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At their first performance in February, 2006, this international supertrio electrified the standing-room-only audience with the depth, power, and beauty of their musical collaboration. Beyond presenting the original solos that highlight their individual voices on the mandolin, the three fused their styles seamlessly to create extraordinary duos and trios that transcended the crowd's expectations and expanded the musical parameters of the project in unexpected directions. The combination of personalities and styles was just too good to let go, and so the musical mission of "Mandolin World Summit" continues as a trio dedicated to exploring the unique intersection of three lives devoted to mandolin.
Mandolin World Summit is available for concerts, workshops, residencies, festivals and other events. Workshop topics range from Brazilian and Czech music to a variety of mandolin techniques, bluegrass, Baroque and Brazilian ornamentation, ensemble coaching, or a traditional masterclass format. Press photos of MWS can be downloaded here. For booking information, . "The playing was fluid and harmonious… a meeting of people who like to play music and have this harmony between them. That's exactly what the standing-room-only crowd seemed to appreciate when Sá, Zenkl, and Mair took the stage together, their hands rapidly strumming and fingering the strings of their instruments and their eyes meeting during improvisational solos… 'Unbelievable!' one person said in the crowd after one of the numbers. 'Hot stuff!' " – Richard Salit, The Providence Journal.  |
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Musicians
Radim Zenkl, born in Czechoslovakia and now living in California, is a performer who fuses two different cultures in his musical sound. While living in the Czech Rebublic he discovered American bluegrass from records smuggled into his country. This initiated a spark that led to an eclectic array of musical styles, and resulted in his defection to the USA in 1989. Since then he has achieved phenomenal success in his adopted country, winning the U. S. National Mandolin Championship in 1992, and performing and recording with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Bela Fleck, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dan Hicks, and others. Radim tours extensively as a mandolin soloist, and with the quartet, "A Festival of Four." He has released five solo CDs, and was recently featured on David Grisman's "Tone Poets." Radim plays many instruments of the mandolin family, as well as a variety of ethnic flutes. He has a long history of inventing new techniques and approaches to the mandolin in his quest to expand its sonic possibilities. Radim brings Eastern European melodies, bluegrass chops, original tunes, and musical curiosity to the trio, wrapped in a rock-&-roll intensity that lights up the stage.
Paulo Sá was born and lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He devoted himself to mandolin performance and research from an early age, specializing in "Choro," a virtuoso style of Brazilian instrumental music. He has performed with Hermeto Pascoal, Paulo Moura, Carlos Malta, Rildo Hora, Joel Nascimento, Wagner Tiso, and other legends of Brazilian music, and toured Europe and North and South America as a soloist, and with the Orquestra de Cordas Brasileiras, Camerata Brasil, and the Rio Trio. His recordings have been released in the United States and Europe, as well as Brazil, where they have won numerous awards. Paulo has a Doctorate from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and in addition to performing, teaches at the Villa-Lobos Institute of Music and the Brazilian Conservatory of Music. He plays bandolim, the Brazilian mandolin, and has a background in Baroque music performance as well as Brazilian styles, that add a level of complexity to his musical arrangements. Paulo brings a natural feel for ensemble, a sophisticated sense of syncopation, and intricate polyphony to the trio, wrapped in a Copacabana cool that brings a smile to everyone who hears him play.
Marilynn Mair was born and lives in the USA, and studied mandolin here and in Europe. She is best known as a classical mandolinist, but lately is often found playing Brazilian choro, Piazzolla tangos, or her own original tunes. She has toured Europe, North America, the Far East, and Brazil, performing in Carnegie Hall, the White House, Lincoln Center, Tivoli Concert Hall, the Palffy Palace, and other venues. She also has released 10 highly acclaimed recordings, earning her the title, "First Lady of the American Mandolin." In addition to her solo career, Marilynn has worked with a broad spectrum of musicians, from the Deutches Zupforchester and Musica Festiva Lincopensis, to the Rio Trio, Barry Mitterhof, Rudy Cipolla, Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater, and Duke Robbilard. She founded and directs the American Mandolin & Guitar Summer School, a national forum for mandolin & guitar instruction, and is a Professor of Music at Roger Williams University. Marilynn plays mandolin and mandola, bringing elegance and passion to the trio, along with a determination not to let stylistic boundaries keep musicians apart, the idea that originally sparked the Mandolin World Summit fusion.