Yes I know I’m late. Sorry. I really did start to write this newsletter in early July, but have been waiting ever since for my webmaster to update my website, so I’d have somewhere to refer you for more info. Alas, she seems to have disappeared, so I am proceeding here w/out back-up. Anyone who knows how to get access to one’s own webpage to move & update it, please let me know, but I digress…
AMGuSS in June was a wonderful week. Longtime students returned from across the country, and new students arrived for the AMGuSS experience. Great classes, concerts, amazing student chamber ensembles and a stellar AMGO performance made it a week to remember. And as we unplug from our last-week-in-June format we are looking forward to a whole new look. The American Mandolin & Guitar Suitcase Seminars is now accepting bookings for on-site weekend workshops. So think about inviting us to your neighborhood for a short stay. And we’re planning a series of weekends in Rhode Island as well. The first will be February 26-28, 2010. Mark your calendars– more details will be upcoming.
THE BLUE HOUSE ~ is the name of Enigmatica’s 2nd and defining CD, that was released in late June with a debut concert at AMGuSS. The disc includes music from some of our favorite composer friends— Ann Carr Boyd, Will Ayton, Adam Larrabee, John Goodin— plus the piece that made me fall in love w/ mandolin decades ago— Chacarera from Suite Argentina– along with music from Brazil, Cuba, and Stravinsky (really, the man should be considered a country). The CD is not up on my webpage, alas, due to my missing webmaster, but you can place an order from my webpage for any CD and just tell me in your comments that you really want “The Blue House” and I’ll send it. Yes, dumb, but it will work. You can also buy “The Blue House” on the CD Baby and Elderly Music websites. It’s an extraordinary release from a group with a firm vision of what 21st century mandolin is all about. “Chacarera” is up on the Mandolin Café webpage, if you want to listen: http://www.mandolincafe.net/mp3/enigmatica.mp3
UPCOMING CONCERTS ~ This will be your only notice since my webpage concert calendar hasn’t been updated lately, so I’ll put full info here.
This Sunday, September 27, I’m joining with 7 other music faculty @ RWU for our 1st annual Fall Faculty Concert. You’ll hear mandolin on pieces by Will Ayton and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, along with music from Handel to Gilbert & Sullivan. All this & snacks, and it’s free. 2:00 PM Sunday at the RWU Performing Arts Center, Bristol RI.
On Sunday, October 25 at the same location, you can hear Enigmatica perform, along w/ Mair & Martel, the Cajun band Magnolia, and the bluegrass band The Pegheads. The “October String Fest” will run from noon until 3:00, and admission is free.
At the end of October I’m flying to Dayton, Ohio, to perform for the Classical Mandolin Society of America. I’m also running their 2-day Teachers’ Workshop, focusing on my method book, “The Complete Mandolinist”. More info here: http://daytonmandolin.net/news/news.htm
MY NEW BRASILEIRO RECORDING ~ My new solo CD, “Meu Bandolim,” is almost ready to ship to the manufacturer, and I will have it in time for CMSA. I’ve been recording live with Brasileiros on tour– Trio Águamarina for an afternoon last October, pianist Luiz Simas for an evening in April, and I finished up the disc recording w/ my band Água no Feijåo in Rio in June. The CD features choro written by bandolimists, including 4 of my own pieces. It’ll be my first Brazilian recording since I began my life in Rio, and my playing has really changed, becoming more idiomatic each time I return. You’ll hear the results of my Rio adventure soon! More info next month…
CELEBRATING A YEAR ~ I continue to keep my daily blog of photos, sonnets, and ideas going, and on October 16th will reach the one year mark. Almost 2000 people have visited, and if you want to read & check out the photos it’s here: http://mairmusic.wordpress.com/ I’ve heard from some of you who are scrolling back to the beginning to read the posts in order, which I think is really cool. I’m having fun with this project and I hope you are too! Check it out and let me know what you think, and send me a comment on whether you think I should end it on October 16th, or continue on to celebrate another year. I’m going to see what the voting indicates before deciding what to do.
The next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” will be out in October. I hope to see some of you @ CMSA, or those of you who live nearby this Sunday or October 25 @ RWU. If you’re in neither category just get yourself a copy of the new Enigmatica CD—you won’t be sorry!
Fall is lovely here in New England, although such a busy time. When I send this next I hope all the uncertainties of the past couple of months will be resolved, I’ll have a new CD in hand, an updated webpage to refer you to, and new adventures planned.
