Marilynn on Mandolin #2 ~ Jan/Feb 2004

By Marilynn | Published: February 27, 2004

AMGuSS 2004 INFORMATION IS NOW ONLINE!

June 21-27, 2004 ~ Save the dates for our 19th year! Check the website for the new information, fees, and a downloadable application. Brochures will be sent out soon. If you want to receive one and haven’t attended AMGuSS before, email your ground-mail address to email hidden; JavaScript is required.

ANNOUNCING AMGuSS 2004 GUEST ARTIST

EVAN MARSHALL, California mandolinist extraordinaire, Evan will play the Friday night concert, give workshops on technique & duo-style mandolin, and introduce his new mandolin method books. He’ll also play the Hummel Mandolin Concerto w/ the American Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra, a group that could include you, if you decide to join us as a student for AMGuSS 2004.

THE FABULOUS AMGuSS FACULTY from 2003 will be back as well:
– Bob Sullivan (AMGO conductor, teaching guitar, mandolin, mandola, mando-cello, coaching chamber music, and performing);
– Ralph Costanza (Registrar, teaching mandolin, coaching beginners in chamber music, and performing);
– Bob Asprinio (teaching mandola and mandocello, coaching chamber music, and performing);
– and yours truly, teaching mandolin, giving workshops in Brazilian music, coaching chamber music, and performing, of course.

ALSO NEW FOR AMGuSS 2004~ the multi-talented Adam Larrabee will be joining our faculty roster. Adam is a jazz guitarist who also plays mandolin and mandocello. He’ll teach all of that, give workshops in jazz theory and chord voicing, coach, and perform.

MARILYNN MAKES CoMando’s “BEST OF 2003”

I’m thrilled to be part of the CoMando “Best” list for “Best Classical Recording,” “Best Choro Recording,” “Best CGOW,” (Celebrity Guest of the Week) and (what does this mean?) “Best Girl”. Thanks, y’all!

MY 2nd WEEK AS CGOW in December was just as much fun as the first in July. You can check out nearly 100 Q&A online from both sessions here.

NEW ARTICLES ON THE SITE

I put my Brazilian choro articles online this fall, and have been adding new articles on Brazilian music, and mandolin technique since. I’ll continue to add articles this month, so check back to see what’s new.

DECEMBER GIG UPDATES

I was invited to play with the Gardner Chamber Ensemble for their “Vivaldi in the Courtyard” Series at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Boston, on December 20. Bob Sullivan and I played the two solo mandolin parts for Vivaldi’s “Molti Strumenti” concerto, under the direction of Paula Robison, renown flutist. Great fun! Sean Winkler & I wrapped up 2003 w/ an SRO performance at Blithewold Mansion, in Bristol, RI, on December 28th.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY MUSIC ACTIVITIES

January and February are traditionally the months I make time for new musical projects and work on writing/arranging. This year I’m working on a new piece, “3-4-3 (3/4),” a short suite for mandolin, bass, and percussion, that I’ve been commissioned to write for the 3rd anniversary of “Three Dances,” a Minneapolis dance group. The premiere will be March 4th. (So now you may understand the title.) My octet Enigmatica is rehearsing intensely, refining pieces for our first CD, to be recorded this spring, and also preparing for the premiere, on March 12, of a new piece written for us by Boston composer, Pamela Marshall. There are other plans afoot, but they’re not ready for print just yet…

NEW COLUMNS

The Winter issues should be in the mail, so hang tight. My Mandolin Quarterly “Choro Connection” column for the new issue is on Chiquina Gonzaga, 19th-century composer and innovator in the style. The music example is her composition, “Nao Se Impressione” (Don’t Be Impressed). I’ve also compiled a “Choro Top 40” list for 1902-1932. My column for Mandolin Magazine, “A Classical Approach,” is on expressive tremolo, and features the music for “Celeste Aida” by Guiseppe Verdi, in lead-sheet format. You can subscribe to either magazine on the Mandolin Cafe website.

FEEDBACK?

I’d love to hear from you. If you know anyone who would like to get this update, have them send me their email. And thanks for reading!

I’ll send the next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” in a couple of months. In the meantime, stay warm, play music, and don’t forget to sign up for AMGuSS– it looks like 2004 will be a great year!

-mm

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  • “Mair travels by mandolin to Brazil and brilliance… her commitment to the music shines through.”

    – Rick Massimo, The Providence Journal

    “Marilynn Mair has always had the keen ability to balance classical mandolin traditions and repertoire, while constantly breaking new musical ground…a superb and versatile mandolinist and composer.”

    – – Butch Baldassari, Mandolin Magazine (USA)

    “Marilynn Mair lives up to her reputation as an excellent mandolinist, with clear tone, a beautiful tremolo, and creative expressiveness.”

    – Zupfmusik Magazin (Germany)

    “A brilliant concert from beginning to end…The performance was extraordinary.”
    – La Rioja (Spain)

    Marilynn Mair on mandolin…touches the deepest and most engaging reaches of the ancient and passionate ‘Latin soul’.

    – Carlos Agudelo, Billboard Magazine

    “Marilynn Mair é uma bandolinista americana de formação erudita”

    — Paulo Eduardo Neves, Agenda do Samba Choro (Brasil)

    “A sparkling concert… absolutely brilliant!”

    – Guitar Magazine (England)

    “Mair displays an exceptionally gifted approach to this music, using her formidable mandolin technique with grace and sensitivity… It’s the next best thing to a trip to Rio.”

    – David McCarty, Mandolin Magazine (USA)

    “The final repeat of the melody transmitted a strong feeling of peace and tenderness that escaped no one in the audience. It is this sensitivity and subtleness that characterized the overall performance.”

    – Brian Hodel, Guitar Review (USA)

    “She’s a fabulous player with a wonderfully clear and lyrical sound.”

    – The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

    “Stepping back to the 18th-century masterworks gave her the opportunity to highlight her technique with a fresh light… her playing is thoughtful, vibrant and a delight to listen to.”

    — Terence Pender, Mandolin Quarterly (USA)

    Bring a talented ensemble of gifted musicians together playing some of the great concertos and chamber music pieces of the 1700s, present the extraordinary classical mandolinist Marilynn Mair front and center, and you have a rare combination of the right musicians performing the right music at the right time.

    – David McCarty, Mandolin Magazine (USA)

    “Marilynn Mair performs Brazilian mandolin music… she plays the mandolin as an instrument for all occasions.”
    – Vaughn Watson, The Providence Journal (USA)

    “Marilynn Mair acquits herself very well indeed, a most accomplished player, able to deal with the many intricacies the repertoire demands of her.”

    – Chris Kilvington, Classical Guitar (England)

    “Smudging the lines between folk and classical is an intrepid endeavor… Mair’s a superb mandolin player who has brought the instrument to unexpected places…”

    – Jim Macnie, The Providence Phoenix (USA)

    “A lovely concert! We estimate your spell-bound and enthusiastic audience at close to 1800 people…”

    – Lincoln Center Out-Of-Doors (USA)

    “Mair is unstoppable… capable of evoking any landscape, past or present, you’d care to conjure.”

    – Mike Caito, Providence Phoenix (USA)