Marilynn on Mandolin #6 Sept/Oct 2004

By Marilynn | Published: October 21, 2004

BACK TO ACADEMIA

It was a great summer of music, and now I’m back at Roger Williams University donning my Professor-of-Music hat. Luckily that’s a fun one to wear too! Through all the scurrying around to get the semester rolling there has still been time for lots of music, and I’ve got performances coming up locally all fall — including one tomorrow and next Sunday as well!

MUSICAL ACTIVITIES

Enigmatica and my new duo, with multi-instrumentalist Adam Larrabee, are giving public performances in Rhode Island the next two Sundays. Tomorrow we’re playing for the Fall Festival at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol — Enigmatica at 11:00 AM & Duo @ 12:00 — and next Sunday we’re giving a more formal concert at the Roger Williams University Performing Arts Center. We’ll have Enigmatica’s new CD for sale at both events, of course! Or you can buy it online. There’s information and directions to the concerts on the website’s home page, and all upcoming gigs are listed on the calendar page. Some of you will get to hear us at the CMSA convention in Philadelphia, November 16 21, which should be a great event.

AMGuSS 19th, THE LATEST & GREATEST

I’ve posted a wrap-up of June’s AMGuSS on the site, with lots of new pictures. Check it out! I’m talking to RWU about dates for AMGuSS 2005 — our 20th! — and should have the definitive answer soon. No changes in time frame are planned, even though the last-full-week-in-June (our traditional dates) falls earlier this year. Stay tuned for updates on our exciting 20th-anniversary plans! Thanks to AMGuSS students Mary, Nick, Dr. Mark, & Lucky for all the great photos!

WEBSITE

In addition to the newly-written & illustrated AMGuSS page, there’s a cool new photo of Enigmatica playing our CD release concert up on the front page, and another new photo of the group on the Enigmatica page. I also have my most recent press photos up on the site now, available for high-def download, which is a great thing in these days of online press releases. Also, if you’ve missed any issues of this newsletter, it’s now archived on the site, so you can read them all!

NEW COLUMNS

My Mandolin Quarterly “Choro Connection” column for the next issue is on Zequinha de Abreu & the musical example is my arrangement for mandolin quartet of his famous choro, “Tico Tico no Fuba”. I made the arrangement for Enigmatica, and you can hear a bit of the arrangement, as it’s part of the new CD. My column for Mandolin Magazine, “A Classical Approach,” is on rhythm, playing triplets correctly, and the musical example is an exercise from Christofaro’s 19th-century mandolin method. You can subscribe to either magazine on the Mandolin Cafe website.

MARILYNN GETS READY TO GO TO BRAZIL

I will be going to Brazil for the first time in March, 2005, courtesy of an invitation from the Rio Trio & a travel grant from Roger Williams University, and I have been studying Portuguese intently to get ready for the trip. I took the Portuguese Intensive at UMass Dartmouth in July, and I’m now enrolled in advanced Portuguese grammar at Roger Williams Universitytaking the class along with some students who are my students in other University courses this semester. Now they’ll know for sure that the Professor doesn’t know everything!

CMSA IN PHILADELPHIA

The Classical Mandolin Society of America Convention will be held in Philadelphia this year, from November 17-21. And just before the convention begins, CMSA has asked me to give a hands-on workshop for mandolin teachers. The workshop will be two sessions — the 1st part on Tuesday evening, November 16th, and the 2nd on Wednesday morning, November 17th, ending before Convention registration.

Besides current mandolin teachers, I’m extending the invitation to you, and all players interested in a broad look at mandolin technique, to attend these sessions. I’m going to be covering all aspects of technique, and introducing the prototype of my upcoming mandolin method. We haven’t had a comprehensive method published in the United States in decades, and with most of the older American mandolin books are out of print, it’s time for a new one, a commercially available one, and I’ve undertaken that job.

During the convention itself, I’ll also give a couple of workshops, and will perform in concert on Friday with Adam, and for Saturday’s concert will do another set with Adam and one with Enigmatica. It promises to be a great event, and I hope I’ll see you there! For more information on the Convention go here.

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 out in November. Until then, come to a concert — if you live nearby — and the rest of you can visit me online at the newly-revamped website, or on a CD player near you. Hope to see you at CMSA, and have a great fall!

-mm

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    • “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)