Finnders & Youngberg, Colorado’s premier Americana quintet, will add yet another honor to their impressive resume: they’ve been chosen as an official showcase act for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass conference in Nashville, Tenn., this fall. They are one of just 13 acts invited to perform during the bluegrass industry’s biggest and most important week.
Festival Mozaic has announced its 2012 summer season, which will take place July 12-22 in the most charismatic spaces across California's Central Coast including Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Chapel Hill in wine country, Hearst Castle overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean, and Mission San Miguel . The theme, "In The Footsteps of Giants," will showcase a lineage of masterworks which inspired – and were inspired by – phenomenal composers over the ages.
The San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra with singers Susan Gundunas and Twila Ehmcke will be performing one of the gems of the Baroque music era, Stabat Mater, written in 1736 by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.
The Newport Festivals Foundation has announced the lineup for the 2012 Newport Folk Festival set to take place July 28-29 at Fort Adams State Park.
This album is sophisticated urban pop played with a combination of acoustic instruments usually found in bluegrass bands. Any further references to blugrass is hard to find on the album.
A neurological disorder called dystonia is estimated to have ended the careers of at least one member of every major American metropolitan orchestra. Dystonia has claimed the livelihoods of musicians across genres including the acclaimed pianist Leon Fleisher of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, former first oboist of the Chicago Symphony Alex Klein, acoustic guitarist Billy McLaughlin, classical guitarist Liona Boyd, keyboard player Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, and others.
Radim Zenkl, the Czech-born, California-based magician of the mandolin has been on the road and onstage since he arrived in the USA more than twenty years ago. He recently swung through my hometown of Portland, Oregon and performed his eclectic solo show to a packed house of enthusiastic fans.
Rio Con Brio started out to make one CD. As they recorded tracks, they realized they had two albums on their hands. One is their third choro album, the other is the debut of fado singer Alexandra Coutinho.
Luckily, Alexandra Coutinho and Rio Con Brio decided to make this a stand alone album. The plan was to feature Alexandra Coutinho on some tracks of Rio Con Brio's Caprice.
Caprice is an album by a guitar and mandolin duo playing mostly choro standards. It could be a challenge to make this fly. Rio Con Brio have pulled it off.
Books and videos
Raffaele Calace - Method for Mandolin
Caterina Lichtenberg and Mike Marshall have opened a treasure chest to the English reading world of mandolin. No doubt, this can influence new generations of mandolinists.
Book Vol I
Coil-bound - Part 1,2,3 - 106 pages
Book Vol II
Coil-bound - Part 4,5,6 - 82 pages
Published by Adventure Music Publishing 2010
By Reidar Falch
Raffaele Calace (1863-1934) lived in Napoli, Italy. His life was dedicated to improving the mandolin music. He performed, composed and built instruments.
Calace left masterpieces in compositions and instruments. His mandolin method from 1910 is also a masterpiece.
Amy Burcham has put a lot of effort into translating the original texts into English, restoring the old manuscript and formatting the books. According to Amy, Mike Marshall provided continuous input to wording, suggesting additional translators' notes to enable better understanding. Caterina Lichtenberg provided review and also added translators' notes, contributing her deep insight from a lifetime of experience with Calace's body of work.
The original method was published in six parts. This new issue consists of two books containing three parts each.
Any mandolinist of today can find something useful in Calace's method. You can learn to play the mandolin, classical style, from scratch by a method strikingly more modern than many methods published later. You can improve your skills to a level only a few mandolinists can dream of obtaining.
The old manuscript from 1910 is revitalized.
This is a book of thoughts going deep into the luthier's work and light reflecting from the same depth. Luthier Nigel Forster shares some of his thoughts. Dave Best has captured an essence of the luthiers work and environment.
Caterina Lichtenberg and Mike Marshall have opened a treasure chest to the English reading world of mandolin. No doubt, this can influence new generations of mandolinists.
A banner on the front page states, "The Ultimate Self-Teaching Method!" This is a strong statement.