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Ms. Mair began her mandolin studies with Hibbard Perry in Providence, Rhode Island, and continued them in Vienna with Professor Vincenz Hladky, of the Vienna Conservatory. She also studied in Germany with mandolinist, Takashi Ochi, and with Sigfried Behrend, guitarist and director of the German Mandolin Orchestra. She has been coached by English mandolinist Hugo d'Alton, English composer and guitarist, Jack Duarte, and others, including Cuban guitarist and composer, Leo Brouwer, who called her the "Angel of the tremolo." As a performer, Ms Mair has continued to develop mandolin technique and repertoire, and has commissioned, recorded, and performed works by many important contemporary composers, including Ernst Krenek, Guido Santorsola, Evan Ziporyn, Daniel Pinkham, Ann Carr Boyd, Sigfried Behrend, David Jaffe, and others. Best known for her performances and recordings of chamber music, Ms. Mair has also, in recent years, become increasingly involved in the field of Brazilian music, performing and recording "choro," an early-20th-century style of Brazilian jazz that features mandolin. She has researched choro extensively, and her articles on its history and music, published in Mandolin Quarterly and elsewhere, are some of the most complete available in English. In addition to her solo career, Ms. Mair directs and performs in a number of chamber groups. She founded and directs "Enigmatica," a mandolin octet specializing in Baroque, Brazilian, and contemporary music. She also performs and records with the eclectic "World Café Quartet." Ms. Mair is the Artistic Director of the American Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra, a group whose membership spans North America. She performs in a number of duos with different musicians, including Brazilian pianist Luiz Simas, classical pianist Nancy Nicholson, and guitarists Adam Larrabee, Sasha Lisnichuk, Robert Paul Sullivan, and Andrew Mah. Ms. Mair is actively involved in continuing and developing the American classical mandolin tradition. She directs the annual American Mandolin & Guitar Summer School, a national forum for mandolin and guitar instruction, now in its 20th year. She is also a regular columnist for "Mandolin Magazine," and "Mandolin Quarterly," writing on mandolin technique and history, and reviewing CDs. Ms. Mair is a Professor of Music at Roger Williams University, in Bristol, Rhode Island. |
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Marilynn Mair is a mandolinist who, through her technical mastery and artistic interpretation, has established the classical mandolin in chamber music circles worldwide. She has performed internationally for over two decades, appearing in concert throughout Europe, North America, and the Far East. She has given hundreds of recitals, including performances at Carnegie Hall, the White House, the Newport Music Festival, Lincoln Center, Tivoli Concert Hall, the Palffy Palace, the Kennedy Center, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She has also represented the United States at international music festivals in Italy, France, Spain, England, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Japan, earning the title, "First Lady of the American Mandolin." Ms. Mair has released 8 highly acclaimed CDs of mandolin music, including "Vienna Nocturne," that was nominated for a Grammy award.