Posts filed under 'Festivals'
I went to the SF Festival of the Mandolins last Sunday. The festival was small, but there was some excellent music to be heard. The Israeli classical mandolinist Avi Avital was jaw-droppingly good. He combined a prodigious technique with a deeply musical touch. Eva Scow, was also something to hear. I interviewed her for the fisrt issue of the FJ, and I heard her track on the Tone Poets CD, but that didn’t prepare me for hearing her play in person. All of the other performers, including Rich DelGrosso, John Resichman and the Aurora Mandolin Orchestra were excellent, as well, but Avi and Eva were something else. I also sat in on a fascinating slide show by Sheri Mignano Crawford devoted to San Francisco’s long history of Italian mandolin playing. She has written a book about the subject called Mandolins Like Salamis, which includes loads of rare photos of old mandolin orchestras and bands. She has also published a collection of Italian mandolin music that includes pieces from the 1890s to the 1960s. (You can purchase both books here.) I had to leave before the fetsival ended, but I found the time I was there to be very enjoyable. Next year I intend to make a complete day of it.–MJS
April 25th, 2006
The Northern California edition of DjangoFest is going to be between June 8 to 11 this year. If you attended last year, you need to know it’s going to be in Mill Valley instead of Redwood City. I’m happy to see our buddy Monterey Jacques at Djangology.net will be playing there with his band Hot Club Pacific. –MJS
April 20th, 2006
On May 19, 2006, the Noe Valley Ministry will host the San Francisco Guitar Summit. The players include the San Francisco Guitar Quartet; Adam Levy and Will Bernard, who will be playing as a duo; and Teja Gerken. The music will include classical compositions, jazz and contemporary fingerstyle. This is a wonderful venue to hear music and all of the players are first rate so if you’re around, you really should think about attending. In the interests in full disclosure (and shameless self-promotion) I should mention that Teja is a good friend of mine and that we wrote a book together with Frank Ford and Richard Johnston called Acoustic Guitar: The Composition, Construction, and Evolution of One of World’s Most Beloved Instruments.-MJS
April 18th, 2006
On June 21 to June 25, 2006, the Guild of American Luthiers will hold their 18th convention and exhibition in Tacoma, Washington. It looks like some of the world’s finest builders are scheduled to be there giving lectures and exhibiting their instruments, so if you care about the art of lutherie, you might want to consider attending.–MJS
April 4th, 2006
Every Spring, the Experience Music Project in Seattle hosts a “Pop Conference.” Here, academics, music critics and historians gather for a long weekend of discussions and presentations about all things music. Experts wax poetically about topics as diverse as lost disco tracks, pop producers and “why Jews have been attracted to American folk music” (that’s an actual topic this year). There are usually some critically acclaimed musicians present, as well, which helps balance out the geeky writer contingent. Happily, this year’s conference has at least two uke-related panels: Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields will be the keynote speaker on April 27 and on Friday, April 28, writer Steven Rosen will discuss his abstract entitled “Tiny Tim: The Harry Smith of Adult-Standard Singers.” No guarantees it’ll be more fun than staying at home and just playing a uke, but now you know … Here’s the schedule. -JV
March 26th, 2006
The San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins will be held on April 23, 2006. This year’s performers include the bluegrass duo John Reishman and John Miller; blues mandolinist Rich DelGrosso; the Aurora Mandolin Orchestra, who have been playing togther since the 1970; The Hot Frittatas, who play a mix of European styles including Italian ballo liscio, French Musette, and klezmer; Eva Scow, who plays Brazilian choro-style mandolin and was featured in the article about David Grisman’s Tone Poets CD in the first issue of the Fretboard Journal; and the classical mandolinist Avi Avital.
Date: April 23, 2006
Location: Croatian American Cultural Center
60 Onondaga
San Francisco, CA 94112
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Admission: $15, Children free
$2 off for bringing any member of the Mandolin Family.
March 22nd, 2006
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