Hi all, I am about to participate in my first concert with the Sydney Mandolin Orchestra. In about 1 hour actually! Looking forward to making my debut on mandola. Wish me luck!
Hi all, I am about to participate in my first concert with the Sydney Mandolin Orchestra. In about 1 hour actually! Looking forward to making my debut on mandola. Wish me luck!
Don't forget to enjoy it!
G'day mate, good luck.
How'd it go??
Billy
billypackardmandolin.com
Billy Packard
Gilchrist A3, 1993
Weber Fern, 2007
Stiver Fern, 1990
Gibson 1923 A2
Gibson 1921 H1 Mandola
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Thanks everyone, it went really well. Hearing everyone in the various sections was a bit tricky, especially the classical guitars. I am used to playing amplified archtop guitar in a big band, and had no trouble hearing any of the horns!
All in all, it was a great experience and if your local area has an orchestra I highly recommend checking it out.
My sight reading has already gone up a notch, the people are great and the music is challenging yet fun.
Looking forward to a workshop with Carlo Aonzo in Jan and a new program in 2020!
In order to participate in an orchestra you are obviously a man with significant skill and talent . . . I can't help but be jealous and I salute you.
Enjoy!
Congratulations.
Jamie
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Congratulations!!
Chuck
Fantastic! And glad to hear it went well. Do you play viola-tuned mandola or octave-tuned? What pieces did you play? I am especially interested since it is not so common for mandolin orchestra to have a horn section.
Carlo's workshops are wonderful and it is great that he is doing a tour in Australia.
Jim
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Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Jim, sorry I didn't explain properly - there are no horns in this orchestra. The previous group I was in was a Count Basie style big band, plenty of horns, plenty of volume!
I am playing a long scale octave mandolin, the others in the section are playing mostly shorter scale bowl back instruments.
All are tuned g d a e, and as per the European tradition are referred to as mandolas, not octave mandolin.
We played a Jewish music program for a Hanukkah event.
Lots of fun, those tunes often start slow and build up to a sprint finish!
Re Carlo, I am really looking forward to his workshop, and he is playing some shows with his trio too.
So much to learn!
Whoops! I should have read your post more carefully. You were complaining about hearing the various sections. I have a feeling though that the fallback is to follow the conductor and other members in your section. Unless, of course, there is no conductor.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Orchestra playing is a skill of its own -- glad it's available to you! and I'll bet you'll have a great time taking Carlo's workshop. He's a genius musician, a sterling director/conductor and a great guy!
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1920 Lyon & Healy bowlback
1923 Gibson A-1 snakehead
1952 Strad-o-lin
1983 Giannini ABSM1 bandolim
2009 Giannini GBSM3 bandolim
2011 Eastman MD305
Congratulations on your first performance with Sydney. I know several members in your group -- Werner, Fiona, and Martha, all excellent musicians (and lovely people).Werner was recently appointed to the Honorary Board of Directors of the Classical Mandolin Society of America.
Robert A. Margo
Thanks! Yes they are a lovely group and Martha is my deskmate. Fiona is my teacher, and I feel lucky to study with her. Even though I make a living as a guitarist/guitar teacher, and could probably self-study, I have learnt a lot by working with her. There are a few things related with tone production and picking mechanics that my electric guitar technique wasn't really working out on mandolin.
We are all very lucky to have Werner as our conductor, and proud of his new appointment.
Margora, are you based in Aust?
"Margora, are you based in Aust?"
In the United States, Boston. I know Fiona and Martha through Plektra (also Stephen Lalor), we met at a CMSA convention in 2012 and see each other from time to time at other conventions in the US and Europe and occasionally otherwise. I met Werner through Fiona. Please say hello to them for me.
Best, Bob Margo
Robert A. Margo
Orchestra performances an be unsettling because acoustics can suddenly be very different and your relative sense of the dynamics can be hard to judge. This is certainly another reason to closely follow the conductor. I'm in the Long Island Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra here in suburban New York, and we played two different venues in three days -- one was a performance in the place we normally practice and the other was on a weirdly shaped stage with a brick wall behind us. Because of the shape of the stage, the accordion player was moved from behind us to behind the guitarist in the center, right in front of a brick wall. I was certain she was going to down us all out -- she's an excellent player but it always sounds loud to us. I was amazed that she was not half as loud as I was expecting in front of the brick wall because she was not playing right behind us. The conductor told me the sound mix was fine as did people in the audience. My point is that it can be jarring to hear things differently in different spaces, but trust the conductor. Looking forward to the new year.
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