Performance Dates

I am booking the Orchestra to play Sunday November 17 at the Landmark Center at 1pm.

I'm also looking to book a performance at Parkshore Place this Fall one of

• Tuesday, October 22, 6:30pm
• Tuesday, November 19, 6:30pm
• Tuesday, December 3, 6:30pm

Would orchestra members either log into https://rsvp.mmo.mando.land or email me with availability, please?

thanks,

Jonathan

Mandolin Band Referral for September 14th Party

Someone called MMO/me this week asking if we could recommend a band with strong mandolin and vocal components for a party.

"The date we are looking at for the party is September 14th.  Ideally, we would pay around $1500 for the right group. Female and male vocalists would be a major bonus, as well as a willingness to allow and include guests to sing for a song or two. 

We are hosting the party in our home in the Kenwood neighborhood of Minneapolis."

I thought I'd forward along the interest and see if any orchestra members had recommendations or inclination to play.

Jonathan

Portable 360º Swivel Stool for musicians

Hi all,
Some of you have asked where I got my handy swivel stool, which sets up easily and comes with a travel bag. The manufacturer is sold out and the price on Amazon is over $50, but I found it for $37 on Walmart.com. So FYI, here it is:

GCI Outdoor 360º Stool

Hello all,

I forgot announce last practice that my dance company, the Ethnic Dance Theatre, is having their concerts next weekend (May 17-19).  I'm playing my ethnic string instrument, the tamburitza, in the orchestra for the first few suites, and I'm dancing in several other numbers!  We have a wonderful guest group of vocalists, a very talented orchestra, and our costumes are gorgeous with several authentic pieces.  Early ticket pricing ends today.

I would love to see some of you in the audience!

Three concerts (all same show):

• Friday,     May 17 at 7:30
• Saturday, May 18 at 7:30
• Sunday,   May 19 at 2:00

at the EM Pearson Theater at Concordia University on Hamline Ave.

Write-up from the Ethnic Dance Theatre's website:

Come with us as we travel the Balkan peninsula, which sits at the crossroads of the two continents–Europe and Asia, and thus, at the crux of two major religions, Christianity and Islam. We begin our journey with dances from a regional along the Kupa river in Croatia. MILA Vocal Ensemble completes the Croatian set with a bouquet of songs. We make our way south through Albania, then enjoy dances from Serbia and neighboring Romanian to round out the first half. After the intermission we continue heading south on the peninsula to Macedonia followed by a set of songs by MILA from the Sephardic Jews. Dances from Greece are followed by a musical set by the EDT Orchestra from Turkey. Dance traditions from Bosnia are followed by the closing sets of Bulgarian songs by MILA and a Bulgarian dances by the EDT dancers.

There will be a brief Question & Answer opportunity after each show along with teaching of simple folk dances on stage with the accompaniment of the EDT Orchestra.

Tickets:

Ethnic Dance Theatre is offering Early Bird pricing through May 10th. The discounted prices are Adults $25, Seniors/Students $20 and Children Under 12 at $10. This is a significant savings as the full prices are Adults $35, Seniors/Students $25 and Children Under 12 at $15.  Go here for tickets.

Congrats on making it all the way to the end - you deserve treats at practice on Monday.

~ Tiffany

April 29 rehearsal at St Anthony Park Lutheran Church

Hi everyone,
I have confirmed that we may rehearse at St Anthony Park Lutheran Church on Monday night, April 29, at our usual time, 7-8:30pm.

Parking is available in the lot on Luther Place. Please arrive a few minutes earlier than usual to help move chairs. I'll plan to arrive and unlock door at 6:40p.

MMO friends: Correction to my post about John Maxwell's concert at Creek House on May 4th: doors open at 6:30, and the music starts at 7:00pm. Steve

Tempo Definitions

MMO Friends: A reminder that my brother, John "Greyhound" Maxwell, will be appearing at Creek House in New Brighton on Saturday, May 4th at 7:30pm (sadly, Bella--above, right--is not accompanying John on this tour). The Washington State Blues Society named John as its Best Acoustic Blues Guitar Player in 2018, and he received a similar award when he still lived in California. John plays pre-war acoustic blues, ragtime, and originals on guitar, metal-bodied resonator guitar, and resonator mandolin. He will be performing St. Louis Women on resonator mandolin, and his slide playing on our favorite instrument is pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. Creek House puts on regular house concerts and is a first-rate listening room for acoustic music. To reserve a seat and get directions to Creek House, visit: www.creekhouseconcerts.com. To listen to John's "Bella's Romp," visit: https://youtu.be/XpQUk84cSYc To listen to St. Louis Women, visit: https://youtu.be/AFge96aYTvs I'll be joining John on blues harp and mandolin on several numbers. Hope to see you all at Creek House on May 4th! Steve

Episcopal Homes

I'm looking to book a gig at Episcopal Homes in Saint Paul where the activity director is a fan of the MMO.  They've asked if we could play a Sunday or Saturday afternoon show instead of a Monday evening show.  They believe that more residents will be able to attend an afternoon performance and that the lighting in their atrium, where we would play, is less than ideal after dark.

Would you either email your willingness to play one of the following dates, or RSVP at https://rsvp.mmo.mando.land/ ?

• Sunday, Oct 27, 2pm
• Sunday, Nov 3, 2pm
• Sunday, Nov 10, 2pm

Thanks for your patience, willingness to try, and feedback on the RSVP website.  

Thanks as well for suggestions on venues.

Jonathan

RSVP to Performances

I've created a site to record dates players are available to perform.  The site allows Lon and myself (Jonathan) to see which performances and potential performances players can attend so that Lon can tune the set list and I can book dates.  It also allows you to preemptively enter dates that you cannot play.

If you don't want to use the RSVP site, please feel free just to email me (Jonathan) which performances you plan to play, and which you cannot.

The Site

https://rsvp.mmo.mando.land/

Log In

Enter your user name (your name on the roster): 

Enter your password (I'll send you a password shortly):

If You Forget or Lose Your Password

You can email Jonathan to reset it.  It's easy for Jonathan to reset a password (but not recover).

Or you can reset it automatically from the log in page-- just enter your name as listed on the roster and click "I Forgot My Password".  The server will send you a new password to the email address we have for you on the roster.  Emailing the reset password can take 20-30 minutes sometimes.

RSVP for Events

The default screen you'll see should say "Browse Events", but if you see other screens, you can return by clicking "Events" in the bootstrap banner.

For each event there is a red/grey/green toggle switch beside a date time.  Click the left, middle, or right side of the switch to say that you cannot, might, or are able to perform at the event.  You can always change your RSVP.

The bar to the right side of the switch indicates what portion of responding players can attend.  More red is negative.  More green is affirmative.

If there are multiple dates for an event, that is because Jonathan is trying to narrow down possibilities to book a venue.

Lon and Jonathan will see a "Details" button that allows only them to see who has responded and summarizes the RSVP count for each section.

Tell Me You Cannot Play Dates

You can specify dates that you cannot play before before Jonathan even thinks about booking.   Click "User Settings" in the bootstrap banner.  Click "Blackout Dates".  Click the dates on the calendar that you cannot play.  The server will record the dates for Lon and Jonathan for booking hints and will RSVP negative appropriately.  You can change the RSVP for the event later, but there is no way currently of unsetting the black-out date, other than asking Jonathan to reset it.

The display of the "Cannot Attend These Dates" calendar fails intermittently and Jonathan will work to improve it.  You should be able to fix the display by reloading the page.

Change Your Password

You can change your password under "User Settings" by clicking "Personal" and clicking "Change" next to "Password".

Get Help

Please feel free to ask Jonathan for help on the site, or to suggest improvements.  For the curious or technically generous, you can see the plans for the site and server at https://github.com/jonathanlb/cat-wrangler

There's also description for the features under "About" in the bootstrap.