The Phoenix features Evan Price (from Turtle Island String Quartet and Hot Club of San Francisco) and Brittany Haas (from Darol Anger's Republic of Strings) on fiddles, Emily Onderdonk (from Quartet San Francisco) on viola, William Coulter on guitar, Barry Phillips on tabla and cello and Jesse Autumn on harp.

LINER NOTES:

1. The Phoenix - Annbjorg Lien & Bjorn Ole Rasch
Aria DiSalvio, cello
Emily Onderdonk, viola
Barry Phillips, tabla

A contemporary Norwegian tune in 7/8 taught to me by Natalie Haas.

2. Antoine’s Jig - Laura Risk / Disconnect - Jeremy Kittel
Aria DiSalvio, cello
Evan Price, fiddle
Brittany Haas, fiddle

Laura Risk composed this jig to celebrate the birth of her new baby Antoine. Disconnect is a lively jig composed by one of my favorite fiddlers, Jeremy Kittel.

3. Don Oiche Ud I mBeithil (One Night in Bethlehem) –Traditional Irish Carol
Aria DiSalvio, cello
William Coulter, guitar

William Coulter taught me this beautiful carol, which he learned from Irish singer Eilis Kennedy.

4. Grevelius’s Polonaise - Traditional Polonaise / Branle – Traditional Scottish Branle
Aria DiSalvio, cello
William Coulter, guitar

William Coulter and I adapted this polonaise from an arrangement by the Swedish band Vasen on their CD "Linnaeus Vasen". Natalie and Brittany Haas taught me the Branle, a tune they learned from a recording by The Old Bling Dogs.

5. She’s Sweetest When She’s Naked –Traditional Scottish Air
Aria DiSalvio, cello
Emily Onderdonk, viola

A slower version of this 18th century tune was also known as "Miss Faw's Minuet". I prefer the bold title and quick tempo of the "Naked" version that I learned from Laura Risk.

6. Ananda - Ron DiSalvio
Evan Price, fiddle
Brittany Haas, fiddle
Emily Onderdonk, viola
Aria DiSalvio, cello

A new composition by my father, originally for piano, featuring the masterful improvising of Evan Price.


7. The Marrying Maiden – Ron DiSalvio
Evan Price, fiddle
Brittany Haas, fiddle
Emily Onderdonk, viola
Aria DiSalvio, cello

I grew up hearing my father play this piece on the piano and asked him to arrange it for string quartet.

8. Gloomy Winter – Traditional Scottish Air
Aria DiSalvio, cello
Jesse Autumn, harp

The first part of this tune may sound familiar because Michael Nyman used it in his film score for "The Piano". I fell in love with it after hearing Jeremy Kittel perform it in concert.

9. Arendal – Harald Haugaard, Arranged by Barry Phillips
Aria DiSalvio, cello
Barry Phillips - cello

Danish Fiddler Harald Haugaard named this tune after a town on the Southern coast of Norway where he often teaches and performs.

10. The High Drive - Gordon Duncan / Galen’s Arrival - Alasdair Fraser
Aria DiSalvio, cello
William Coulter, guitar

I learned these two reels from world-renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser.

11. Bisonpolska – Olov Johansson, Arranged by Barry Phillips
Aria DiSalvio, cello
Barry Phillips, cello

After hearing Olov Johansson and Barry Phillips perform this polska, I fell in love with it and asked Barry if he would join me for a double cello version.

12. The Aran Boat Song – Traditional Scottish Air / Linnea’s Jig – Aria DiSalvio
Aria DiSalvio, cello
William Coulter, guitar
Emily Onderdonk, viola

Linnea's Jig is named after the new baby of my dear friends Melina and Matt.

13. Hasse A’s – Mikael Marin
Evan Price, fiddle
Brittany Haas, fiddle
Emily Onderdonk, viola
Aria DiSalvio, cello
William Coulter, guitar

I learned this polska from "Keyed Up", a CD by Vasen.


BIOGRAPHY:

Aria DiSalvio has extensive experience as a performer, teacher and recording artist. She performs regularly with chamber groups including Trio Dagabo, and New Music Works as well as being a lead cellist in the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers, led by master Scottish Fiddler Alasdair Fraser. A teacher for over 12 years, Aria shares her passion for music with students of all ages in her private cello studio in Santa Cruz, CA as well as at Sierra Fiddle Camp and The Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School.

Aria began her cello studies at the age of 11 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Two formative experiences in her high school years inspired her to pursue music as a career: One was the amazing experience of touring and competing in Europe with her high school orchestra. Secondly, at 15 she helped to form “Blue Sun Quintet�, an all-woman, improvisation-based string quintet. In this creative, award-winning ensemble (“Best Classical Artists�, Metro-Detroit Music Awards, 1992), Aria enjoyed collaborating with singer-songwriters, dancers and poets to produce shows that sought to stretch the concept of chamber music both for performer and listener. As part of the Creative Arts Orchestra, an ensemble at the University of Michigan, Blue Sun Quintet performed at the Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival and recorded a CD.

After earning her BMA in CELLO PERFORMANCE from the University of Michigan in 1995, Aria relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. She continued to develop her teaching and performing skills through her studies with master teacher Irene Sharp in San Francisco. After hearing cellist Natalie Haas, Aria was inspired to learn Celtic music, and began to study each summer at the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, where she now teaches aspiring Celtic cellists.

As a freelance cellist, Aria has enjoyed a wide variety of chamber music performance opportunities including regular appearances on the Santa Cruz Chamber Players concert series. As a member of the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra, Aria performed with Roy Hargrove,
Charlie Haden and Terence Blanchard at the Monterey and Big Sur Jazz Festivals. As a recording artist, Aria has worked in a wide variety of styles including Contemporary Classical, Folk, Jazz, Progressive Rock & Electronic.