Herschel Freeman Agency

Global Mandolin Summit

 

Known for his versatility as well as his virtuosity, American mandolin master Mike Marshall has put together a new project that showcases the full array of his talents. Mike Marshall's Mandolin World features Mike playing with three mandolin virtuosos from around the world, in exciting solos and collaborations. Hamilton de Holanda brings the tropical flavor and exotic rhythms of his native Brazil. Caterina Lichtenberg from Germany brings a deft touch and a deep sensitivity to the classical mandolin repertoire. And U. Shrinivas from India is the acclaimed master of carnatic music.  Add to that Mike's background in bluegrass music and you have all the elements of an unforgettable melding of world-class talents.

 

Mike Marshall

Mike MarshallMike Marshall is one of the world's most accomplished and versatile acoustic musicians, a master of mandolin, guitar and violin whose playing is as imaginative and adventurous as it is technically thrilling. Able to swing gracefully from jazz to classical to bluegrass to Latin styles, he puts his stamp on everything he plays with an unusually potent blend intellect and emotion a combination of musical skill and instinct rare in the world of American vernacular instrumentalists.

Now living in Oakland, California, Mike grew up in Central Florida, where throughout his teens he played and taught bluegrass mandolin, fiddle and guitar. In 1979, at the age of 19, he was invited to join the original David Grisman Quintet and toured and recorded with Stephane Grappelli along with Mark O'Connor, Darol Anger, Tony Rice and Bela Fleck. Mike has since been at the forefront of the acoustic music scene, playing on hundreds of acoustic-music recordings both as lead artist and ensemble performer. His most recent collaborations have included cd productions and tours with mandolinists Chris Thile and Sam Bush, bassist Edgar Meyer, slide guitarist Jerry Douglas and classical violinist Joshua Bell.

In 1995, Mike traveled to Brazil and began his love affair with that music. He embarked on an in-depth study of choro music that has resulted in the creation of his group Choro Famoso. That interest has led to his own label, Adventure Music that now has released over 40 cds.

Today Mike can be heard on the 'Car Talk' soundtrack recording every week on NPR along with Earl Scruggs, David Grisman and Tony Rice. In addition Mike composed and recorded the theme music for the San Francisco based radio program 'Forum' heard daily on KQED radio.

Psychograss is another group the Mike formed along with guitarist David Grier, banjo player Tony Trischka, violinist Darol Anger and bassist Todd Phillips.

Other collaborations have included a CD with the Swedish group Väsen as well as numerous studio productions including the groups Hot Buttered Rum, Cadillac Sky, Laurie Lewis and Alison Brown.

As he does so engagingly in music, Mike also applies his adventurous aesthetic to his two principal hobbies: wine making and food. Already known as one of the best cooks in the music business, he has been trading guitar lessons for cooking lessons from Michael Peternell a chef at Berkeley's Chez Panisse. "Cooking is quite a passion for me," he told Bluegrass Now in a 2003 interview. "When I moved from Florida to join David Grisman's band here in California, it became very evident that I was too broke to afford the food I'd grown up on! So I'd call Mom: Hey, how do you make those roasted peppers? What's the deal with the sauce?' Now I make all my own pastas by hand-ravioli, gnocchi, all that stuff."

Back in the realm of music, Mike is currently working on further collaborations with German mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg as well as his own music camp for mandoinists the Mandolin Symposium that takes place every June at U.C. Santa Cruz with over 150 mandolinists and 10 of the greatest plays/teachers in the world.

Caterina Lichtenberg

CaterinaCaterina Lichtenberg was born in Sofia (Bulgaria). She commenced her studies in Magdeburg and finished them with distinction in the fields of mandolin and guitar at the Cologne Academy of Music under the guidance of Prof. Wilden-Hüsgen and Prof. Eickholt. Wild-Hüsgen and Prof. Eickholt.

She is the first-prize winner of numerous national and international music competitions and was a scholarship holder at the Richard Wagner Foundation. She is the first-prize winner of numerous national and international music competitions and was a scholarship holder at the Richard Wagner Foundation.

Apart from her duo work with Mirko Schrader (Duetto Giocondo), she concertises as a soloist and also performs in other chamber music settings, eg, together with Thomas Müller-Pering (guitar; Germany); John Dearman (guitar; USA), Silke Lisko (Duo Galante), Brigitte Engelhard (cembalo; Austria), Mike Marshall (Mandolin; USA), the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (USA) and orchestras such as the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, the Aachen Chamber Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the members of the Ensemble Recherche, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Apart from her duo work with Mirko Schrader (Duetto Giocondo), she concertises as a soloist and also performs chamber music in other settings, eg, together with Thomas Müller-Pering (guitar, Germany), John Dearman (guitar, USA), Silke Lisko (Duo Galante), Brigitte Engelhard (cembalo, Austria), Mike Marshall (Mandolin, USA), the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (USA) and orchestras such as the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, the Aachen Chamber Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the members of the Ensemble Recherche, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. A joint appearance with Art Garfunkel at a TV show complements her artistic work. A joint appearance with Art Garfunkel at a TV show complements her artistic work.

Apart from radio and television appearances, Caterina Lichtenberg has undertaken large concert tours through almost entire Europe as well as through the USA, Canada, Mongolia and Japan. Apart from radio and television appearances, Caterina Lichtenberg has undertaken large concert tours through almost entire Europe as well as through the United States, Canada, Mongolia and Japan.

Numerous compositions have been written for her and for Duetto Giocondo. Numerous compositions have been written for her and for Duetto Giocondo. The corresponding music editions have been published by: Zimmermann, GVH, V & F, Mel Bay. The corresponding music editions have been published by: Zimmermann, GVH, V & F, Mel Bay.

Caterina Lichtenberg is a sought-after artist and lecturer at national and international festivals and master classes.  She was, for example, invited as a guest to perform at the International Mandolin Festival in Kobe (Japan), at the International Mandolin convention in Washington and Minneapolis (USA), and at the Domaine Forget Music and Dance Academy (Canada). She has also performed in concert with the European Plucked String Orchestra in Logroño (Spain) and Bologna (Italy) as well as at the Nürtingen Guitar Festival.

She is regularly invited as a juror to national and international music competitions.

9 CD recordings of Caterina Lichtenberg are available so far. 9 CD recordings of Caterina Lichtenberg are available so far.

Since the winter semester of 2002/2003, Caterina Lichtenberg has conducted a mandolin course at the Cologne University of Music, Wuppertal Campus. During the winter semester 2007/2008 she was appointed to the position of Professor at the Cologne University of Music, and currently holds the sole Professorship of Mandolin in the whole of Europe. 

Hamilton De Holanda

HamiltonVirtuosic, brilliant and unique - those are some of the adjectives used to describe this musician who sets world audiences ablaze, developing a career studded with awards. Hamilton de Holanda started to play at 5 on a traditional 8-string “bandolim” (Brazilian mandolin). Later he added two extra strings, to a total count of 10, and reinvented it: he disentangled this emblematic Brazilian instrument from the legacy of some of its influences and styles, to make it a global instrument. In the US, the press soon dubbed him the “Jimi Hendrix of bandolim”.

At 31 this musician from Rio de Janeiro has evolved a characteristic way of playing. His phrasing, the extra strings and his powerful sound, combined to the speed of the solo passages and improvisations, are inspiring a new generation and a new sound. Is this jazz, samba, rock'n'roll, pop music, lundu, choro? Who cares? Hamilton is not so much after innovation than music focusing on beauty and spontaneity. He has in front of him a new world rife with possibilities. His North Star is the notion that “Modernity IS Tradition”: the point is neither the past nor the future, but their relationship, as they merge in the present moment, here and now. Choro, his main influence as a child and youth, finds itself transformed - not in a purist way, but in addition to his other references. “I'm asked whether what I do is 'new choro'. New choro? I don't understand. That's perhaps because I play the bandolim. Choro is like the Mona Lisa: do you think she needs a touch-up? No! Choro too is continued by the wonderful artistry of musicians like Luperce, Jacob and Pixinguinha. Since the tradition is perpetuated, you don't have to do anything but appreciate it. In fact, what I do is a synthesis of this information with an influence from choro, bossa nova, jazz, sounds from the street… It is a music that does not need labels to exist. It just has to be beautiful.”, says Hamilton.

His trajectory includes the double Best Instrumentalist Awards (unanimously), in the two categories of academic music and popular music, of the single edition of the “Icatu Hartford of Arts” in 2001. This prize enabled him to live one year in Paris; this gave international wings to his musical work. In January 2005 at Midem (the main music trade show in the world), he performed the launching concert of the Year of Brazil in France, and his CD “1 byte 10 strings” - the first 10-string solo bandolim album ever - receive the notable distinction of [musical ]“Choc” from Europe’s premier musical periodical Le Monde de la Musique. Hamilton was affectionately dubbed “Prince of Bandolim” in the French press, and “King” in the Brazilian press (Revista Bravo). Such figures as Ivan Lins, Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Djavan and João Bosco consider him as “One of the best musicians in the world”. In 2007 he was nominated for the Latin Grammy for the Best Instrumental recording for “Brasilianos” with its band, the Hamilton de Holanda Quintet, in competition with names such as Chick Corea and Béla Fleck. The quintet also won the TIM award and the title of Best Group from Jazz+ magazine, and Hamilton himself, that of Best Instrumentalist of 2007. He recently performed the Brazilian national anthem in Rio de Janeiro for the opening ceremony of the Parapanamerican Games.  Hamilton appears in various major events and festivals in Brazil and internationally. He has shared stages with Maria Bethânia, Ivan Lins, João Bosco, Seu Jorge, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Richard Galliano, Richard Bona, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones,…

His latest production, “BRASILIANOS 2” (2008), entirely consists of some his own compositions. It is the continuation of its cultural effort for accessibility to the general public of modern Brazilian music. In 2007 he released the solo CD “Intimo”(adventure music), recorded in various hotel rooms worldwide, bringing democratization and accessibility to the recording technique itself, and a marvellous duet with pianist André Mehmari, “Continua Amizade” - both for the Deckdisc/Adventure Music label. He will soon release a duet with one of his references, the player bandolim Joel Nascimento, who is turning 70 this year and a duo recorded live January 08 with his good friend Yamandu Costa. His discography also includes guest appearances in CDs and DVDs by Djavan, Cesaria Évora, Beth Carvalho, Zélia Duncan, Dona Ivone Lara, Ivan Lins and João Bosco, among others….

With a splendid technique and absolute brasilian-ness, onstage or in the studio, Hamilton combines dazzling playing and performance filled with emotion. He is utterly versatile, and feels at ease in any type of line-up: solo, with an orchestra, duet, power trio, quintet….

U. Shrinivas ( mandolin )

ShrinivasA power house of talent has descended on the orchard of Carnatic Music to make it resplendent in all its varied hues and nuances, weaving around it a magnetic field that not only sustains the audience interest but makes them crave for a little more of it. This sudden and brilliant outburst of musical wizardry is from the tender hands of Master Shrinivas who with a caress of the strings of the tiny instrument Mandolin sets the pace for a thoroughly enjoyable fare of Carnatic music that normally has come to be regarded as the preserve of a few savant grade senior musicians".

Shrinivas was born in Palakol in West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh on February 28, 1969. As a very young boy Shrinivas was a normal child in school except that he seemed to have an ear for music. Then one day, when he was only six years old, his parents came home to find him playing on his father's mandolin. Inspired by the boy's interest in music, Satyanarayana taught his son what little music he knew, and Shrinivas began playing Carnatic music on the mandolin.

Subbaraju, a classically trained musician and a disciple of the famous musical stalwart Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, who had taught music to Shrinivas' father sensed the young boy's musical aptitude and decided to teach him classical music. He had no experience on the mandolin, so he would sing Carnatic music which Shrinivas would then play on the mandolin. He also learned Carnatic music from Shri Vasu Rao. In this way the young musician developed his own style.

Yes, indeed a star was born....

Mandolin Shrinivas has often been compared to some of the world greatest prodigies.

"Some of you have heard or read about exceptionally gifted children, our own Mandolin Shrinivas, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Beethoven, Sir Isaac Newton, Picasso, Madam Curie, the list is endless" (courtesy THE HINDU, Sunday, May 3, 1992)

To Shrinivas the mandolin was his first love. He expended all his latent talent to conquer this little known alien instrument. Such was the proficiency he attained that his father soon realized that what he had on his hands was a "child prodigy" and no less ! Sparing no effort and time, he swept his son on his sail to recognition. The creative energy in Shrinivas swirled like a tidal wave around the Carnatic music world. The way critics gushed, it was hard to tell if they were talking about a child or a god! "He was hardly nine. Innocence was writ large on his face. But the music that he produced on the little brittle mandolin was unbelievably Carnatic and classical to the core, throwing into the shade even the top instrumentalists. One had to rub one's eyes and pinch oneself to make sure that a nine-year-old lad was performing musical miracles on the dais. He even operated on offbeat summations revealing virtuosity of a high order. That he could conceive in his mind the raga in all its grandeur and inherent niceties and transform them into musical extravaganzas had to be seen and heard to be believed ! It was clear that there was a divine force expressing itself through him in his tiny instrument".

Shrinivas got his first big break in Gudivada in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, during the Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana festival. He was barely nine then.

Following public recognition and acceptance in 1983, the next years of this wonder boy were spent in touring the world extensively, enchanting his audience with the youthful vigour and expertise that are his hallmarks. His concerts were highly acclaimed and he was showered with many prestigious awards.

Over the years his performing perambulations and resulting public adulation afforded him no time for formal schooling. Shrinivas has been principally educated through private coaching. He remains essentially the shy small-town boy with an urbane smile and a magnificent obsession - his mandolin. In every concert Shrinivas earned applauses minute after minute with his brilliant flashes. There was depth and weight in the boy's delineation of 'ragaas', with the Carnatic traditional flavour all the way in every note and phrase.
So much so that it was popularly felt... "If music is God's gift to man, U.Shrinivas is God's gift to music"

Shrinivas got his first big break in Gudivada in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, at the age of nine during the Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana festival.

Thereafter his career surged ahead. The Indian Fine Arts Society in Madras afforded him the first major metropolitan concert during the musical festival in Dec 1981. Shrinivas soon felled all before him like a hurricane, as sabha after sabha vied with each other to present this prodigy with the mandolin - an unheard of phenomenon in the halls of Carnatic music. A worldwide concert tour followed.

At the West Berlin Jazz Festival in 1983, he was privileged to give a repeat performance of his mandolin, which was telecast live by German TV. At the invitation of the Sydney Tamil Sangham, he went to Australia in 1984, and then to South East and South West Asia, the USA and Canada. At the Festival of India in Paris, he was allotted one hour to play on the instrument. But when the hour ended, the audience forced the organizers to extend his recital by another hour. Such is the irresistible pull of Shrinivas' art. Leading organizations vied with each other to shower him with honors and titles. In 1983, the Music Academy, Madras, honored him with the "Special TTK Award"

Dizzy Heights
The boy exhibited dizzy heights in his standard of play, which far surpasses what he must have learnt from his guru. Listeners were swept away in the flood of neatly executed touches and rhythmic patterns coming from the young prodigy's hand. Everyone forgot what instrument it was and gave themselves up for listening to the mellifluous melody that flowed out of the little stick of a musical instrument!

 

 

Press Photos

Mike Marshall Caterina Hamilton de Holanda  

 

Tour Schedule

Mike Marshall's Mandolin World will tour the US in March, 2011.

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