Pictured above at Foyer Maillard, Coquitlam BC May 15, 2010

Barbara Conrad, Carl Kober, Lisa Madetoja, Allan Brant, Anne Stefanek, Catherine Sands, Hannah Govorchin, Kathy Chattaway, Nadia Anderson, Lala Hajdu

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 and other ethnic festivals..

Our CD, Melodious Mandolins, was produced by Stephen Bulat of Mix Media Productions. Click here for a sample.

Orchestra news

Check out our Photo Album.

In September we were very busy, starting with a performance at the Polish Harvest Festival. Some of our members also played with the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra at "Festa Italiana".

In October some of our members will go to CMSA convention in Baltimore. Also, we will play at Olivet Church and Buchanan Lodge. In November we will have at least two performances which anyone can come to: the Austria Vancouver Club on November 6, and the Russian Community Centre Bazaar on November 19. Further details to be announced.

.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.

If you have never played mandolin, we have a couple of "trainer" instruments and one or two people who may be able to find time for a student. Contact the webmaster if you are interested in learning. Group lessons for beginners may be held if there is sufficient interest.

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 charge 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 us to find out the current practice date and location. We usually practice Wednesday or Friday nights at Century House in New Westminster in from 7 until 9.