Sunapee Community Coffee House Series presents master fiddler Jamie Laval in an intimate acoustic concert of Celtic music and ancient stories on Friday, July 7 at 7 PM in Sunapee, New Hampshire.

U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Jamie Laval creates rapt audiences with his passionate, virtuosic performances, uncanny imitation of Highland bagpipes, and engaging stories. “One of the hottest fiddlers out there,” (Asheville Citizen-Times), Jamie performed for Her Majesty the Queen and presented a TED Talk.

Most of us associate Celtic music with toe-tapping rhythms, bouncy jigs, galloping reels. Jamie promises both the warmly familiar and the bracingly surprising in this program themed towards Celtic music from Brittany, the Gaelic-speaking region of France.

Like their northern relatives, the Bretons favor bagpipes and high energy village dances. Yet the minor keys and hypnotic syncopation give the music of Brittany a strikingly exotic quality. Tarentellas, Laridees, Gavottes, and Ronds are just some of the surprises in store.

In addition to his fiddle wizardry and irresistible groove-making, Laval will also recount mythic legends from antiquity.

Currently making his home near Asheville, North Carolina, Laval grew up in the Pacific Northwest where he received his musical training at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Laval made his living as a professional symphony musician, recording studio artist, improvising violinist, and contra dance fiddler; but his passion for the haunting sounds of rural Scottish folk music eventually usurped all other preoccupations, and he now devotes himself exclusively to Celtic music.

In 2002 Laval won the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship which helped launch his touring career which includes over 100 engagements per year throughout the U.S. and Scotland.

Laval has appeared on the NBC Today Show, performed on Dave Matthews’ platinum album Some Devil, and gave a private performance for Her Majesty the Queen. Laval’s newest album, Murmurs and Drones, won the popular vote for “Best World Traditional Album” in the 2012 Independent Music Awards. He presented a TEDx Talk on the value of the arts in our community.