Ms. Mair is regarded by her peers as one of the foremost players — and scholars — of the mandolin, a member of the lute family that features four pairs of strings on a frame roughly half the size of an acoustic guitar. The instrument is most commonly associated with bluegrass music, one of the few styles Ms. Mair doesn’t play.

Andy had the opportunity to meet and study with Marilyn a few years ago at Cape Cod Mandolin Camp in Sandwich.  Marilyn is an amazing musician and wonderful person.

Come to an open workshop to work with legendary mandolinist Mike Compton. In this workshop Mike will emphasis a toolbox of techniques and focus on options on how to develop variations on a basic tune, using bluegrass-style embellishments, rhythmic variations (including right hand stroke patterns and alternative rhythmic options and how it affects solo lines), chordal structure variations, and playing out of traditional chord voicings.

Tab and regul ar not at i on music will be handed out. Bring your questions, a music stand, and your recorders!
For more information about Mike Compton, visit:
www.mikecompton.net

PRE-REGISTRATION FOR WORKSHOP REQUIRED
COSTS: $50.00
Make checks payable to Concord Community Music School, or to pay by credit card, call (603) 228-1196.
Concord Community Music School
23 Wall Street
Concord, NH 03301

For more information contact: soozendave@surfglobal.net or call (207) 384-8151

Here’s a snippet, but you can read the full article here.

It’s been more than a century since the mandolin has been this prominent in popular music. In the late 1800s, there were mandolin orchestras in every major city of the United States. The guitar gradually overtook the mandolin in popularity, driven by the invention of amplified guitars in the 1920s. Until Bill Monroe appeared on the scene in the 1930s, the mandolin had been receding into the background. But Monroe’s supercharged high-speed style, mixing white old-timey music with African-American blues, brought the mandolin back to center stage.

The article also has some nice quotes from John McGann and Mike Compton. Both wonderful people and exceptional mandolin player/musicians!  FWIW, I’d prefer to listen to them play instead of Chris Thile

Django in June is New England’s premier occasion to celebrate, study and just plain enjoy the musical tradition unwittingly launched some 80 years ago by the great French Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and his best known musical sidekick, violinist Stephane Grappelli. That tradition is now known by many names: Gypsy jazz, hot (or Hot Club) jazz, Gypsy swing… Whatever you call it, it offers one of the most ebullient, accessible jazz styles on the planet.

Sunday, April 22, 2012, Putney, Vermont, 2 to 5 pm,

Cost: $75

The workshop will start with such basics as the all-important right-hand technique, chop-chord rhythm and getting good tone. Then it will move into Monroe’s toolbox of techniques from the early years onward, including backing up singers, Monroe blues trademarks, playing out of chord voicings and a bit of old-time rhythm and how it affects solo lines. This is hands-on, so come prepared to play!

Skill level: intermediate to advanced, but all interested players are welcome.

Class size is limited, so registration is a must.

For more information on the workshop or to register, email Val Mindel at vmindel@gmail.com.

For more on Mike, check out http://mikecompton.net/

The festival features Jesse Brock, Claudine Langille, Skip Gorman, and David Surette, with special guests Susie Burke and Baron Collins-Hill. This two-day event offers group lessons, workshops on a variety of topics, jam sessions, and an evening concert. Additionally, the festival will present a March 2, Friday night concert featuring the same performers at The Elysium Arts Folk Club, Rollinsford, NH (this is a separate ticket from the Concord events).

To register for the festival, send a check for $110 made out to:

Concord Community Music School
23 Wall St.
Concord, NH 03301

Lodging is available at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Concord, New Hampshire, with a special festival rate. A limited number of rooms have been set aside, so if you are interested, please contact the hotel directly at (603) 225-0303.

Festival sponsors include Sanborn, Head and Associates, the NH State Council on the Arts Traditional Arts program, and the Concord Courtyard by Marriott, where festival accommodations are available at a special rate. Support is also provided by mandolincafe.com.