American Mandolin & Guitar Summer School

Marilynn, Ralph, Catherine, & Charlie

& our 2025 Guest Artist, Chris Acquavella

invite you to join us for

AMGuSS 2025!

Below: AMGuSS Class of 2023 with Guest Artists, Choro das 3.

AMGuSS (The American Mandolin & Guitar Summer School) was founded in 1986 to promote the art of ensemble playing for the guitar and mandolin family instruments. Each session combines classical study with a dollop of Brazilian Choro music and other styles, in workshops, small chamber ensembles and an all-school plucked-string orchestra. AMGuSS is dedicated to improving the musicianship and broadening the musical horizons of its students.

Below: AMGuSS Class of 2024, with Guest Artist Evan Marshall

One of the first American summer schools for mandolin & guitar, AMGuSS has run nearly every summer since 1986. With small classes, accomplished faculty, and an emphasis on fun, AMGuSS continues on until 2026. So the upcoming session is our penultimate one!

AMGuSS dates for 2025: June 16 – 21

Download a Registration Form for 2025

or Register and Pay online

 We are delighted to return to the waterfront campus of Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island, for 2025. Check-in will be at 1:00 on June 16; check-out will be after lunch on June 21.  

  • Want a taste of what's in store for you? Download an article about AMGuSS 2022.

  • Discover the breadth and depth of music AMGuSS explores, and watch your level of musicianship soar!

"At AMGuSS we create musical experiences together."

The American Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra

A highlight of AMGuSS is the opportunity to develop your musicianship skills through rehearsals, sectionals, and a concert performance. Music for 2024 included works by Robert Schuman, J. P. Hummel, Eric Satie, Ernesto Nazareth, Sigfried Behrend, and Catherine Hawkes!

Learn about decision-making

in a small ensemble

You'll be placed in groups of 4-7 students, created and coached daily by our faculty. Ensemble choices may include Renaissance, Baroque, Classical-Era, Romantic-Era, Brazilian, Folk, and Beginner options.

Broaden your musical horizons and knowledge

Besides your orchestra and small ensemble experiences, the AMGuSS week includes informative workshops, inspiring concerts, an open mic, and nightime informal jam sessions.

On-campus room & board options are available

Single and double dormitory rooms are available in small suites, with 1- or 2- bedrooms sharing a bathroom, kitchenette, and living room. Meals are served cafeteria-style in the nationally recognized campus dining facility, with food options for vegetarian, gluten-free and other diets. Meals run from dinner on June 16th through lunch on June 21st.

Registration is limited to 35 players

There are full-tuition scholarships available if you between 18 and 30 years old! Apply by May 1st. We do not have the facilities, oversight, or insurance to accept students under 18.

Tuition reductions are also available to anyone who needs one.

For more information, to register by mail, to inquire about our scholarships, or to donate to our scholarship fund,

Email: Marilynn Mair, AMGuSS Director @ email hidden; JavaScript is required

Our Faculty for 2025 includes:

Chris Acquavella - Guest Artist 2025

Chris Acquavella is a classical mandolinist, composer& educator from San Diego, California, who currently lives in Welgesheim, Germany. He performs across Europe and America both in a solo and chamber music capacity. He has concertized as a soloist & orchestral musician with various orchestras & ensembles throughout the world such as Duo Acquavella (DE), Dartington Festival Orchestra (UK),Detmold Landestheater (DE), Ensemble Lippe Barock (DE), GER Mandolin Orchestra (USA), Bach CollegiumSan Diego (USA), San Diego Opera (USA) and the San Diego Symphony (USA). Recordings include: Letter from London, EP (2006), Duo LaRé: In Other Words (Water Village Records, 2010), Praeludium (Water Village Records, 2011), Duo Acquavella & Bach Collegium San Diego: Gimo-Samling,18th Century Sonatas and Triosonatas for Mandolin (Centaur Records,2016) and Recording of the Dawn, The Kensington Etudes Vol. 1 (Trekel Records, Sept. 2023). Chris Acquavella is the Artistic Director of the San Diego Classical Mandolin Camp. Aside from teaching and performing on the mandolin, Chris is a composer of new works for mandolin & mandolin ensembles. Some of his most popular compositions are Imardin for solo mandolin (T6457), 2014 for solo mandolin (T6629), Journey to Pazardzhik for baroquemandolino (T6568), Wishes for two mandolins (am514-28), and Yutuma for zupforchester (R9430). ChrisAcquavella is co-author, along with Alison Stephens, of The Mandolin Companion (am514-25). His latest composition is 30 new pieces for solo mandolin and mandola called The Kensington Etudes (T6755), available from Joachim-Trekel-Musikverlag, Hamburg. Visit his website for a complete biography. you'll find it HERE.  

Marilynn Mair - AMGuSS Director, mandolin

Marilynn Mair has shown the world what the mandolin can achieve in the hands of a skillful artist. Internationally praised for her concerts and recordings, she has established classical mandolin in chamber music circles worldwide, earning the title, “First Lady of the Mandolin”. Marilynn has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the White House, and Lincoln Center, and internationally in Europe, Japan, China, and Brazil. She has released over two dozen highly acclaimed solo and ensemble CDs, and appeared on numerous compilations. Marilynn published her 224-page method book, The Complete Mandolinist, in 2008, and her bilingual choro method book for bandolim, Brazilian Choro – A Method for Mandolin written with Rio-based bandolimist and professor Paulo Sá, in 2010. Her third book, The 100 – Techniques and Exercises for Mandolinists, published in 2017, chronicles Marilynn's journey on mandolin with a series of original exercises and ideas to improve practice technique and performance. Marilynn's 4th book, The Complete Mandolinist Volume 2, includes over 100 pieces of music, presented in their musical context from the Renaissance to the present day. Marilynn's latest book, The Complete Mandolinist Volume 3 includes over 60 of her compositions along with downloads of over an hour of her performances. She is at work on a new book scheduled for 2025. Marilynn is an Emeritus Professor of Music at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, where she taught courses in music and cultural history specializing in the Americas. She spends time each year in Rio de Janeiro, where she researches and performs Choro music in rodas throughout the city. As well as founding and directing AMGuSS, Marilynn also founded and directs Enigmatica-- a plucked-string chamber ensemble now in its 24th year.

Catherine Hawkes - mandola, guitar, orchestra conductor, chamber music coaching

Catherine is an Emeritus Professor of Music at Roger Williams University, where she established and directed the Instrumental Ensemble. Her interest in Medieval music led her to Indiana University’s Early Music Institute, where she earned a Doctorate in Music, as well as pursuing studio work in fine arts textiles. She was a producer for IU’s Focus record label and wrote several seasons of the Public Radio program Harmonia. Catherine was a founder of the early music quartet Melusine and the Smiling Dog Band and has performed extensively in genres ranging from opera to circus to jam band. She and her compositions have appeared on numerous recordings, and she released a CD of her own compositions, Natural History, in 2022. Catherine plays mandola and recorder with Enigmatica.  

Ralph Costanza - mandolin, guitar, chamber music coaching

Ralph has been part of the AMGuSS faculty nearly since it began. Originally attending as a student in year 2, his enthusiasm and instructional expertise-- honed from years of teaching public-school music-- along with his charismatic leadership in after-hour jam sessions quickly earned him a promotion to faculty in charge of beginners. Known for his ability to engage players in developing technique and musicianship skills, whether in the 2nd-mandolin section of the orchestra or in chamber music coaching sessions, Ralph takes beginners under his wing to ensure that they experience AMGuSS to the fullest. And he remains the heart and soul of the AMGuSS informal night-time jam sessions, where his broad musical knowledge has lead to many a memorable experience.  

Charles Moser - mandolin, guitar, chamber music coaching

Charlie joined the AMGuSS faculty in 2018, transitioning from student-who-knew-too-much to faculty and coach, introducing early-morning "mandolin yoga" sessions for those wanting to add even more playing time to their day.  He performs with Enigmatica, and as a soloist and band member in a variety of ensembles. Charlie started playing the mandolin one particular day in 1975, and has rarely missed a day since. He is sometimes distracted by the classical guitar, the electric bass, or his Fender Telecaster, and occasionally by his career as Charles V. Moser, Musician-at-Law. (BA in Guitar from Keene State College, JD from UNH School of Law). He is veteran of many commercially unsuccessful but artistically outstanding musical groups, covering styles from classical to cowboy to rock ’n’ roll. Early influences include Beethoven, The Tijuana Brass, and the My Fair Lady soundtrack.

Enigmatica Ensemble-in-Residence

Enigmatica is a New England-based mandolin ensemble directed by Marilynn Mair. Part chamber orchestra and part plucked-string double-quartet, Enigmatica performs a variety of music: Baroque, Brazilian, eclectic contemporary, and Americana music written by group members and friends. The ensemble features instruments of the mandolin family — currently: mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin, and 6- and 7-string guitars. Ensemble members come from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Their repertoire includes Baroque music by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, and Purcell; Brazilian music by Villa-Lobos, Jacob do Bandolim, and Pixinguinha; and 20th-century music by Britten, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Rhiannon Giddens. Original compositions for mandolin ensemble have been written for them by American composers Pam Marshall, John Goodin, Robert N. Martel, Catherine Hawkes, Adam Larrabee and Marilynn Mair. Enigmatica has released 5 highly acclaimed recordings, the most recent, "The Road Less Traveled," released in the spring of 2024.

    • “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)

    • “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)

    • “Mair travels by mandolin to Brazil and brilliance… her commitment to the music shines through.” – Rick Massimo, The Providence Journal

    • “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)

    • “She’s a fabulous player with a wonderfully clear and lyrical sound.” – The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

    • “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)

    • “Marilynn Mair performs Brazilian mandolin music… she plays the mandolin as an instrument for all occasions.” – Vaughn Watson, The Providence Journal (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 é uma bandolinista americana de formação erudita” — Paulo Eduardo Neves, Agenda do Samba Choro (Brasil)

    • “Mair is unstoppable… capable of evoking any landscape, past or present, you’d care to conjure.” – Mike Caito, Providence Phoenix (USA)

    • “Marilynn Mair on mandolin…touches the deepest and most engaging reaches of the ancient and passionate ‘Latin soul’.” – Carlos Agudelo, Billboard Magazine

    • “A lovely concert! We estimate your spell-bound and enthusiastic audience at close to 1800 people…” – Lincoln Center Out-Of-Doors (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)

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

    • “A sparkling concert… absolutely brilliant!” – Guitar Magazine (England)

    • “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)

    • “Marilynn Mair lives up to her reputation as an excellent mandolinist, with clear tone, a beautiful tremolo, and creative expressiveness.” – Zupfmusik Magazin (Germany)