila, Swedish cellist Leo Svensson, Danish guitar player Mikkel Grue, Finnish bass player Tapani Varis and Danish percussion player Sune Rahbek. The concert consists of good hits from the past ten years as well as new material.

The current ticket status is:

7/12 Faaborg: SOLD OUT
8/12 Flensborg: http://ssf-billetten.de
9/12 Hamborg: T 040/800 84 36
10/12 Minden: SOLD OUT
11/12 Köthen: T 03496/70099260
12/12 Dresden: SOLD OUT
13/12 Leipzig: eventim-inhouse.de
14/12 Bielefeld: FEW TICKETS LEFT AT ABENDKASSE
16/12 Eisleben: https://www.theater-eisleben.de
17/12 Berlin: http://kulturhaus-spandau2.de
18/12 Kerteminde: SOLD OUT

All though the 10th anniversary is celebrated with this tour the very first Nordic Christmas concert took place 11 years ago at the cathedral in Odense in connection to Odense Folk Festival. The line up in November 2005 also included Tapani Varis and Sune Rahbek besides Blum & Haugaard.

Lad festen begynde!

To celebrate the 10th Nordic Christmas tour Helene Blum and Harald Haugaard release a new album with new recordings as well as live recordings from previous tours. The album is already released in Denmark and for sale in record stores, Alstrøms Boghandel, Faaborg, mail order and as download.

The album will be released in other countries on November 25th.

Web shop Denmark: http://www.gatewaymusicshop.dk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1035

Web shop other countries: http://www.westparkmusic.de

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band optræder søndag d. 30. oktober kl. 14.45 ved uddelingen af Hans Christian Andersens litteraturpris på Odense Rådhus- Prisen tildeles i år til den berømte japanske forfatter Haruki Murakami og foruden Blum & Haugaard optræder bl.a. også DR Pigekoret, Odense Symfoniorkester samt skuespillerinden Ellen Hillingsø ved arrangementet.

Yderligere info: http://andersen-award.com/WP/haruki-murakami/

Helene Blum and Harald Haugaard has been asked to perform at the grand Munchmuseet in Olso, Norway in the occasion of the new Asger Jorn/Edvard Munch exhibition at the museum.  The performance is organized by the royal Danish embassy in Norway and takes place at Wednesday 19th of October 17.00. Guitarist Mikkel Grue joins the duo for the special performance.

More info: http://munchmuseet.no/utstillinger/jorn-munch

I great summer with memorable festivals and camps is getting to an end but there is one more gig to go before Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band pulls out. Denmark’s great writer Hans Christian Andersen lend his name to the Odense based arts festival this weekend which among many things offers a new interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s popular fairytale Svinedrengen (the Swineherd). The show includes spectacular artists from a rope walker to a clown along side mechanical robots. Blum & Haugaard has composed music for the show and perform it with their own band including Sune Rahbek, Mikkel Grue and Mathæus Bech (double bass) who substitutes for Kirstine Elise Pedersen. Svinedrengen plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 22.00 at Farvergården in Odense

More info: http://kulturmaskinen.com/arrangementer/svinedrengen

The 9th edition of Harald Haugaard’s International Fiddle School opens Sunday 31st of July at Christian Jensen Kolleg in Breklum, Nordfriesland. More than 100 students and 10 teachers from Europe and North America join each other to share music and get new inspiration from world class musicians and teachers. The school offers two public events. Bredstedt Church provides the frames for the teachers’ concert Tuesday 2nd of August and Christkirche in Niebüll hosts the finale concert with all students and teachers Friday 5th. Both concerts begin at 20.00.

More info: http://www.haugaardsfiddleschool.com

Austrian star fiddler Julia Lacherstorfer joins Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard in two interesting projects. First they perform a concert at the Czech folk festival Folk Holidays in the Moravian mountains on July 26th with a mix of Alp and Nordic music. Secondly Lacherstofer guests Haugaard’s International Fiddle School as teacher and performer. Julia Lacherstorfer is known from the progressive Austrian Folk Band Alma and counts as one of the new stars in Austrian music.

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band is performing at the Polish festival Dzwieki Pólnocy in Gdansk. Tonight’s concert at the great Sw. Jana Church is broadcasted live at 20.30. The link is:

http://livestream.com/gdanskpl/dzwiekipolnocy

German television MDR is broadcasting a show about this year’s Rudolstadt Festival tonight at 23.30. The show opens with a clip from Blum & Haugaard’s concert at Heidecksburg. Streaming worldwide is available here:

http://www.mdr.de/home/sendung666210_zc-502e5181_zs-48c98c3d.html

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band is ready for Rudolstadt Festival 2016. The band is set to perform at Heidecksburg Friday 8th 19.30, Burgterasse Saturday 9th 13.00 and at Schminkasten Saturday 9th at 17.30. The line up is: Helene Blum (vocal&fiddle), Harald Haugaard (fiddle), Kirstine Elise Pedersen (cello), Mikkel Grue (guitars), Tapani Varis (double bass) and Sune Rahbek (percussion). The band performs songs and tunes from “Lys og Forfald” and “Men med åbne øjne” as well as new songs from Helene Blum’s up coming album.

The legedary Rudolstadt Festival is one of Europe’s most acknowledged music festivals known for it’s high artistic level and loyal audience and counts at the same time as one of the biggest with 70.000 – 90.000 visitors.

It is Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band’s first visit to the festival although Haugaard visited the festival in 90’s with previous bands.

More info: https://rudolstadt-festival.de/de/

The second Haugaard’s West Denmark Fiddle School is about to begin. 40 students and four instructors will gather in the small society of West Denmark, Luck Wisconsin from June 12th-18th sharing music and the joy of playing. Haugaard is joined by Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson, Antti Järvelä from Finland and Scottish American fiddler Hanneke Cassel. The school offers two concerts, Teachers’ concert Tuesday 14th at 19.30 as well as the finale concert Thursday 16th at 19.30. Both concerts take place at West Denmark Church.

www.westdenmark.net

The Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band is taking off to be part of this year’s Bodensee Festival which has the Nordic culture as main topic this year. The band is hosting “Skandinavischer Nacht” at Graf Zeppelin Haus in Friedrichshafen May 7th 2016 19.00 in cooperation with Norwegian dancer Hallgrim Hansegaard from Frikar Dance Company, Finnish Johanna Juhola Rektori and legendary Danish singer Gitte Henning.

Tickets and more info at: http://bodenseefestival.de/start/

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band playing a short tour in Austria this weekend with concerts in Mödling by Vienna, Freistadt and Rekawinkel. The tour includes the five piece line up with Kirstine Elise (cello), Mikkel Grue (guitars) and Sune Rahbek (percussion).

The new album with Tip Toe Big Band featuring Harald Haugaard is finally out. “Big Folk” contains 11 tracks and is the result of a long going cooperation between the big band and the fiddler and composer. Haugaard’s music has been arranged for the huge big band sound and this unique blend of fiddle tunes and the large big band sound creates a very original and huge sound. Among the tunes are old Haugaard and Serras hits such as “Den Femte Søster”, “K2”, “Vesterland” and “Slesvig”. The album is available at: http://www.gatewaymusicshop.dk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=961

The first Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band Tour of the year is coming up. The five piece line up is performing eight shows in Germany under the title “Song, Tunes and Stories from Denmark”.

The band is bringing a lot of new repertoire such as a new Helene Blum song about the coming spring and music by Harald Haugaard with words by the Bohemian poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

Some of the shows have limited number of tickets left for sale.

More info under schedule.

Happy New Year!

Harald Haugaard is beginning 2016 with a short tour in the Alps including two workshops as well as two performances with Helene Blum. The workshops will be at the Musikkonservatorium in Vorarlberg (AT) and at Alte Post in St. Gallen (CH). The concerts will take place at Keffeehaus in St. Gallen and Palazzo Mÿsanus in Samedan (CH).

After a busy and succesfull 2015 we are taking a short break. We will be back late January with news and tour dates.

The 9th annual Nordic Christmas “Hjertets Lys” sets off Thursday 10th with a concert at Johannes Larsen Museet in Kerteminde. It will be followed up by nine concerts in Germany. The guests this year are the Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band together with three musicians from Odense Symfoniorkester. Together they form the Carl Nielsen Folk Band. The music and life of the Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is the red thread for this year’s Christmas tour but a Nordic Christmas music and songs and tunes from Blum’s and Haugaard’s regular repertoire is also on the set list.

The band on stage is: Helene Blum (vocal & fiddle), Harald Haugaard (fiddle), René Højlund Rasmussen (clarinets), Henrik Hou (trumpet), Kirstine Elise Pedersen (cello), Mikkel Grue (guitars), Jens Krøgholt (double bass) & Sune Rahbek (percussion).

The tour includes following concerts:

Dec 10th: Johannes Larsen Museet, Kerteminde (DK) – Sold Out

Dec 11th: Konzetkirche, Gettorf (D) – Tickets: 04346-3296

Dec 12th: Venner Folk, Venne (D) – Tickets: 05476-225

Dec 13th: Gotischer Saal, Berlin Spandau (D) – few tickets left: 030333 4021/22

Dec 14th: Dreikönigskirche, Dresden (D) – Sold Out

Dec 16th: Theater, Eisleben (D) – Sold Out

Dec 17th: Bürgerhaus, Wedemark (D) – few tickets left: 0231-9172290

Dec 18th: Theater, Arnstatt (D) – tickets: ticketshop-thueringen.de

Dec 19th: Stadttheater, Minden (D) – Sold Out

Dec 20th: Slesvighus, Schleswig (D) – tickets: 0461 – 14408 – 125

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band has had a busy year and now they are nominated for a Danish Music Award as the folk artist of the year. The awards will be revealed at the Danish Music Award show in Copenhagen November 28th.

More info: http://www.folkdanmark.dk/?p=1074

The Light & Decay tour has taken Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band to Austria, Germany, the US, Canada, Japan and Scotland throughout 2015. Now the tour is coming to an end with concerts in Denmark: Svendborg, Engelsholm, Århus, Brenderup and Halkær.

After stops in US, Canada, Denmark and Japan the last month the Light and Decay tour continues to Germany with another seven concerts. Sachsen, Bayern and Nordrhein-Westfalen are the destinations this time and the line up is Helene Blum, Harald Haugaard, Mikkel Grue, Kirstine Elise Pedersen and Sune Rahbek. The two shows in Solingen are sold out and the show in Quohren is short of tickets but for the three other shows you can still get tickets.

After a five years break Haugaard returns to Japan this week to perform a tour with percussionist Sune Rahbek and guitarist Mikkel Grue. The tour is organized in connection to the release of Haugaard’s latest album “Lys & Forfald” and contains concerts in different parts of Japan as well as a workshop in traditional Danish music. Haugaard has previously toured in Japan with Haugaard & Høirup as well as singer Helene Blum.

More info:

http://www.mplant.com/harald

After a short break the “Light & Decay Tour” has continued with concerts in Denmark and Berlin and for the next three Harald Haugaard and his fiddle will be touring in the US and Canada. The US leg of this tour contains concerts and workshops in the Midwest, Nashville and New England. Haugaard performs with trio line up including guitarist Mikkel Grue and percussionist Sune Rahbek. The North American tour ends with three shows at the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Canada. The trio will be joined by singer Helene Blum for two of these three shows.

Harald Haugaard’s latest album “Lys & Forfald” receives the prestigious German album award “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik”.

“The fiddler Harald Haugaard (…) shows his remarkable skills as contemporary composer”.

More info: http://www.schallplattenkritik.de/bestenlisten/768-bestenliste-3-2015

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard continue the Light & Decay tour in with performances in Denmark in August. Nyborg Slotskoncerter hosts a quintet performance Sunday 16th. The famous Danish Tivoli Garden hosts another quintet performance Monday 17th at Harmonipavillonen. Gallerie Rasmus in the town of Odense hosts a duo performance in connection to H.C.A. Festivals Tuesday 18th and on Thursday 20th the quintet line up opens Kulturmødet at Nykøbing Mors. Blum & Haugaard finishes the summer with two performances in connection to the legendary Tønder Festival Thursday 27th and Saturday 29th.

Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band is making the long way from Scandinavia to Alberta on the Canadian prairie to perform at the legendary Edmonton Folk Music Festival. They bring their full 6-piece line up for four performances at the festival August 6-9. EFMF is one of Canada’s most popular music festivals with more than 100.000 people passing through the gates during the weekend in Gallagher Park on the southern slope of the North Saskatchewan River valley. Whereas the Blum & Haugaard Band performs at the festival for the first time Haugaard himself has join the festival back in 2004 and 2008 with the duo Haugaard & Høirup.

More info: http://www.edmontonfolkfest.org

On Sunday 26th Harald Haugaard opens his seventh international fiddle school at the Christian Jensen Kolleg in Breklum. 120 students from Europe and North America join him and his fellow teachers for an intense week where music and the joy of playing it is the common language. The school offers five fiddle classes on different levels a long side vocal, cello and ensemble classes and was sold out already by January 2015. Dawn Beaton, Hanneke Cassel, Antti Järvelä, Pete Cooper, Kevin Henderson, Lykke Søndergaard and Helene Blum join Haugaard in inspiring the students as well as two public concerts: the teachers’ concert with Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival Wednesday 29th 20.00 and the grand finale concert with Flensburger Hofkultur Friday 31st 20.30. While tickets for the teachers’ concert already are sold out you can still purchase tickets for the finale concert.

http://www.shmf.de/de/Veranstaltung/Fiddle-Masters-91

http://www.flensburger-hofkultur.de

http://www.haugaardsfiddleschool.com