Marilynn on Mandolin #20 ~ Jan/Feb 2007

BRASIL

I’m going soon & staying long. Here’s a request for any of you who live in Brasil, have any contacts in Brasil that I could meet, know anything about Brasil that I should know, etc., to please email me. I’m leaving at the end of February, and will be based in Rio for 3 months so there’ll be lots of opportunity to travel & meet people – the greatest joy of travel. I don’t know nearly enough people there yet, so any help is truly appreciated – thanks!

AMGuSS 2007

is coming, June 25 to July 1st! If you are not on the mailing list, email yourself to our Registrar & Co-Director, Ralph Costanza email hidden; JavaScript is required. Flyers will be going out soon & the online application will be up as soon as I have the room & board rates from RWU. In the meantime, check the webpage for a write-up of last year’s event 2007 is our 22nd year, so you know we must be doing something right.

NEW THIS SUMMER, ME at SUMMER KEYS

I’ve been invited to join the faculty of the long-time and highly regarded “SummerKeys” music camp, that bills itself simply as “A Music Vacation in Lubec, Maine”. It’s been going on for 15 years, and they run week-long sessions all summer featuring different instruments. This is the first year they’re offering mandolin, and Mandolin Week will be July 9-13. There will also be piano, flute, violin, and composition sessions running concurrently. It’s a completely different program than AMGuSS, and enrollment is, of necessity, limited to 6 students. It’s basically a mandolin retreat for students at any level who want the maximum possible personal attention from me. The session runs for 5 days. Each day will start with a class for all the mandolinists, and then each student will have an hour private lesson with me, and will be scheduled for 2 hours of practice time in a private studio. In addition anyone can sign up for the ensemble program and work in a chamber music group with other students and instruments, coached by one of the faculty. Lubec is described as a lovely old fishing village at the end of a peninsula jutting into the Bay of Fundy. I’m excited â�� I think this is going to be a really cool week. Check out their webpage for more information.

UPCOMING GIGS

NEME has a concert in Peterborough NH this coming Friday, January 5. We’ll be previewing some new material from our upcoming debut CD (to be recorded in January), including my “East of Here,” Jacob’s “Ginga do Mané” & Jim Dalton’s “Rocky Road to Dublin”. Next month Enigmatica is setting up a gig before I depart & I’m working with a local theater to start a new music series in town, but details aren’t set yet, so I’ll have to send another email when they are.

UPDATE ON THE METHOD

Mel Bay has my “Complete Mandolinist” with one of its editors now and, thanks to y’all, there have been so many inquires about it that they are pushing its publication to the priority list. They said they should be able to tell me the anticipated publication date soon. Thanks for your support, and I’ll keep you posted!

LEAVE SOMETHING UNEXPLAINED

I still love it, what can I say? Hear sound samples and read reviews on my website. There’s reputedly a new review coming out in Mandolin Magazine next month.

ARTICLES

My article on the care and feeding of the mysterious hemiola will also be out in Mandolin Magazine’s coming issue.

FEEDBACK?

I’d love to hear from you. If you know anyone who would like to get this update, have them send me their email. And thanks for reading!

The next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” will be sent at the end of February, just before I leave for Brasil. I suppose we’ll be seeing winter around here at some point, but wearing flip flops to the annual carol sing has me wondering. Whatever the weather, Happy New Year to y’all, and may you & your loved ones & instruments have a joyous 2007.

-mm

Posted February 11th, 2007. Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.
  • “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)

    “A sparkling concert… absolutely brilliant!”

    – Guitar Magazine (England)

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

    – The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

    “Mair travels by mandolin to Brazil and brilliance… her commitment to the music shines through.”

    – Rick Massimo, The Providence Journal

    “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 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)

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

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

    “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)

    “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)

    “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)

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

    – Carlos Agudelo, Billboard Magazine