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Event
Festival of the Mandolins
On April 24th the Croatian American Cultural Center hosts the San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins. For the past 16 years there has been a sit down concert in the afternoon, workshops in the late morning, good food & drink, and plenty of chances to listen to the best, and most diverse mandolin music in the world. The 1PM concert, will be preceded by workshops at 11AM. Performers include; Grant Gordy and Joe Walsh, Aurora Mandolin Orchestra, Achille Bocus conducting the SF Mandolin Orchestra in Mozart Symphony #29, La Familia Pena-Govea, Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble and the Mandorian Candidates. And Bulgarian food by Chef Hristo Kolev.
FEATURED PERFORMERS
The music of Grant Gordy and Joe K. Walsh arises from and expands upon the great tradition of guitar and mandolin duets. Drawing heavily from bluegrass and string band music while folding in sounds from influences as varied as Jerry Garcia, Bill Frisell, David Grisman, and Django Reinhardt, their sound is an exciting romp through many acoustic styles, all tied together with their deep improvisatory communication. In addition to touring as a duet, Grant and Joe play with Darol Anger and Ethan Jodziewicz in a band called Mr Sun, and have toured together all over North America and Europe.
Born in Oregon, raised on his fathers roots and blues guitar playing, Brooklyn-based Grant Gordy was drawn to the guitar early on as a means of personal expression and intellectual curiosity. Moving to Colorado as he entered his 20s opened his musical horizons as he began playing innumerable gigs with local musicians in a wide range of different styles. Being asked to assume the guitarists role in the fabled David Grisman Quintet, a spot previously held by such guitar notables as Tony Rice, Mark OConnor, Frank Vignola and Mike Marshall, firmly established Gordy as one of the preeminent young voices on guitar. Just ask his boss, David Grisman, who says Gordy belongs to the new elite of American acoustic practitioners who are pushing the ever-expanding envelope of a musical frontier.
Hailed by Nashvilles Music Row Magazine for his lickety-split mandolin work and by CBC-Newfoundland as one of the best mandolinists of his generation, Portland, Maine-based mandolin player Joe K. Walsh is known for his exceptional tone and taste, and his collaborations with acoustic music luminaries including legendary fiddler Darol Anger, flatpick guitar hero Scott Nygaard, folk legend Jonathan Edwards, and pop/grass darlings Joy Kills Sorrow have taken him all over the musical and figurative map. Hes played with everyone from John Scofield to Bela Fleck to Emmylou Harris, and performed everywhere from festivals to laundromats to Nashvilles Ryman Auditorium. After a number of years helping bluegrass super-group the Gibson Brothers rise to the top of the bluegrass world, Joe currently splits his time between a group with Grant Gordy, Darol Anger and Ethan Jodziewicz called Mr Sun and a trio with Brittany Haas and Owen Marshall. An avid educator, Joe is a mandolin instructor at the Berklee College of Music, and teaches at music camps throughout North America.
The Aurora Mandolin Orchestra (AMO), the largest orchestra of its kind in the San Francisco Bay Area, will perform for the 16th consecutive year at the SF Mandolin Festival. Gino Pellegrini, a member of the original Aurora of the 1930s reformed the group in 1970 as Director and Concert Master. He was the heart and soul of the orchestra until his passing in 2006 when his wife, Josephine, assumed leadership as Director/Conductor. His musical legacy prevails under her leadership with more than 30 supportive and dedicated musicians playing mandolin, mandola, mandocello, guitar, string bass, flute, accordion and percussion. They continue to perform many concerts to thousands of audiences throughout the Bay Area offering diverse programs of the mandolin repertoire. Their greatest achievement was their performance in Davies Hall at San Francisco Symphonys festive opening night. Rehearsals every Wednesday evening in Redwood City welcome new members who read music, with no fees to join, but only the interest in attending rehearsals.Ashley Broder is an in-demand mandolinist, violinist and cellist living in Ventura, California.
Achille Bocus conducts The San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra, a plucked string orchestra with 20-25 members, playing instruments of the mandolin family (mandolin, mandola and mandocello), as well as guitar, and double bass. The orchestra formed in May, 2005, and rehearses in San Francisco's Mission district on Sunday afternoons.
La Familia Peña-Govea: Miguel Govea and Susan Peña and their two daughters, Rene and Cecilia, continue a legacy of family music making that encompasses the Chicano/Mexican/American traditions of love songs, rancheras, cumbias and more. Playing will be - Miguel Govea: mandolin, Susan Peña: fiddle, Rene Peña-Govea: button accordion, Cecilia Peña-Govea: guira, trumpet, Sergio Duran: percussion
The Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble is the only mandolin orchestra in the North Bay, consisting of mandolins, mandolas, mandoccellos, and bass. Under the musical direction of Gus Garelick, the ensemble's eclectic repertoire includes music from George Frederick Handel to Scott Joplin with some musical excursions to Brazil, Italy, Ireland, and Brooklyn along the way. It is a great group with lots of energy!
The Mandorian Candidates toss their hats into the ring in this election year with their first caucus since the period in the late 20th century when, wrote a reviewer in the East Bay Express, "there was a mandolin trio on every corner," and Olivier Zyngier (founding member of Baguette Quartette and Bistro Moustache), Tony Phillips (Red Hot Chachkas), and Jim Geselbracht (the John Lomax of Palau) played tunes from as many countries as possible on mandolins, octave mandolin, and guitar.
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LocationCroatian American Cultural Center (View)
60 Onondaga Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94112
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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