MMO website

I notice the new MMO group picture on the website, but where is the old one? Can it be put on an archived page, or the photos page? There are other group photos on that page, older than the 2007 group photo page. I hope so!

Providence MO: I am the Walrus

Here's a YouTube video of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra playing "I am the Walrus," as arranged by Bob Margo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdmMi1uu0ZQ

Good arrangement, well played.

MMO on Radio

Phil Nussbaum has a very complimentary piece in this month's MBOTMA Magazine on the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra. The article also gives the air date for the interview with Lon and playing some of the pieces recorded last spring. The MMO piece will be aired on KBEM (88.5 FM) Radio on 9 Jan 2010 during the 11:30 A.M 1/2 hour of the Blue Grass Review.

Music at the Baha'i Center Sunday

There is a regular 2nd Sunday musical devotional at the Baha'i Center. This month (**December 13 at 5:30 pm**) will be doing Christmas music. Everyone is invited to come to play instruments, sing or listen. Some of the MMO Christmas Group will be performing a couple of tunes. There will be a potluck dinner afterward for anyone who wants to take part. Hope you can make it!

Dave

How Do Strings Wear?

Fascinating e-mail from Tony Anthonisen - bluegrass jammer / organizer (if you want to get on his e-mail list, see below; he passes along announcements about selling instruments, upcoming concerts, etc. - no forwards):
--------------------------------------------------------------

Jammers,

Check out this fascinating thread with pictures at 200x magnification of string wear on a 8 week old set of EXP17s. Very interesting. From Flatpick-L http://tinyurl.com/yzprtl3

Tony

Tony Anthonisen
Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
612-743-7555

HomesByTonyA@comcast.net
www.HomesByTonyA.com

Nov 23 at 4820 Elliot

Our rehearsal on November 23 will be at 4820 Elliot Avenue South in Minneapolis. It's eleven blocks south and one block east of our usual location.

Anitra's Dance - the Clif's notes to the story

So, I spent some time with the score for Anitra’s Dance. Wow, what a simple piece! I wrote up an analysis of the score (boring) and then put it aside.

Last night I woke up at 4:00 AM and rather than think about work, I came up with a story for Anitra and her Dance.

Anitra - a fetching 17 year old, decides, upon the urging of her handsome fiance, to sneak out and meet him one night.

The first part, introducing the theme with repeat, is Anitra happily sneaking out of the house, to great success.

Then we get into the 2nd part. Here, Anitra is out of doors. She realizes that it’s cold and shivers.

She goes forth, expecting to find her fiance, (A section), but getting a little anxious. She hear’s an echo to her steps/dance (mandola).

In the B section, she’s frightened - someone is following her (we hear him creeping in the mandola section as the echo)

At the divisi at measure 69, they encounter each other, but she runs away and we repeat the 2nd part.

Same thing second time around but at 69, she recognizes him and there’s a nice reunion going to the 2nd ending. We end with a minor chord rather than a major as foreshadowing of their ongoing relationship. Is he a bit of a sadist? Who’s to know!!!

CMG Rehearsal Time Change: 11/7 at 6:30 PM

We had some conflicts with the 2PM time, so we've moved to 6:30 PM

Same location:

404 Washington Ave N #210
Minneapolis MN

nothin' could be finer

Pardon me, Boys, but don't you LOVE the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

I listened to this about 8 times and have been humming it all day :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XQybKMXL-k

And if you want the long version, including moves that likely inspired the king of pop, check this out (watch for hints of break dancing):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIQq1j1-AQU&feature=related

string changing

How often do you change your mandolin strings? I have heard that guitar strings should be changed after every 40 hours of playing. Maybe like most, I go a long time before changing my strings.
Also, doesn't it take awhile for strings to "break in" and it's therefore not recommended to change them right before a performance?
Also, what type of strings for which sound?

First November CMG Rehearsal, Saturday, Nov 7th 2pm

The next Christmas Music Group Rehearsal is Saturday, November 7th at 2pm after a hiatus for the CMSA.

I'm sure we'll all be back with great stories!

Address:

404 Washington Ave N #210
Minneapolis

Dotty's phone: 651-605-5009

CMG Rehearsal: Saturday 10/24 at 2pm at Security Lofts

The CMG group will rehearse at Security Lofts (404 Washington Ave N #210) from 2pm to 4pm this coming Saturday.

Oct 19 at 4820 Elliot

I just found out that the Bahai Center is not available for our October 19 rehearsal. We'll meet at the Inghams' house, 4820 Elliot Avenue South, instead. Depending on the weather, we may play indoors this time.

Gypsy Moon mp3

I made an mp3 file of the MMO playing Gypsy Moon at our October 5 rehearsal. There's a link to it on our "current tunes" page, or you can go directly to
http://www.minnesotamandolinorchestra.org/gypsymoon.mp3

Give it a listen.

New music from John Goodin

I printed and photocopied parts for John Goodin's "Last Call at Hawley-Cooke." We'll try it out Monday, October 12. If you want to look at the music before then, you can find it at
http://www.contratopia.com/mtopia/Lastcall.htm

Also coming soon are "Palladio" by Karl Jenkins and "Preludio e Fuga" by Claudio Mandonico. The parts for those numbers will be ready in another week or so.

CMG First Rehearsal 10/16 at 7:30 PM

We'll meet at my house Friday, 10/16 at 7:30 PM. 404 Washington Ave N #210 in Minneapolis.

Street parking only - unless you check with me first - I have 1 permit we can use for guest parking. There should be plenty of street parking on Washington and 5th within a block of the building.

Please download and print your music from the Mobile Me site: http://idisk.mac.com/djcoffey-Public?view=web in the Christmas Music scores folder.

The download button is the down arrow on the far right.

I'll send email out again on Wednesday 10/14 as a reminder.

Christmas Music Group

Today I sent out an email to the orchestra about the Christmas Music Group. Hopefully everyone who has email got a copy.

If you are interested in being part of this, email me at dotty.coffey@gmail.com. We are selecting the date for our organizational meeting/first rehearsal. Let me know if Friday Oct 10 @ 7:30 PM, Saturday Oct 11 @ 2:00 PM or Sunday Oct 12 at 2pm work best for you. Choose a first and second best so I can figure out a time the majority can join in.

The music we have so far is available here: http://idisk.mac.com/djcoffey-Public?view=web

Last year we managed to rehearse once a week for 90 minutes or so. We gave 4 concerts at Grace House, the VA, Dunn Bro.s in Apple Valley and at Jay's assisted living apartments. We had had a group of 7 people representing most parts and it worked out very well.

We had a great time and it was a great way to get into the spirit of the season a little early.

Dotty

Mike Compton & David Grier Oct 2

The Whistlepigs String Band is putting on a concert that features Mike Compton and David Grier on Friday, October 2. Mike Compton is a great Monroe-style mandolinist, well known for his work with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. For more information, go to
http://www.whistlepigs.com/compton/comptonshow.html

Music for September 14

The musical selections for September 14 include two tunes we haven't played for a while: Chattanooga Choo Choo and Danse Hongroise. If you have them, please take them with you. The other tunes are X-Town Interchange Rag, Gypsy Moon, Clairvoyant Cha-Cha, Anitra's Dance, and Nimrod.

Schedule Aug 24-Sep 14

There will be no MMO rehearsal Monday, August 24. The following Monday, August 31, is our end-of-season party. (See Dotty's post for more information.) September 7 is Labor Day. The MMO fall season begins Monday, September 14.

End of Season Party at my house Monday Aug 31st

Please join us for the end of season party at my house. You and a guest are invited!

Monday, August 31, 2009 from 6:30 to 9:30 P.M.

MMO end-of-summer party at 404 Washington Ave N #210 in Minneapolis (Security Lofts)
Food and non-alcoholic beverages provided. Feel free to bring your own beer/wine if desired.
RSVP to Dotty: 651-605-5009 by Wednesday Aug 26th

Hope to see you there!

Lake Harriet concert

My husband said this was our best concert ever (since we've been listening beginning in 2005). He said we finally have the volume thing figured out! Usually there's just not enough volume, especially with the melody (first mandos). Seems we had a lotta mikes at Lake Harriet - maybe that's the answer.

Anitra's Dance at Centennial Lakes

Ouch!!!!! Let's all listen to the audio file 10 times before next Monday night's concert!

Summer concerts poster

Thank you, Ronda, for making a poster to advertise our summer concerts. I put a link to it on our MMO home page. Anyone can print and distribute at will. If you want to link directly to the poster, point your browser to
http://www.minnesotamandolinorchestra.org/MMO Poster Summer 2009.pdf

Summer 2009 Set Lists

I've been working on the set lists for our summer concerts. Here are the preliminary lists. Comments, anyone?

Edina August 3
X-Town
Dance of the Lunatics
The Italian Suite
Day Tripper
Goldfinger
Entry of the Gladiators
The Waltz Lesson
Jazz Pizzicato
Anitra’s Dance
Trenches of Manchuria
Japanese Children’s Songs
Ritual Dance
 
Como August 10
X-Town
Dance of the Lunatics
Because
Day Tripper
Gypsy Moon
Entry of the Gladiators
The Waltz Lesson
Wedding March Set
Joropo de Lara
intermission
Where No Mandolin
Goldfinger
Jazz Pizzicato
Anitra’s Dance
Trenches of Manchuria
Japanese Children’s Songs
Ritual Dance
 
Harriet August 24
X-Town
Dance of the Lunatics
Because
Day Tripper
Gypsy Moon
Entry of the Gladiators
The Waltz Lesson
Wedding March Set
Crystal Ship Waltz
Goldfinger
Where No Mandolin
Jazz Pizzicato
Anitra’s Dance
Trenches of Manchuria
The Italian Suite
Japanese Children’s Songs
Ritual Dance

July 13 rehearsal location

We'll rehearse at the Inghams' house on July 13. The address is 4820 Elliot Avenue South. It's twelve blocks south and one block east of the Baha'i Center. We'll start at the usual time, 7:00, and we may go as late as 9:00. I hope everyone can stay a little later than usual.

Three mp3 practice files

I uploaded mp3 files for Anitra's Dance, Jazz Pizzicato, and Trenches of Manchuria for everyone's listening and playing-along enjoyment. The links are on the "current tunes" page. http://www.minnesotamandolinorchestra.org/0809tunes.htm

Summer concert selections

I’m working on the set lists for our summer concerts. These are the tunes (I think). Order and concert details will be coming soon.

Anitra’s Dance
Because
Crystal Ship Waltz
Dance of the Lunatics
Day Tripper
Entry of the Gladiators
Goldfinger
Gypsy Moon
Italian Suite
Jazz Pizzicato
Joropo de Lara
Ritual Dance
Suite nach japanischen Kinderliedern
Trenches of Manchuria
Waltz Lesson
Wedding March Set
Where No Mandolin Has Gone Before
X-Town Interchange Rag

Let's play Trenches and Jazz Pizz

I added "Jazz Pizzicato" (Anderson) and "Trenches of Manchuria" (part of the Klezmer Waltz Medley) to the current tune list.

I am postponing further work on "Chairvoyant Cha-Cha" until September.

Clairvoyant mp3 now downloadable

I put an mp3 file of the Mandograpplers' performance of the Clairvoyant Cha-Cha on the mmo web site. You can download it, and then listen on your computer or transfer it to your portable mp3 player. There's a link to it on the "current tunes" page, or you can go directly to it here:
http://www.minnesotamandolinorchestra.org/clairvoyant.mp3

Web site changes

I'm moving the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra's web site from my mindspring account to a GoDaddy account. If you use www.minnesotamandolinorchestra.org to access the site, you probably won't notice any change. If use www.mindspring.com/~lonzoh.htm, you will notice a change, because that url will soon stop working. Please update your bookmarks and procedures accordingly.

The url for the roster will be different. I think you can guess what its new name will be, but you can write to me if you want me to send you the link.

Also, www.minnesotamandolinorchestra.org may be unavailable for a while during the next few days, while I figure out how to get all the pieces put together properly.

Ritual Dance of the Lunatics

I added Ritual Dance and Dance of the Lunatics to our current tune list. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Mandolin Stars

I was just going to note what a great job Lou Chouinard  is doing leading the CMSA. Lots of energy - surely changing the whole organization in a positive, involving way, putting our MMO on the map at the same time. And then he shows up with a really cool new mandolin too. 

And then Tedd Ronning writes the very well done and interesting interview with Shari Ladig - in the current CMSA newsletter. Great work on a great story.

MMO @ North High May 11

Plans for Monday's recording session are taking shape. We'll be at North Community High School, 1500 James Avenue North, in Minneapolis. Phil would like people to arrive between 6:30 and 6:40. If you can't get there in that interval, get there when you can. Enter the school through door 18,which is near Irving and 15th.

Please have these tunes with you:

La Tipica
Sunset on the Pawtuxet
Asleep in the Deep
Waltz for Bill Monroe
Joropo de Lara
Here, There, and Everywhere
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
Day Tripper

Driving directions:

From I-94, take the 55 / Olson Memorial Highway exit. Turn right (east) and go parallel to the highway an additional block.Turn left on 7th Street.Continue on 7th, which changes its name to Emerson, and turn left on 16th Ave.Go west three blocks, and you'll see the school on your left.

"Understanding Scales" workshop May 2, 1:30-3:30

[pasted from a jammers e-mail list]
Join Mike Cramer of All 12 Notes (www.all12notes.com) this Saturday, May 2nd as he guides you through the ins and outs of scales. Learn about different types of scales, from pentatonic, to the blues scale, and modes of the major scale.This is a hands-on workshop. You will not only learn the theory behind the construction and use of the various scales, but you will be given musical examples and exercises to help gain a working knowledge of the material.This workshop is for the guitarist who can play basic chords and simple melodies. Don't be intimidated by scales any longer!Space is limited, pre-payment is recommended. To reserve your space contact Mike Cramer at 651-699-2924, by email, or purchase online.
[I didn't see a cost - AEY]

Performance anxiety

The latest newsletter from the Guitar Society has a nice piece



http://www.mnguitar.org/newsletter/2009_05-06.pdf



Dave

Mando Magnificat streaming video

The Mando Magnificat concert that was held on March 7 at Northwestern University is available for viewing. Point your browser to

http://www.pickstaiger.org/index.php/video-library#top-of-player

The performers are Mike Marshall's Big Trio, The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra, Sam Bush, Don Stiernberg, Caterina Lichtenberg, and Mirko Schrader.

The Milwaukee MO turns in an excellent performance, and you can see former Minnesota MO member Ryan Hanley, as well as Paul Ruppa and Linda Binder.

You'll need the latest version of the Flash Player.

Web hosting ideas?

We need to change the way the MMO web site is hosted. Currently, I own the name minnesotamandolinorchestra.org, and that name points to my personal web space, which is included in my mindspring (a.k.a. earthlink) ISP account.

I'm in the process of changing ISPs. Unfortunately, the new ISP doesn't have the hosting flexibility that mindspring has. Before I pull the plug on the old account, we need to find another place for our site to live. We can still use the minnesotamandolinorchestra name--we just need to make it point somewhere else.

Some possibilities: We could use a hosting service like GoDaddy or Yahoo! ($5-$10 per month). Or we might be able to use web space belonging to another MMO member. A possible difficulty is that I, as the webmaster, would need write access to that account.

Ideas, anyone?

Bluegrass concert in Northfield March 29

Here's the information about the concert I mentioned at our March 23 rehearsal.  The featured act is Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike.  Becky Buller, a popular bluegrass musician from Minnesota, is part of Valerie's band.  The opening act is String Fever Bluegrass Band, with me on the mandolin.

The concert is Sunday, March 29, at 3:00.  It's at First United Church of Christ, 300 Union Street in Northfield.  The admission charge is $10 at the door.  Here are some link for more information:

http://www.valeriesmithonline.com/

http://www.stringfeverband.com/

http://firstucc.org/

scan sheet music, then listen

Jozef, our second guitarist, told me about this software. You can scan sheet music, and it will be played. Also, you can scan the sheet music of an entire orchestra, and you'll hear the whole orchestra playing. I'd love to download it, but I'm too cheap. If anyone else is interested, it's found here:

http://www.finalemusic.com/finale/

Tunes for April 6

Here's a preliminary tune list for our April 6 gig at Ramsey County Care Center:

The X-Town Interchange Rag

Because

Day Tripper

The Waltz Lesson

Wedding March Set

The Italian Suite

Goldfinger

Joropo de Lara

Entry of the Gladiators

Crystal Ship Waltz

Suite nach japanischen Kinderliedern

Where No Mandolin Has Gone Before

LMO plays Fucik

I found a YouTube video of the Louisville Mandolin Orchestra playing Entry of the Gladiators.  It was recorded in 1993 and led by a young and bouncy Jim Bates.  Here's the link, for your entertainment and play-along practice:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp_WLlB2MYs

There's also a link to the video on our "current tunes" page.

mandobass player

What is more cool than a mandocello? Maybe a mandobass? Well, we might have a mandobassist join us! Right before our Sunday gig, a guy asked me if our MMO included mandolas, mandocellos, etc., then he mentioned mandobass. My eyes widened because I thought about playing a mandobass at one point, but 3 reasons prevented me: (1) I don't think there's much volume in a mandobass; (2) a mandobass is hard to hold in your lap; (3) a mandobass is hard to transport, not to mention I'd have to buy one. So I gave up that dream. But this guy, who said he doesn't OWN a mandobass, might join us. He was in a hurry and had to leave, so I directed him to our website and let him know that our rehearsals are on Monday nights. We'll see if he joins us!

Nice playing today, ladies and gents. There was some good listening going on, good dynamics! Onward and upward!

Gigue from Bach Partita

If anyone wants to give a try on the gigue Caterina LIchtenberg and Mike Marshall played last night, I found the partita on IMSLIP and cut it down just to the gigue part. You'll have to contact Mike Marshall if you want the mandocello part.

Look in my MobileMe public folder under Scores. It's the one entitled IMSLIP01307-BWV1004-Gigue.pdf

wed 945pm
we have a lucky winner!

free ticket to marshall concert

hi folks. i have one extra comp ticket to friday night's show at the cedar. email me (holdmanje@yahoo.com) and it is yours.
james

Marshall, Lichtenburg, Ostroushko at the Cedar

The Cedar is hosting a concert featuring Mike Marshall, Caterina Lichtenburg, and Peter Ostroushko on Friday, March 6.  For more information, see

http://www.thecedar.org/mike_marshall_big_trio

Sebastopol Mando Ensemble

This might sound familiar. They have few others posted, including La Paloma.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxH5d2fSLUo

Summer Camp

I'm planning to attend the Mandolin Symposium again this summer at the University of California Santa Cruz. They are doing pre-registration now. The total cost of the symposium is $1185 and includes housing and food. it begins Monday June 22 and ends Saturday June 27th.

I was very impressed with the value this symposium has - a full scale concert every night, morning discussions with the instructors about their influences, and a full set of classes every day, plus a small ensemble workshop and a full orchestra workshop. And did I mention jam sessions (these don't even start until after the evening concert, and run until late in the evening?

They have two classical instructors this year - Carlo Aonzo and Caterina Licthenberg. Last year, I selected the Symposium because of the variety of instructors, but found myself blown away by Caterina and ended up attending most of her classes.

In addition, this year instructors also include Peter Ostroushko, Rich DelGrosso (blues), Emory Lester and the choro guys Dudu Maia and Danilo Brito. Oh yeah, and Mike Marshall and David Grisman.

It'd be fun to see other MMO folks this year. Ronda and I attended last year and really had a great time!

Temporarily Out of Action

MMO Friends, I slipped on the ice and broke my ankle last week. After getting some replacement parts installed, the Doc gave me strict orders to remain horizontal for at least two weeks. I'll be missing rehearsal and the MBOTMA weekend. The good news is, this will give me some time to pull together a "MMO Spring Tour".

Japanese songs mp3

I found a recording of "Suite nach japanischen Kinderliedern" in my LP collection, and I made an mp3 file to play along with. The link to the mp3 file is on the MMO "current tunes" page. One thing I learned from listening to the recording is that we should play some parts of the suite faster. Give it a listen.

MBOTMA Winter Weekend

My wife is organizing a group of folks from the Maple Lake Mn area to come to the Sunday 8 March performance of the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra at the MBOTMA Winter Weekend. This kind on activity will boost the number in attendance at our performance.

MBOTMA set list

I just posted the set list for the MBOTMA Winter Weekend. You can link to it from the schedule page or the gigs page. These are the selections:
X-Town Interchange Rag
Because
Day Tripper
Waltz Lesson
Italian Suite
Goldfinger
Joropo de Lara
Japanese Children's Songs
Where No Mandolin

John Goodin Teleman Transcriptions

I was browsing around on Mandolin Cafe today and happened across a posting from John Goodin from about Christmas time.

He's been busily transcribing some of Teleman's work (a baroque composer) for mandolin, and has made available quite a number of pieces.

For those of you who want to improve your music reading capabilities, these are mostly in accessible keys and don't have too many rhythmic curve balls. Besides, Teleman always sounds tuneful and classy.

For mandola players - some of these works are duets for mandolin and mandola. It appears Goodin has written everything in standard notation on the treble clef, so probably will be easy to play on your octave.

http://www.contratopia.com/mtopia/mandolinPD2.htm

X-town rhythms with Weird Metronome

The syncopated "honking" rhythms in the X-Town Interchange Rag are tricky. I'm looking at measures 39 and 40 for m1 and m2, and 79 and 80 for md and mc. I recommend the Weird Metronome as a tool to practice those rhythms.

The Weird metronome is free from http://www.weirdmetronome.com/

Here's how practice the rhythm in measures 39 and 40 (or 79 and 80):
Set voice 1 to "low wood block" or some other sound to delineate every beat.
Set voice 2 to "hand clap" to play the rhythm of your part.
Choose the "custom" radio button and enter 12(12)01210(12)01210(12)0 in the box.
Set the tempo to 300 or so.
Click on "play"
Listen to the rhythm or play along until you can't stand it any more
Save the setting for a future practice session.

Measures 37 and 38 (or 77 and 78) are similar. Just change the last (12) to 1.

The difference between bluegrass and OTM bands

http://bluegrasswest.com/wordpress/?p=56

No doubt some have seen or heard this: good review for MBOTMA!

Dave

Lost scarf

This isn't exactly mando-centric content, but did anyone find a blue scarf on Monday night after rehearsal? It's very soft with some subtle stripes. If anyone came across this scarf, could you email me and let me know? Thanks.
Steve
wstephenmaxwell@gmail.com

January 19 rehearsal

The January 19 MMO rehearsal will be at a different place, and will have a different format. The place is Falcon Heights United Church of Christ, at 1795 Holton Street. We've rehearsed there a few times before. You can get a map and directions from the church web site: http://www.falconheightsucc.org/

The format is sectional rehearsals. The first mandolins, the second mandolins, and the mandolas will gather in separate locations within the church and work out troublesome spots in the tunes on our current tune list. I'll lead the mandola rehearsal, and I'll look for volunteers to lead the M1 and M2 sections. Guitars, mando-cellos, and basses can join us at the church, practice at home, or take the day off.

We'll be back at the usual place on January 26. Thanks for being flexible.

Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain

This group is great! We could take a lesson from their stage presence and great groove!! They have lots of vids on youtube. Check em out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfK-UzQ48JE