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MANDOLIN CAMP NORTH® April 3, 4, & 5, 2009 Click here for MCN 2008 Class Descriptions Click here for MCN 2008 Class Schedule Director: Mike Holmes Music Director: Phil Zimmerman

Camp will open Friday at 12:30 PM for registration, jamming, and instruction. Registration will occur in the Adult Center starting at 1:00 PM. We'll have hands-on workshops, round robin demonstrations and guided jam sessions for three days, a Friday night "meet the faculty concert," a formal concert Saturday night, and lots and lots of time for jamming and getting to know each other. Our resident instrument specialist will be there from 12:30 PM on Friday and all day Saturday. Lecture-demonstrations about Mandolin history and setup will be offered. Instrument vendors and makers, plus recordings, accessories and books will be on sale in our market area. Attendees are encouraged to bring Mandolins and other instruments for sale or trade.

The Beginners' Track provides instruction for absolute beginners (those who haven't played before), and those who can play a little bit, but still can't play with other people or pick out tunes on their own. Click below for more information.

Advancing Beginners and Intermediates will find classes geared to their levels and needs. Advancing beginners may still only play a few phrases and chords, but they have some basic mandolin experience. In general intermediates know some tunes but aren't able to play up to speed yet. They are still working on rhythm. They may already read tab or notation, but can use help playing by ear and learning to arrange a tune or song on their own.

Classes at the Advancing Beginners/Intermediate level will include Learning To Play What You Hear, Playing Slow Tunes, Controlling The Pick, Choosing Your Next Mandolin, Bluegrass Mandolin Monroe Style, Introduction to Modern Bluegrass Style, Old Time Mandolin -- Brothers Music, Translating Fiddle Tunes To The Mandolin, What To Do When Another Instrument Has The Lead, Accompanying Singing, and many more. At Mandolin Camp the emphasis is on using tab minimally - just to get you started playing.

For the Advanced Players, there will be added classes in Arranging Tunes or Songs For The Mandolin, Introduction To What It Takes To Be An Effective Sideman, Playing For A Living, Playing And Composing For Commercials, and more.

The weekend will include at least 100 class hours plus guided jams at all speeds and levels. After each evening program there will be plenty of time for free jams, again at various levels. Most of the classes are hands on, practical learning situations. A few are demonstrations or mini-concerts, but even in these classes the intention is for you to take something away that you may want to learn or speak with the instructors about later. You are encouraged to bring a recording device of some kind.

Mandolin Camp North takes place at a beautiful wooded lakeside setting near Groton Massachusetts. Cabins are heated, so you don't have to worry about our unpredictable New England weather.

Cabins: The cabins each have 3 or 4 rooms, and each room has 2 or 3 bunk beds. Each cabin also has 2 bathrooms and one shower. Separate women-only cabins are available. Cabins are far enough away from the playing/jamming areas so that quiet at bed-time won't be a problem. But then again many of you won't want to sleep, anyway! There is no smoking allowed in any of the buildings and no alcohol allowed on the camp site. Local accommodations are available for those who want to bring the family, or just prefer more privacy. The tuition fee will be adjusted for commuters.

Meals: Meals are provided as part of the tuition package, and vegetarian meals are available. Dinner will be served promptly at 6 PM Friday. The meals schedule for the rest of the weekend will be announced in the program book at camp time.

Off site residence: Click here for local accommodations. Electric hookups are available on site for motor homes, but there are no on site facilities for water or waste hookups.

MCN 2009 STAFF -- TBA

2008 Staff List:

John Reischman is one of the acoustic world’s top-ranked mandolin players and composers. Although the master of many styles, at Mandolin Camp North, John will concentrate on teaching bluegrass and improvising bluegrass instrumentals. After discovering the mandolin at age 17, and drawing inspiration from the playing of Bill Monroe and new acoustic mandolin pioneers Frank Wakefield, Sam Bush, Andy Statman and David Grisman, John was also influenced by his exposure to the hot swing of guitarist Django Reinhardt and jazz mandolin of pioneers Jethro Burns and Tiny Moore. As an original member of the legendary Tony Rice Unit, John helped to define the 'new acoustic' instrumental scene in the early 1980s. Now a familiar figure at bluegrass, folk and jazz festivals, John is a highly-regarded teacher and participates in music camps and workshops throughout North America.

Radim Zenkl Mandolin player, composer and instructor. Radim's style features progressive original, and eastern European traditional music, flavored with string jazz, new age, bluegrass, flamenco, rock, classical and other. The US Mandolin Champion is at the cutting edge of mandolin's future, designing new instruments of the mandolin family and creating new playing techniques. Besides collaborating with the top musicians of the acoustic music scene, Radim has built up an extensive repertoire for solo mandolin. Radim Zenkl has reinvented the mandolin in several different ways! - David Grisman

Rich DelGrosso is, according to author Mark Hoffman, "the greatest living blues mandoman, the best since Yank." He has performed for the past thirty years, mentored by and performing with blues-band legends at clubs and festivals throughout the country. He has been a writer for Blues Revue magazine since 1991 and an associate editor since 1966. A respected writer in the blues realm, his work has also appeared in Living Blues, Mandolin World News, Frets, Mandolin Magazine, and Footsteps. DelGrosso's latest book from Hal Leonard Publishers is Mandolin Blues: from Memphis to Maxwell Street.

David Surette is highly regarded his work on the mandolin, guitar, and bouzouki. He plays regularly in a duo with singer Susie Burke, as a soloist, and as a freelance accompanist. He was also a founding member of the contradance band Airdance. His most recent release, Northern Roots, is a collection of traditional New-England based music that has drawn strong praise. His diverse repertoire includes traditional American roots music, Celtic and contra tunes, original compositions, bluegrass, blues and ragtime, and folk music from a variety of traditions. He coordinates folk music programming at the Concord Community Music School and is the artistic director of their March Mandolin Festival.

Richard (Richie) Brown has been a part-time bluegrass musician in the Boston area since the mid-sixties. Richard has played with several prominent New England bands and occasionally filled in with nationally known bluegrass artists, as well. He has done mandolin workshops with Ron Thomason, Dave McLaughlin, and Lou Martin at the Joe Val Memorial Bluegrass Festival and other events for the Boston Bluegrass Union, and with Mike Holmes at the New England Folk Festival. Richard's playing is heavily influenced by Bill Monroe's style and "old style" mandolin players. He currently plays mandolin and sings in the Boston-based Reunion Band with Dave Dillon, Lauck Benson, Margaret Gerteis and Art Schatz.

Phil Zimmerman has been a folk and bluegrass musician since his high school days in Chicago. He developed his multi-instrumentalist chops as a solo performer in college, and has won regional contests for bluegrass and clawhammer banjo, guitar and mandolin. He’s a founding member of Connecticut’s ground-breaking eclectic string band, Last Fair Deal, playing banjo, mandolin, and guitar with them since 1972. For ten years, Phil played mandolin and sang lead with Connecticut’s premier traditional bluegrass band, Traver Hollow. A few years ago, he joined with Phil Rosenthal (of Seldom Scene), Stacy Phillips, and Dave Kiphuth to form Bluegrass Union.

Skip Gorman has played old time and bluegrass styles of mandolin for 46 years. For two years he has had the distinction of being selected to be among the first mandolin instructors at the International Bluegrass Museum's Bill Monroe Weekend in Owenboro KY. Ken Burns, has used Skip's mandolin music in his PBS series Baseball. A nationally recognized fiddler and singer of cowboy ballads, Skip has recorded for Rounder, Folk Legacy , Columbia and Old West recordings. His latest projects are Mandolin In The Cow Camp and Old Style Mandolin, Vols. 1 & 2.

Mike Holmes (MCN Director) is best known as publisher of Mugwumps Magazine now Mugwumps Online. He is the former chairman of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, and the National Folk Festival, and is widely regarded as an expert on the history of American stringed instruments. Mike has performed acoustic music on the North American and international circuit, and appeared on recordings of traditional and contemporary musicians. He is equally proficient on mandolin, guitar, and old time banjo; he also sings. His Smithsonian/Folkways book & CD set is titled Mandolin Instruction, Old Time, Country & Fiddle Tunes. Mike is also director of Banjo Camp North, an annual event, held in May and Old Time Music Camp North, held in October.

Neil Rossi is a multi-instrumentalist who is best known for his fiddle and mandolin work. He is sought after as accompanist in both Bluegrass and Old Time settings. Beginning in 1960 when he heard the Osborne Bros, he spent hours every day learning banjo, three-finger picking. Later, he bought a mandolin and, in 1964, began learning fiddle. In 1966 he formed The Spark Gap Wonder Boys, and over the years has gravitated more to the fiddle and mandolin as his primary instruments. He has played those with The David Bromberg Band, The Yankee Rebels, Diamonds In The Rough, and Bob Yellin & The Joint Chiefs Of Bluegrass, among others. Neil currently plays mandolin and sings baritone with the Vermont based, traditional, bluegrass band Big Spike Bluegrass.

Lorraine Lee Hammond is best known for her Appalachian dulcimer playing and recordings. She is also a fine singer and teacher. Lorraine teaches instrument styles as well as classes in songwriting and basic music theory at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. She also organizes two annual music festivals at the Center: The Blacksmith House Folk Festival held each November and the Blacksmith House Dulcimer Festival held each May. Since 1986 Lorraine has performed and toured extensively at home and abroad with guitar virtuoso Bennett Hammond. They married on Thanksgiving Day 1991. Together they run Great Acoustics.

Dave Reiner is best known as co-author of Oldtime Fiddling Across America (Mel Bay Publications), and as author of Anthology of Fiddle Styles. He is also a fine mandolin player and teacher. He currently plays fiddle and mandolin with the Reiner Family Band and with Granite Grass in and around New England. Dave is the former Wisconsin state fiddle champion and has won many contests in the Northeast. A veteran of years of giving workshops, Dave will teach from beginner levels on up, focusing on fiddle tunes for the mandolin, including New England, ragtime, Irish and oldtime styles. He likes tune variations and unusual tunes.

Alan Kaufman has performed Old Time Music for more than 30 years. A fine player on mandolin and guitar, Alan is author of Beginning Old Time Fiddle published by Music Sales. He currently is responsible for starting and leading well-received Old TIme Music jams in the greater Boston area. At camp he will teach mandolin, primarily with the novice and beginner track, repertoire, and lead jamming sessions. Alan will also teach Old Time mandolin, using fiddle tunes and duet-style playing in the Monroe and Blue Sky Boys tradition, among others.

Glenn Nelson, resident instrument specialist, has been building, restoring and repairing instruments for 20 years. Glenn and his wife Barbara started Mockingbird Music in Berlin, Massachusetts, where they build custom stringed instruments and specialize in the repair and restoration of vintage instruments. Glenn currently teaches five string banjo and performs with "Acoustic Planet" encompassing world music, folk, jazz and bluegrass. At BCN he will be available to do minor setups & repairs on site, and to accept instruments for more extensive work. Charges will apply for materials and time spent. Glenn will also participate in some jazz and modern playing workshops where he will showcase his "Fan Fret Fingerboard" innovation.

Mike Rivers has played old time music since 1960. He perfomed with the Greasy Run Toad Trompers, one of the first of the eclectic string bands who played a mixed bag of Southern, Northern, Western, swing, ragtime, and Celtic music on string band instruments. As a recording engineer and producer, Mike has recorded albums of various artists for Folkways, Folk Legacy, Rounder, Troubador, Flying Fish, among others. He has run concert sound for the Smithsonian, National, and Lowell Folklife Festivals. Mike will teach backup guitar and conduct seminars in sound production and recording.