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.
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.
Old News
New solo album from Chris Acquavella
Chris Acquavella annouces the release of his new solo album called Praeludium. This project is a musical journey of solo classical mandolin repertoire dating from the baroque period to contemporary.
By Reidar Falch
Chris Acquavella
CD cover - Praeludium
Chris Acquavella has finished a long term project. He says, "The tracks on this album is repertoire from my solo concert recitals that I have been performing since studying at Trinity College of Music."
"Praeludium is my attempt to introduce new audiences to this wonderfully charming music performed on my favorite instruments: the mandolin & baroque mandolino. I recorded this CD on both modern and baroque mandolins, using period techniques," he says.
Chris spent about two months this last summer recording the album at Studio West in San Diego CA. "Because I still had to perform, teach and make a living, I would record one day and then take a couple of weeks off. All in all, I spent three full days (8 hours) recording the tracks, a couple of more days mixing and a few more mastering. However, I have been so excited for the release of this album that it seems like it took forever to finish this album," he says.
He is pleased, "The recording process went pretty smoothly. My engineer, Darrell Harvey, was really good with keeping the process moving along and making sure that I was comfortable in the studio. I chose to work with Darrell because of his work on Christopher Parkening albums. He did a fabulous job dialing in the right tone for my mandolin & baroque mandolino by Brian N. Dean. I feel that this project was well planned and we did well to record the pieces in an easy going manner."
Chris is really happy with this project, "Finally I have a CD were the recorded mandolin actually sounds like my instrument. I wasn't very happy with the tone of my instrument on the Duo LaRe 'In Other Words' album. I love the tracks on that cd but almost wish that I would have recorded it with an F5 mandolin."
He continues, "However, Praeludium, is an exact representation of what I mostly do for a living. I love touring across the globe, performing solo repertoire and giving workshops. This new CD contains a lot of the repertoire that I perform while on tour. I really hope that everyone enjoys this CD as much as I have making it."
According to Chris, the classical mandolin is once again growing in popularity, "Its repertoire is rediscovered and enjoyed by performers and concert audiences around the globe. The solo mandolin has a captivating and haunting quality, with its repertoire as sweet, romantic and virtuosic of that of the violin or guitar."
The cd is currently available and Praeludium will have an official release during the 2011 CMSA Convention in Baltimore.