Marilynn on Mandolin #23 July/August 2007

By Marilynn | Published: August 18, 2007

AMGuSS 2007 was fabulous!

The all-school orchestra played a stellar concert at the beauteous Linden Place. The faculty concerts were diverse and interesting, and the student small ensembles really nailed their pieces in their final recital. I brought a bit of Brazil home with me, arranging some Brazilian choro both for the American Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra and the AMGuSS Faculty Quartet, and coaching a Brazilian student ensemble that played music of Mauricio Carrilho and others. Joe Blumenthal’s klezmer ensemble added a new flavor to this year’s events, and Ralph Costanza, Bob Sullivan, and Bob Martel continued our traditional classical and Baroque ensembles. Classes and workshops enlightened, Enigmatica and Adam Larrabee added to the delightful concert series, and the week ended with a relaxed banquet seaside at a local restaurant. We say every year that this was the best yet, and 2007 certainly was no exception. There’s a picture of the all-school orchestra on the front page of my website. Just click the link above.

SUMMERKEYS

the long-running Maine chamber-music camp, took me to Lubec, Maine, for 2 weeks in July. The camp is completely different from AMGuSS, focusing on daily private lessons and chamber music, this year with piano and flute. I had great students each week, and the sessions gave me an opportunity to use some of my new method book pre-publication. All in all, the decision to introduce mandolins to the SummerKeys mix for the first time this year was deemed a success by everyone involved.

LIVE/WHIRLED

The series that I’m directing for Perishable Theater continued in June with a concert featuring Bob Moses, percussion, and the klezmer duo of Fishel Bresler, clarinet and mandolin, & Shelley Katsh, piano and accordion. The jam session that concluded the event was smoking! The series will have its first full season beginning in the fall — more on that in the next newsletter.

UPCOMING

I’ve got a concert with Enigmatica & one with NEME this week-end, and then on Monday I’m going back to Rio for 3 weeks. Yes, it’s true — Rio is part of my life always now. I’m going to play with gua no Feijo, study at Saturday choro school, jam in some rodas, finish up some research that got cut off by the culture strike in May, and take more lessons with Joel. I also have the honor of playing a piece with Luiz Simas in his solo jazz recital at the fabulous Cecilia Mirelles Hall. We’re going to play his composition, “Meu Bandolim,” written for and dedicated to me. What a treat! For a picture of AnF, check the website front page. For info on the concerts, check the concert schedule page (link below). Stay tuned for the new band page for Água no Feijão.

NEW CD

The NEME concert this week-end is in part a release for our debut CD, “Sip a Little New”. The CD mixes jazz, classical and world music with original tunes and arrangements by all of us. The MP3’s our fearless leader August Watters sent sounded great — I can’t wait to hear the real thing! More info on that is coming in the September newsletter.

COMING IN SEPTEMBER

I’ve got a concert September 23 @ Roger Williams University to present some of the musical results of my Brazilian sojourn. It’s @ 2:00 in the Performing Arts Center, and I’ll be playing with the AMGuSS Faculty Quartet. I’ll be premiering a couple of new original compositions inspired by my stay in Rio, as well as arrangements of music I discovered there this spring. Admission is free.

The last week-end in September I’m teaching and performing with NEME at the Cape Cod Festival of Mandolins. Carlo Aonza is this year’s guest artist, and NEME is playing a series of concerts with him after Cape Cod, in Boston, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island during the first week of October.

BIGGEST SEPTEMBER NEWS

is that my method book is scheduled to be published by Mel Bay. I am now editing my second set of proofs from them & am just about ready to sign off on it. They used my ideas for the front and back covers as well, and I am really pleased with the results, that I saw for the first time yesterday. It’s a long time coming, but is definitely going to be worth the wait.

The next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” will be out in September, when I’m back from Brazil. There will be Brazil updates posted on my website between now and then, so check in often.

Hope y’all get some beach time in before the lazy days of summer give way to September’s new academic year. It’s sure to be a long winter coming, and we’ll all need to store up a little sunshine to get us through.
abraçoes,
Marilynn

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

    – Carlos Agudelo, Billboard Magazine

    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)

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

    “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)

    “A sparkling concert… absolutely brilliant!”

    – Guitar Magazine (England)

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

    “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)

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

    – Mike Caito, Providence Phoenix (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)

    “Marilynn Mair é uma bandolinista americana de formação erudita”

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

    “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)

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

    – Zupfmusik Magazin (Germany)

    “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)

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

    – The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)