San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins April 10, 2011

Join us for the annual gathering of the mandolins. Five diverse ensembles will be performing on this year's program! Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble, Grandpa Banana, Aurora Mandolin Orchestra, The Axelrod, Cary, Foss Jug Band and Marla Fibish & Gari Hegedus. Add the BYO Mandolin Orchestra (Bring Your Own), all the mandolin workshops, The performances for the public will commence at 1PM. Workshops at 10AM

Performers

The Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble is the only all-mandolin ensemble in the North Bay, consisting of mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos and guitar. The group has been rehearsing in Sebastopol, in a home surrounded by Gravenstein apple orchards. The Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble's eclectic repertoire includes music from George Frederic Handel to Scott Joplin, Brazilian choros, Italian polkas, Klezmer waltzes and more.

Gari Hegedus & Marla Fibish. Gari Hegedus plays mandocello, violin and viola and variety of stringed instruments from Greece and Turkey including lauoto, oud, saz and hand drums. Marla Fibish plays mandolin, mandola. A San Francisco native, Marla is a long-time feature of the Bay Area Irish music scene, and an unapologetic proponent of the mandolin in Irish music.

Axelrod, Cary & Foss Jug Band. Axelrod, Cary & Foss found each other through the local Jug Band scene and decided to play jugband music, rags, blues and old jazz together with abandon and grace.

Grandpa Banana is Lowell Levinger, a talented multi-instrumentalist, is known to locals and fans as Banana. since he moved there from Boston in 1967, the Summer of Love, with Young and the Youngbloods.They had just recorded "Get Together," the top 40 hit that became the peace and love anthem of their generation.

The Aurora Mandolin Orchestra is the largest orchestra of its kind in he San Francisco Bay Area continues to perform many concerts to thousands of audiences at festivals and organizations throughout the area.

Official Website: http://www.CroatianAmericanWeb.org