Updates & General Information

Every so often I will update my readers with studio information, event listings and other topics I feel might be relevant. 

Firstly, please come to see the Celtic Group Class Thursday,  June 20th at 7pm performing 90 minutes of music including some of our favorite sing-alongs: "The Parting Glass", Brennan on the Moor and the Gypsy Rover!  The group will be performing in the Hobbit House within The Park at Mill 180 in Easthampton, MA.  This is a free concert.  There are drinks and food at the bar, so you don't need to byob!  I hope you can come.  This will be a lot of fun. 

Secondly, put this date in your calendar: Sunday, July 28th, the Classical Group Class will be performing Bach and Mozart at the Porter Phelps Huntington Museum in Hadley.  The group will be performing the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 for 2 Mandolas and continuo (a world premier!), and Mozart's "Dissonance" String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 (also a world premier AFAWK).

Finally, Summer is almost here and that means some students go away, leaving gaps in my schedule.  The following slots will be open this week:

Tuesday 11am-12pm
Wednesday 11am-12pm, 7pm-8pm
Friday 5-6pm, 6-7pm

If you are a current student who would like to switch to another day/time, please let me know through Slack and I'll do my best to make arrangements.  If you've been thinking about taking lessons with me, now's the time to register for classes as these slots (especially the early ones) will fill up quickly.

Thank you!

Thoughts on the Porter Phelps Concert

The Classical Group performed Bach and Mozart at the Porter Phelps Huntington Museum in Hadley MA on Sunday, September 23, 2018.  Attending were Josh Bell on mandolin, Will Melton on mandola, Joe Blumenthal on bass, Barbara Blumenthal on mandolin, Keith Higginson on mandolin, Nancy Kida on mandolin and yours truly (Adam Sweet) on mandolin and mandocello.

The Classical Group and Josh Bell

The performance was held in the "corn barn" a section between the main house and the side house which is usually quite nice in the spring and fall, but very cold on Sunday.  We were not prepared with sweaters as we should have been.  It was a chilly performance.

The Corn Barn - Porter Phelps Museum

Usually the barn is packed to the gills, but the turnout was miserable.  We had perhaps a half-dozen in attendance, and most of them were students and family.  The Daily Hampshire Gazette, which usually is on the ball when we give them plenty of notice, forgot to post our announcement and picture, and apparently ignored the same press release from the Museum.  Susan Lisk, the manager, mentioned several times how disappointing it is that they failed to follow through on the publicity we required to notify the usual audience.

Will Melton Introducing the Music

The performance itself was mediocre.  In all honesty, the best part of it was Will Melton's introduction at the beginning and before the Mozart.  The instruments were tinny and quiet.  People came in at the wrong places and weren't playing together.  Nobody was listening to each other either.  I've never been more horrified of a public performance than I was on Sunday.  Perhaps it was the cold.  Who knows.  I must put on my thinking cap and revisit my plan for this ensemble.