Mandolin Concerts of Note

[vkioulaphides]

If possible, Jeff, please post some audio/video eventually. Many of us would love to witness that performance, even from afar.

Cheers,

Victor

[jsmando]

Thanks Victor. I will try!
I do have this page with audio of the 2011 premier:

http://www.jeffmidkiff.com/concerto.html

Cheers!

Jeff

[margora]

Mark Davis and I will give a joint recital in the Hingham (MA) Library concert series on Sunday, January 19, 3 PM. Admission is free. I will play solo mandolin; Mark, solo classical guitar; together, some mandolin-guitar duets. Music by Bach, Kioulaphides, Narvaez, Pilsl, Goodin, Piazzolla, Diego Pujol, and Ambrosius. The program is attached.

[vkioulaphides]

Ah, the ever valiant Dr. Margo does us all proud again! To the best of my knowledge, Bob, you may be the very only one stateside tackling those devilish variations...

If only I could escape my own myriad concerts, I would so love to listen to those of others...

Three cheers,

Victor

[vkioulaphides]

Greetings, all.

On February 14th, Italian master mandolinist Mauro Squillante and his guitarist partner Sante Tursi will premiere my Desires are already memories which they commissioned a couple of seasons ago. That premiere will be part of a thematic concert on Italo Calvino's famous, seminal novel Invisible Cities.

There is much, much more I could say about the life-altering experience that the composition of this piece was for me, but I believe in principle that composers talk entirely too much. So I will let the music speak for itself. Eventually, a recording of this project will be released. I will keep you posted.

The details of that performance are listed below:

http://www.turchini.it/it/concerti-eventi/

Three cheers to Mauro, not only one of the finest mandolinists, but also one of the finest artists active today.

Victor

[margora]

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of its founding, the Providence Mandolin Orchestra will be performing in the "Arts in the Village" Series at Goff Hall, Rehoboth MA, on Saturday, February 22, at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available at the door.

Music by Ambrosius, Corelli, John Goodin, Owen Hartford, Robert Martel, Mandonico, Randy Newman (arr. R. Margo), Michael Nix, Rangel-Lira (arr. M. Davis), and Robert Schultz. Program notes are attached.

[vkioulaphides]

*drumroll* February 14th has come— a Happy Valentine's Day to all beloved.

If any of our Italian constituency are fortunate to attend Mauro's performance tonight, a friendly, informal review of the event would be most welcome! Had I been able to protract my recent stay in Athens a bit longer, I would have gladly crossed the narrow waters between Greece and Italy and made a happy appearance in Naples myself. Alas, while "Desires are already memories", dreams aren't always realities...

Cheers,

Victor

[vkioulaphides]

Premiere rights having just expired, I have freely circulated the score and parts of this composition among my usual contacts. If any members of our Café community who are not on my list would also like to have this work, please just drop me a message. It is entirely free; the only thing I ask for "in return", as it were, is that you let me know should you ever perform this work in public— for my own records, only.

Cheers,

Victor

[vkioulaphides]

Good morning, all.

I just heard that, on May 23, my concert aria for tenor and plucked orchestra Alla mia bella insensibile which I recently circulated will be given its world premiere at the Croatian International Mandolin Festival Mandolina Imota held in Imotski, as performed by the mandolin and guitar orchestra Sloga of Zagreb, directed by Josip Oreskovic.

An exciting springtime coming up...

Three cheers to all the wonderful performers who make all of this happen!

Victor

[jsmando]

Greetings!

I will be performing my Mandolin Concerto From the Blue Ridge with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday, April 26th, 2014 at 7:30PM. The concert is at the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall at the University of Colorado Boulder and will also include Smetana's The Moldau and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 Pastoral.

Cheers!

Jeff

[Jim Garber]

This is the 90th Anniversary of the New York Mandolin Orchestra (since 1924). I have decided to rejoin them for this concert on June 1, 2014 in New York City. Here's the info:

Dear Friend of the NY Mandolin Orchestra.
This year marks our 90th year as a group of volunteer mandolin players of various skill levels and accomplishments. As a group we have had many distinguished players who have gone on to distinguished careers in music.
Our current Annual concert will be a reunion for many of our alumni players and some of them will perform as guest soloists. At current count we will have nearly fifty members of the orchestra on stage for the concert.

We hope that you can find time in your busy schedule to be with us on
Sunday June 1, at 2:00pm
at the auditorium of the NY Blood Center,
310 E. 67th ST, NYC.
Donation for the event is $15.
Tickets are available for reservation by contacting us at
nymandorchestra@gmail.com
-- or you can take your chances at the door.
We will have a varied program from Bach to the Beatles with some Vivaldi and Gershwin added as well.
We hope to see you there.

[Beanzy]

Great news.
Just logged oof FB but I'll post it for my NY friends.

[Steven C. Antonelli]

Hello Jim,
So happy we'll finally get a chance to play together.
Steven

[Jim Garber]

Thanks, Eoin. And same here, Steven. I am heading down to NYC tonight for rehearsal and hoping that I can get a parking space. Last time it was dicey but I finally found one.

[eightmoremiles]

Everyone a Gibsonian! On Sunday May 18, at 3:00 pm, the Louisville Mandolin Orchestra will offer a concert at St. Raphael CC in Louisville KY.
Every member of the orchestra will be playing a vintage Gibson mandolin or guitar, with the newest models dating to the Loar era. Many 100+ year old instruments will be in evidence, including a 1906 K-1 mandocello, a 1913 F-2, and a handful of teens paddlehead A models. From the Loar era there will be some snakeheads, including an A2Z, a mandobass and a Loar signed F-5. This will be the third "Gibsonian" performance of the LMO since last fall; the sound of the old instruments is stunning. On the playlist will be "Schroeder's Idea", by John Goodin, dedicated to LMO founder and concert master Michael Schroeder, along with works by Calace, Sartori and Vivaldi and others. Try to attend and see this historic gathering of historic instruments.

[MMDavis]

Providence Mandolin Orchestra to present Spring Concert in Pawtucket

On May 17th at 7:30 PM, the Providence Mandolin Orchestra will present their annual Spring Concert at the Park Place Congregational United Church of Christ, 71 Park Place, Pawtucket, RI. Tickets will be available at the door; the suggested donation is $15, children free. All proceeds from the concert will go to support the work and mission of the Park Place UCC.

The Providence Mandolin Orchestra will present a full program with selections from many different eras and genres –from Vivaldi’s Mandolin Concerto and other classical repertoire to pieces from Brazil and arrangements of songs by Randy Newman.

PROGRAM:
I.

Suite #6 Hermann Ambrosius (1897-1983)
Praeludium – Menuett – Sarabande –
Gavotte – Badinerie

Canzone #1 Jurriaan Andriessen (1925-1996)
Arr. A. Timmerman

Concerto in C for Mandolino, RV 425 Antonio Vivaldi
Allegro – Largo – Allegro
Soloist: Mark Davis

A Lament for the Death of Polite Language Robert Schultz

Music for Play Claudio Mandonico
Entrata – Canzona – Ritmico

II.

Pedra Terra Milton Rangel- Joao Lira,
Arr. M. Davis

Kalamazoo Suite (first two movements) James Kellaris
Leonhard’s Dream –
The Children May Safely Play

Evening Sky Robert Martel

“Sail Away” Randy Newman, arr. R. Margo
Family Squabble Owen Hartford

My Smoky Mountain Home Jonathan Jensen

The Providence Mandolin Orchestra was formed one hundred years ago, and since 1989 has been directed by guitarist/mandolinist Mark M. Davis. The orchestra enjoys a reputation as one of the most active and forward-thinking of American mandolin orchestras. The PMO is dedicated to the performance of contemporary music and in the past several years has given premieres of many exciting new works.

With several international tours to their credit, the PMO has embarked on an ambitious program of joint performances with leading European mandolin ensembles, including Het Consort (The Netherlands); the Ensemble a Plectre de Toulouse (France), the Orchestra of the International Mandolin Academy (Italy, dir. Carlo Aonzo), and the Saarländisches Zupforchester (Germany).

[MMDavis]

Wonderful concept, LMO! Wish I could be there!

[Bruce Clausen]

I do have this page with audio of the 2011 premier:

http://www.jeffmidkiff.com/concerto.html

Thank you for that, Jeff. Great piece and a super performance! Nice to hear such a convincing meeting of two different musical worlds, and with mandolin in a real virtuoso solo role.

I'm left wondering if you bring your own concertmaster when you perform the concerto. The demands made on the solo violinist seem to be above and beyond what orchestral players are expected to do. The whole orchestra rose to the occasion, and the audience loved it. Glad you're getting more chances to present the piece.

[F.Webster]

The Louisville Mandolin Orchestra is doing a concert on May 18th in Louisville. The catch and what makes this concert a "Concert of Note" is that all the mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, and mandobass (throw in a guitar or two to round it all out) will be Gibson made over a hundred years ago. It is quit a collection of instruments being played by an exception group of musicians. It is rumored that this event will be the first of several filmed for an up-coming television program.

Classical!

[Jim Garber]

I hope your group is exceptional and not the exception.

Best of luck... it sounds great. I loved living in Louisville back in the late 1970s. It has been a while tho since I was there.

[derbex]

Not sure if this has been posted here before but it's the London Mandolin Orchestra Festival Concert this wekend. Unfortunately I am away

[Beanzy]

Here's the run-down for the day;

Unfortunately I'll miss it as am back down to Cornwall on Friday.

[vkioulaphides]

Good to see there's the requisite, sine qua non Greek composer on the program. And what a poetic title! Exagnismos, meaning "purification", in the spiritual, religious sense of the word. Lofty stuff...

Also good to see Travis featured as a soloist; for the mandolin to be brought to the forefront of the public's awareness, we need to "run on all cylinders", with brilliant soloists, finely honed ensembles, imaginative conductors, diligent composers, everything we've got.

Three cheers to the Londoners,

Victor

[derbex]

Unfortunately I'll miss it as am back down to Cornwall on Friday.

How does it feel to be part of an official minority Rather than the unofficial one of mandolinists?

[Beanzy]

How does it feel to be part of an official minority Rather than the unofficial one of mandolinists?

Ah well I've always been one; I'm Irish, we tend to get about a bit ... anyway there's way more kudos to being a mandolin player. If you tell someone you're Irish they think they know what you're like, if you tell them you're a mandolinist it confuses the heck out of them.

Victor is spot on about Travis. We've got a really good thing going in London with him being there to steer us and teach us so well. Even our little monthly practice group PEMC (Plucked Ensemble Masterclass) is doing a piece in there despite bing short-handed in the 1st mandolins. Then the BMG group will be over to play at the Bruchsal festival, something unlikely only a few short years ago. It's good to see the wider improvement in opportunity and quality of playing in the UK thanks to the hard work done by so many.