By Noah Davis,Special to Encore

Master fiddler Alasdair Fraser has been called the best Scottish fiddler in the world.

With a style that can only be described as diverse, he mixes traditional Scottish songs with original compositions. Ranging from upbeat dance numbers to somber Gaelic standards, his performances give a vision of Scottish music throughout the centuries.

Armed with hundreds of amusing stories about his native land, Fraser is renowned for his dramatic stage presence as much as his fiddling. And Friday, Sept. 30, he will make a rare appearance in Maine. Fraser will perform beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Nordica Auditorium at Merrill Hall on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

Accompanying Fraser in concert will be cellist Natalie Haas. In 2004, the duo’s album, “Fire and Grace,” won the illustrious Album of the Year awarded by the Scottish Traditional Music Awards in Edinburgh. The album expertly combines Fraser’s excellent and unique fiddling style with the bass and rhythm of the cello.

Besides “Fire and Grace,” Fraser plays fiddle on a number of albums, including “Skyedance,” “The Road North” and “Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle Vols. 1 and 2.”

“Dawn Dance,” his 1996 release, was awarded the Best Celtic Album of 1996 by the Indie Awards. His masterful fiddling can also be heard on the soundtracks of Hollywood blockbusters “Last of the Mohicans” and “Titanic.”

So respected is Fraser that his name “is synonymous with the vibrant cultural renaissance which is transforming the Scottish musical scene,” according to SCOTS Magazine. The master fiddler has performed with violinist Itzhak Perlman at the Lincoln Center in New York and given a performance in honor of fellow Scotsman Sean Connery. CBS Sunday Morning, NPR Morning Edition and A Prairie Home Companion have played host to Fraser and his music.

The Scottish-born Fraser now resides in California. He spends much of this time traveling around the world, spreading the music he loves to locations all over the United States and Europe.

Haas, a graduate of New York-based music school Juilliard, has performed with Fraser since she was 16. When not on tour with the Scottish fiddler, she plays with the Appalachian Waltz Trio.

Tickets to the Sept. 30 concert are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for people younger than 16. Tickets are available at Mickey’s Hallmark in Farmington and will be sold at the door. UMF students will be admitted free (with an ID) and are encouraged to buy tickets in advance.

Fraser and Haas will give fiddle and cello workshops Saturday, Oct. 1. Space is limited. For more information, call Sarah Sloane at (207) 778-4770.