The shimmery, soothing sounds of mandolin music will resonate in Towson this week when the Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra hosts the 25th annual convention of the Classical Mandolin Society of America.
The public is invited when the convention performances culminate in a concert this Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium.
The concert is no-strings-attached free, save for the strings attached to the 140 mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, mandobasses and classical guitars that will be plucked to produce that unique sound.
The concert will offer a wide range of music, including classical and traditional Italian pieces as well as ethnic, jazz and contemporary works. Jim Bates, a prominent figure in the Classical Mandolin Society of America, will be among the conductors.
Warning: Mandolin music and its ilk have proven to be addictive, according to Jim Blanchard, spokesman for the 30-member Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra, which practices once a week at the Pickersgill Retirement Community in Towson.
Early arrival at the concert is encouraged, he said.
Blanchard was lured by a mandolin concert that he attended in 1987. He started taking lessons as soon as he retired, and has been a member of the orchestra for nine years.
For Shirley Carl, who has been a member of the mandolin orchestra for two of the 40 years she has lived in Greenbrier, the siren song was a mandolin quartet she heard play.
"I just fell in love with the sound," she said.
Like Blanchard, she took lessons from BMO member Joyce Adams.
She was nervous during her first performance with the orchestra, and glad they had put her in the back row, Carl said.
"Now I'm very comfortable," she said. "There's no pressure. They are a very congenial group."
Like the other BMO members, Carl is excited by the prospect of the "en masse" performance Saturday night.
"There will be a lot of practicing this week," she said. "I've told my family not to bother to ask me to baby sit."
The "en masse" concert is a rare opportunity, considering most people in the United States never get to hear a mandolin orchestra, Blanchard said. The BMO is one of only about 30 mandolin orchestras nationwide.
It's also rare because, for the last 25 years, the convention has been held in cities that require flying to get to. He expects record attendance this year because Baltimore is convenient for the entire eastern seaboard.
Saturday night will feature not only the MBO, but five mandolin orchestras and ensembles from the mid-Atlantic region, including the Mandoleers from Arlington, Va.; the Philadelphia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble; the Pittsburgh Mandolin Orchestra; the Providence Mandolin Orchestra; and a combined ensemble of players from the Long Island Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra and Mandophonics from southwest Florida.
In addition the Baltimore Mandolin Quartet will appear, and there will be solo performances by classical mandolinist Chris Acquavella, jazz mandolinist Aaron Weinstein, and classical/jazz mandolinist Joe Brent.
Saturday night will be the swan song performance for BMO conductor David Evans, who has led the orchestra for more than 25 years, as well as played the mandolin.
The Towson resident is withdrawing because work demands have been a drain on the time he should be devoting to the BMO, he said, noting the orchestra put on 25 performances last year.
During his tenure, he has seen the orchestra grow — and the demand for its performances grow.
"More and more people are coming to our concerts," Evans said. "It's rare when we don't have sold-out houses."
"I'm confident they will keep growing and become even stronger," he said. "They just win audiences over every time. The sound is remarkable."
The mandolin has the range of the violin, but it is played with a pick instead of a bow, he said.
"It is the way that the mandolin is played, with a very fast up-and-down stroke of the wrist, that gives it that sustained shimmery effect," he says. "I think the tone is gorgeous, just beautiful."
Three other concerts will be open to the public and free during the course of the convention. They will be held in the Fitzgerald Ballroom at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel, 903 Dulaney Valley Road, as follows: Thursday, Oct. 13, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 14, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 15, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
For details, visit http://www.baltimoremandolinorchestra.org, and click on "2011 CMSA convention."