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The MMO and an evening of Russian Domra and Bayan (Button Accordion)

  • UWM Recital Hall - adjacent to the Music Building 2400 E Kenwood Blvd Milwaukee, WI, 53211 United States (map)

This could be our most eclectic concert ever.  You'll probably want to buy your tickets right now!

With virtuoso guitarist Rene Izquierdo conducting, the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra is heading in a more ambitious direction while proudly remaining champions of the American mandolin tradition.

We found that carefully chosen music from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras blends remarkably well with ragtime tunes and mandolin orchestra music composed by local composers from 100 years ago.

In the upcoming concert program, featuring the amazing duo of virtuosos Stas Venglevski and Mikhail Litvin, Izquierdo will take this event where no other mandolin orchestra concert in Milwaukee has ever gone before.

About Our Soloists

In 2000, Mikhail Litvin, a virtuoso mandolinist / domra player from Belarus, came to Milwaukee with a desire to live in America and work as a classically trained musician. He is a beneficiary of the former Soviet Union’s musical education system. In past years, Mikhail was the MMO’s regular soloist. More recently, he has been touring North America and Europe with his performing partner, Stas Venglevski.


In most parts of the world, some types of the accordion are symbols of a nation’s musical identity. The button accordion Bayan is as Russian as the balalaika and the Bolshoi Ballet. Stas Venglevski is a two-time first prize winner of Bayan competition in the Republic of Moldova.  Stas is a graduate of the Russian Academy of Music in Moscow where he received his Masters Degree in Music.

Stas has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe, and the United States, including numerous performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen and with Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion.

Stas and Mischa on YouTube.


Following our guest virtuosos, the MMO will bring you the best of mandolin orchestra music, with a surprising addition: Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3.  The orchestra has had a blast getting this piece ready to debut - holy cow, it's fun!

 

Tickets

$16 (plus service charge) - available here.

$20 at the door.