Marilynn on Mandolin #35 ~ Sept/Oct 2009

By Marilynn | Published: October 8, 2009

Happy birthday to me, and let the new year begin! My blog rolls ahead, as I’ve decided to go on past my original one-year goal and just put up a year-end retrospective of all my weekly self-portraits—fun!  And the week 51 sonnet was written about playing baroque music. Check it out! http://mairmusic.wordpress.com/

UPCOMING MUSIC ~ I’ve got a pretty exciting month ahead for performances. My webpage situation is still not resolved—although edging in that direction—so here’s the info:

Saturday, October 24, Will Ayton, composer & viola da gamba, recorder Catherine Hawkes and I are performing a program of Will’s music for a scholarship fundraiser @ RWU. We’ve been playing as a trio since August and will perform twice at this gala event. My DVD, “Rio Luz” will also be shown, and copies of my new CD will be given out to donors. Tickets are a steep $250, butI include the info in case you are in a donor frame of mind. The event runs from 6:00 to 9:00 at the new Global Heritage Hall on campus.

Sunday, October 25 the “October String Fest,” will be held @ RWU, as part of alumni weekend.Enigmatica will perform, and the Mair/Martel Duo, along with the bluegrass band the Pegheads, and the cajun band Magnolia. Admission is free, and the concert is open to the public. Come hear some great music and pick up a copy of Enigmatica’s new CD, “The Blue House, and hopefully a copy of my new Brazilian disc as well. The concert will be held on the RWU campus @ the Performing Arts Center.

From October 27 to November 1, I will be performing and teaching @ the Classical Mandolin Society of America’s annual convention in Dayton, Ohio. Bob Martel and I are playing two programs—one classical and one Brazilian—and they’ll feature our own compositions as well. I’ll be running the 2-day Teachers’ Workshop just before the convention starts, focusing on how to instruct using my new method book, “The Complete Mandolinist.” Bob & I will also be giving workshops during the convention, and there are lots of other activities, including a chance to play in the world’s largest mandolin & guitar orchestra. Don’t miss it! More info here: http://daytonmandolin.net/

Back in RI, on Sunday, November 8th @ 5:00 PM,  the fourth season of my “Live/Whirled Series” at Perishable Theatre begins with “String-Whirled”. The concert will feature the music of Will Ayton and Robert N. Martel for plucked strings, performed by a host of musicians including the composers and Enigmatica. Perishable Theatre is located @ 95 Empire Street in downtown Providence. Admission is $10. The series continues in December, February and March. A flyer is attached to this newsletter fyi. Even If you live too far away to attend, consider sending a donation to keep this innovative series going.

AMGuSS RETURNS ~ We promised to be back, and so we are. From February 26-28, 2010, the American Mandolin & Guitar Suitcase Seminars will be presenting a mandolin orchestra week-end on the campus of Roger Williams University in Bristol RI. Workshops on the variety of musical forms, developing techniques for performing more expressively, and other topics will combine with orchestra rehearsals and sectionals, and the group will perform for the public on Sunday afternoon. Join us for a weekend dedicated to the fine art of playing in a conducted ensemble of plucked strings. Mark your calendars– more details will be upcoming.

NEW CD~ I am eagerly awaiting shipment of my new all-Brazilian CD, “Meu Bandolim”. I’ve been recording live with Brasileiros on tour–Trio Águamarina for an afternoon last October,pianist Luiz Simas for an evening in April, and I finished up the disc recording w/ my band Água no Feijåo in Rio in June. The CD features choro written by bandolimists, including 4 of my own pieces. It’ll be my first Brazilian recording since I began my life in Rio, and my playing has evolved, becoming more idiomatic, more true to the Carioca style. The big CD release will be @ CMSA in Dayton, and other concerts are planned for RI and Rio throughout 2010. I’ll send an email when it is up on my webpage and you can buy it, which will certainly will be before this year ends.

The next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” will be out in November. I hope to see some of you @ CMSA, or those of you who live nearby at one of the RI concerts. If you’re in neither category there will be new CDs to buy online very soon. Enjoy the autumn!

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  • “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)

    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)

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

    – Mike Caito, Providence Phoenix (USA)

    “A sparkling concert… absolutely brilliant!”

    – Guitar Magazine (England)

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

    – Carlos Agudelo, Billboard Magazine

    “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)

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

    – Rick Massimo, The Providence Journal

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

    “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)

    “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)

    “A lovely concert! We estimate your spell-bound and enthusiastic audience at close to 1800 people…”

    – Lincoln Center Out-Of-Doors (USA)

    “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 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)