May 26th, 2019 / Featured Guests Mark & Beverly Davis / guitar mandolin duo / Sandwich Town Hall
We invite you to join our great list of musicians and our featured musician guests on May 26th, 2019 / 3pm, husband-wife / guitar-mandolin duo Mark & Beverly Davis. Collaborative pianist of the day will be pianist Ben Healy. Contact us to sign up or request rehearsal.
Mark and Beverly Davis perform a classical-romantic-folk repertoire using two classical guitars, or guitar and mandolin. Their focus is on the beauty of sound and the expressive capabilities of the plucked strings.
Mark and Beverly Davis have performed at many international festivals of mandolin and guitar including Eurofestival Zupfmusik (Germany),
Mandolines de Lunel (France), Ciudad de Cristal (Spain), and FAME (Australia).
In 2018 they performed with the Hampton Trio at the 46th Festival Internacional de Plectro La Rioja (Spain).
When not traveling, the duo also performs with the New American Mandolin Ensemble, directs the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, and runs their North Meadow House Concerts, which has featured many rising stars of the classical guitar and mandolin world.
Mark Davis is recognized as a leader in the field of plucked string music, known equally for his work as a mandolinist, guitarist, conductor and educator.
In the 70’s and 80’s he helped to establish the mandolin-guitar duo as a concert ensemble, with many recordings and tours. He has directed the Providence Mandolin Orchestra (PMO) since 1989; under his leadership the group has become one of the leading American plucked string orchestras with a reputation for innovative programming.
In 2013 he organized the New American Mandolin Ensemble for the purpose of presenting contemporary original music for plucked strings; in 2017 he started the Hampton Trio for the purpose of promoting classical mandolin music.
Beverly Davis was a member of the Keene State Guitar Orchestra before joining the Providence Mandolin Orchestra. As President of the PMO she has arranged several international tours and cultural exchanges as well as directing the 2001 Providence International Mandolin Festival. Beverly performs on classical guitar with the PMO, the Hampton Trio and the New American Mandolin Ensemble.
Mark & Beverly Davis play music that I find deeply emotional, almost to the point of magic.
David Isenberg, concert promoter
Mark and Beverly Davis have performed together as a duo since 2001; since 2014 they have also performed and toured with the New American Mandolin Ensemble (NAME). Their concert tours have taken them to the FAME Festival (Australia 2008, 2012), Festival Ciudad de Cristal (Spain 2008), Mandolines de Lunel (France 2011), Eurofestival Zupfmusik (Germany 2010, 2014), the Classical Mandolin Society Annual Convention (Portland 2014), the New York International Mandolin Festival (2016), and the 45th Festival Internacional Musica de Plectro (Rioja, Spain 2016).
You played beautifully together -- very expressive, excellent ensemble and tone. I think this "romantic- folk" repertoire suits you…you inhabit the pieces.
Prof. Robert A. Margo, guitarist/mandolinist/lutenist
The duo has been praised for the intensity of their performances and their ability to communicate with audiences. Drawing from a large international repertoire by contemporary composers (Victor Kioulaphides, Stephen Lalor, Robert Schulz, Andrew York, Maria Linnemann, Roland Dyens, etc.) Mark and Beverly Davis choose their pieces based on the qualities of musical interest, dialogue and emotional depth.
Mark's and Beverly's performances are an intimate conversation and always a privilege to enjoy. Their music is exquisitely rendered.
Amy Sterling, long-time fan
Their first CD “Ayres and Dances for Two Guitars’ was a Motif Magazine nominee for ‘Best Local CD of the Year.’ Jazz mandolinist WiIl Patton writes of the duo’s “…LUMINOUS CD Ayres and Dances,” saying “your ensemble playing is remarkable and intuitive, and the tonal quality is rich and full.”
Mark Davis is recognized as a leader in the field of plucked string music, known equally for his work as a mandolinist, guitarist, conductor and educator. In the 70’s and 80’s he helped to establish the mandolin-guitar duo as a concert ensemble, with many recordings and tours. Works written for him include Guido Santorsola’s “Sonata a Duo No. 6”, Stephen Funk Pearson’s “Mountain Moor” and Ernst Krenek’s “Suite for mandolin and guitarre, Op. 242”. Mark Davis has been the director of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra since 1989, establishing their reputation for excellence in promoting and performing contemporary works for plucked strings.
As President of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Beverly Davis has organized numerous international tours, and also directed the 2001 International Festival of Mandolins in Providence, Rhode Island. Beverly Davis studied the classical guitar with Reed Desrosier at Keene State College, and also performs with the Providence Mandolin Orchestra.
Hauntingly beautiful playing!
Jasper Vabejas, French guitarist
At their home in Connecticut, the Duo presents the North Meadow House Concert Series, featuring many international artists of the plucked string including Choro das 3, Carlo Aonzo, Frank Wallace, Chris Acquavella, Sebastiaan de Greber, Joe Brent and Sara Caswell, Guiseppe Ficara, Norbert Dams, and the Mare Duo.
You guys have an amazing knack for picking GREAT material and performing it with all the taste, tone, timing, soul, swing and overall groove that really makes it a joy to listen to! Beautiful!! Bravo!!... it was just one beautiful exposition of confident, joy-filled music making!
Wayne Fugate, mandolinist (Bright Star), sound engineer (New York International Mandolin Festival)
DUO WEBSITES:
http://www.markmdavis.com/mark_and_beverly_davis
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-and-Beverly-Davis/
https://www.reverbnation.com/markandbeverlydavis
