"Denmark’s Harald Haugaard, a charismatic virtuoso (…) it was blisteringly fast tunes that stood out for their wonderfully clean playing and Haugaard’s dynamic delivery” -- The Strad
"”The constant star of the show, is Blum’s voice, by turns delicate and strong, and conveying powerful emotions with an ease that belies her age.” -- fRoots (UK)
“It was a joy as ever to get reacquainted with Haugaard’s lightly-worn virtuosity, his playing--like his tunes--by turns impishly effervescent and majestically beautiful, matching all-out gusto with chamber-classical grace. Blum’s limpid, luminous, honeyed yet piquant singing was an equal delight, while the pair of them were jointly responsible for the biggest “Aaww” moment of the festival..” -- Hi-Art (Scotland)
The Shedd Institute is pleased to present to Eugene for the first time the Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Quintet. Two of Denmark’s finest artists, Blum and Haugaard lead an outstanding quintet which performs traditonal and contemporary Danish music with great passion and virtuosity. Beautiful old Danish ballades are gently blended with neck-breaking fiddle tunes and it’s all brought out to the audience with great passion and presence. The ensemble consists of Helene Blum (vocal/fiddle/guitar), Harald Haugaard (fiddle/mandolin), Kristine Elise Pedersen (cello), Mattias Perez (guitar), and Sune Rahbek (percussion).