Event

Mandolin Mirth

The East Coast Mandolin Orchestra (ECMO) consists of 75 professional and highly-skilled amateur musicians drawn from more than a dozen U.S. states. A plucked string orchestra under the direction of Mark Linkns, the ECMO includes mandolin family instruments (mandolin, mandola, mandocello, and mandobass), domras (Russian cousin of the mandolin), guitars (classical and steel-string), and double basses. Many of the members of this group assembled in fall of 2017 at Rosemont College to present a program of music from classic Italian films. The orchestra played to a large (standing room only) and enthusiastic audience.

The repertoire will highlight the mandolin orchestra's wide range of expressive possibilities, referencing diverse classical, folk, and jazz idioms. The program of seasonal and holiday music includes two jazz works by Vince Guaraldi (from "A Charley Brown Christmas"), a Bluegrass-inspired rendering of "Joy to the World," the "Largo" from Vivaldi's "Winter," the 4th Movement of Holst's "St. Paul's Suite,": and "Troika" from Prokofiev's "Liuetenant Kije Suite," and unique settings of familiar carols.

The members of the New England-based Enigmatica will be performing with the ECMO. Under the leadership of musical director Marilyn Mair (one of the foremost American classical mandolin soloists and pedagogues), Enigmatica will perform two works from their own repertoire.

Multi-instrumentalist Antonello DiMatteo will be featured on clarinet and zampogna (Italian pipes) on several works. DiMatteo regularly subs in the clarinet section of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he also performs with several European classical and folk ensembles.

Mandolin and domra virtuosos Ekaterina Skliar and Aleksei Aleksandrov will perform with the ECMO and will be featured on several duets.