Marilynn on Mandolin #26 – January/February 2008

MY METHOD IS PUBLISHED!!

I have been waiting so long to write those words. I got my copies just after Christmas – the day before I left for Rio. Wow. Mel Bay did a great job and really listened to me about the things that mattered most. It’s awesome (I know the word is overused, misused, but it’s appropriate to how I feel) and @ $25 for 224 pages & a 70-minute CD it’s in everybody’s price range – I’m so pleased. I’ve been getting good feed-back so far – and it seems to be working just as I set it up to. Vcool.

AMGuSS WINTER WEEK-END IS FEBRUARY 29 to MARCH 2

We won’t have a June AMGuSS this year – for too many reasons to write here – but we are doing the next best thing. There’s only one Feb. 29th every 4 years, so why not spend this one with us? AMGuSS Winter Week-end starts with a Friday evening rehearsal of the whole-school orchestra, continues on Saturday & Sunday morning with classes & more rehearsals, and ends with a faculty-student concert on Sunday afternoon. If that’s not long enough for you, you can start the week-end early with an optional full-day workshop on my new method on Friday, with sessions for students and teachers in the morning & afternoon. Both events take place @ Roger Williams University, and housing will be @ the elegant Bristol Harbor Inn. You can get more information and sign up by contacting Ralph Costanza @ email hidden; JavaScript is required. I hope you can join us for a great event! There will be more information up on my webpage as soon as I can get it there.

BRAZILIAN MUSIC @ RWU

This Sunday, January 27, Jovino Santos Neto, piano, and Richard Boukas, guitar & voice, will be performing a concert of Brazilian jazz @ RWU. They are incredible musicians & composers & I’m thrilled I could get them here to RI. The concert is @ 2:30 & it’s free & there’s a workshop on the music @ 11:30. Hope to see those of you within driving distance. Come out & celebrate Mozart’s birthday in a way Wolfgang would have never imagined.

MY NEW YEAR IN RIO

I was back in my beloved Rio for New Year’s Eve, celebrating w/ 4 million others on Copacabana beach. The fireworks were amazing & the next 3 weeks of music were even more so. The theme of this trip was playplayplay choro with all sorts of Brazilians. It was fabulous. Everything is getting better – even my Portuguese. & I go back mid-March for 6 more weeks. Yep, I’m in love w/ a city and its music. Eu estou sempre feliz no Rio. I’m so lucky to be able to have lives in two places right now.

My LIVE/WHIRLED

Series continues on Sunday, February 10 @ 3:00 PM @ Perishable Theatre with “Song-Whirled” featuring Joe Auger – song-writer and singer extraordinaire – and Anne’s Cordial – a trio of talented young women performing on harp, guitar, and keyboard and singing too. It will be a great event & I’ll send out an email with more details soon to those nearby.

SUMMERKEYS 2008

I’m teaching again @ SummerKeys this year, in scenic Lubec, Maine. I’ll be there the week of August 18, and can accept 6 students. I can’t schedule a 2nd week this year, so sign up soon if you want to be part of this one.

The next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” will be out in March, before I leave for Rio.

As I write this I’m just back to New England winter from Rio summer & ndash; a change of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. But my roots are deep here and friendship is warm, so I am enjoying winter & hope you are too. & I sure hope you’re holding up your corner of the mandolin universe with your own favorite music.

beijinhos,
mm

Posted February 6th, 2008. Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.
  • “Marilynn Mair é uma bandolinista americana de formação erudita”

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

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

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

    – Carlos Agudelo, Billboard Magazine

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

    – Rick Massimo, The Providence Journal

    “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)

    “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)

    “A sparkling concert… absolutely brilliant!”

    – Guitar Magazine (England)

    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 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)

    “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)

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

    – The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

    “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)

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

    – Mike Caito, Providence Phoenix (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)

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

    – Zupfmusik Magazin (Germany)