Pictured above at Royal City Manor:
Back Row: Carl Kober, Andy Whitmore, Allan Brant, Anne Stefanek
Our orchestra, the Melodious Mandolins, will perform anywhere from Whistler to Harrison Hot Springs, for care facilities, seniors' activity centres, private parties, or ethnic functions. We play old-time tunes and folk songs from around the world, with some occasional classical and seasonal flavour thrown in for good measure. Currently we perform two to four times per month. Contact Nadia at (604) 525-1516 for bookings. We prefer weekday evenings or weekends, since we are volunteers and some of us are still working.
Watch for our public performances at the Russian Community Centre bazaars, New Westminster Festival of Volunteers, and Burnaby Discovery Days.
Our CD, Melodious Mandolins, was produced by Stephen Bulat of Mix Media Productions. Click here for a sample.
Orchestra news
Greetings to all who saw us at the Northwest Folklife, with the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra. Some of us also played at the Festa Italiana in Seattle in September.
Barbara and Catherine attended the Classical Mandolin Society Convention in Dayton Ohio. Getting there was difficult and the number of players on stage appeared to outnumber the audience, but a good time was had by all.
On November 21, we will be playing two half hour sets at "Christmas in Cloverdale", a benefit for the Surrey Food Bank. Come and check it out at 6050A – 176 Street Surrey, B.C. (Cloverdale Fair Grounds). More information on their website.
Coming soon: Melodious Mandolins Photo Album.
Come play with us
Playing music is a wonderful form of stress management. It requires so much concentration you have no time to worry about your problems.
Perhaps you learned mandolin as a child, or have come to it more recently? If you once played the violin, you will find it easy to play the mandolin, for the tuning is the same.
We are always looking for new members, especially guitar, mandola and bass viol players. Mandolin players need to read notes, and guitar players need to be able to at least read chords in various keys. Some improvisation skills may be necessary for bass viol or mandola players, due to a lack of parts. There is a nominal deposit of $5 for the music for new members. If you would like to join, or if you belong to an out of town orchestra and are visiting the lower mainland with your mandolin, call 604-433-2762 or e-mail the webmaster to find out the current practice location. We usually practice Wednesday nights in Burnaby or New Westminster in someone's home from 7 until 9. Refreshments provided after practice and contributions to same are welcome.