Any mandolin instructors in St. Louis?

[mandowood]

I am moving to St. Louis next month to start a graduate program and was hoping to get some advance information on an instructor to start taking lessons from. #I'm a fairly new mandolin player, and feel like some professional instruction would be very helpful. #I'm also curious about the bluegrass scene. #Are there any good music stores, or regular jams to get in on? Anybody got any leads? #Thanks.

[John Flynn]

You are in luck. St. Louis has a great scene for bluegrass, old-time, celtic and blues.

The main acoustic music store is Music Folk. They have the best selection and the best prices. Pretty much all the staff are pro and semi-pro acoustic musicians. They have some good instructors there. Andy Ploof, one of the owners, is a great mando player and teacher for advanced students. Colin Blair is great fiddler and banjo player, but also a good beginning/ intermediate mando instructor. Music Folk also hosts jams, sponsors workshops and supports local music events.
http://www.musicfolk.com/

The Folk School is an organization devoted to teaching old-time and bluegrass. They offer group classes aligned by instrument, type of music and level of proficiency. Colleen Heine is the owner/manager and she is great to deal with. Keith Dudding is the mando instructor. Keith is the DJ for a local bluegrass/old-time radio show and is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about those genres. The Folk School has jams for students and friends on many Saturday afternoons.
http://www.folk-school.com/

Fazio's Frets and Friends is another store that supports acoustic music. They have an instructor, Troy Weidenheimer, who runs bluegrass jamming classes. The fiddler in my band has been in the three of his classes now and reports that they are a blast. Troy also teaches mando there, as does Dave Anderson. Dave is really good for jazz mando and music theory as applied to mando.
http://www.faziosmusic.com/

If you have any specific questions, PM me.

[jamesrenz]

I agree with the previous post re. Music Folk. #It is the best acoustic shop in town and the oldest. #On any day you may walk in there and find yourself listening to top-flight players, national and local, giving workshops or simply checking out instruments #They have a great selection of mandos there, a fine staff, and an excellent and varied group of music instructors. Talk with Andy, the owner, and explain your needs to him. He will help you select a teacher. #Good luck!

[mandowood]

Thanks guys. #I appreciate all the tips. #I can't wait to get out there now! #Mando Johnny- I'll get in touch with you for some more specifics. #Thanks again. #I looked at the website for Music folk and it looks great. #I'm not exactly sure where it's located, but I'll find on my first day out there, I'm sure!

[joshro78]

Mandowood,
I will Third what Mando Johnny said as well. He recommmended the Folk School to me also, and I couldn't have been happier. Keith Dudding was really great. In fact everyone there is really great. Make sure you go to Music Folk on a free day or you may be late for a few appointments. Fazio's has some nice higher end mandos, too. Where are you doing your graduate program? Maybe we can help you with something closer to where you're gonna be.
Jflynnstl, I think you are the unofficial mando guide for the St. Louis area! Thanks!

[mando-g]

I'll chime in about the Folk School. I've been a regular for about 2 years at the bluegrass ensemble class. It is a great no pressure environment. Stop by and check out the jam sessions on saturday afternoons.
Gary

[mandowood]

I'll be starting classes this summer at Covenant Seminary. My wife and I have an apartment in University City. I'm sure it won't take long for my car to get on auto-pilot to Music folk and to the folk school! Thanks for the tips. How expensive are lessons/classes at the folk school? I can't wait to get out there. thanks, guys.

[John Flynn]

The Folk School is in U. City, BTW. According to the website, a single class, which is 8 weekly sessions of 80 minutes each is $130 if you register early. That is a little more than $12 per hour of instruction. If you sign up for two classes in a term, the second class is only $100. I know some people who sign up for the same ensemble class every term and have been in that class for a year or more. Some of the ensemble classes become almost like a club unto themselves. I know of at least 4 performing bands that have started through people playing together at the Folk School. There are probably more.