The Mandolin Society of Peterborough (MSOP) was a non-profit community mandolin orchestra based in the City of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The MSOP was one of three such groups in Ontario (as of 2013), [1] [2] and the only one composed completely of mandolinists. In 2019, the society disbanded. [3]
The Society was founded in 2003 by Curtis Driedger. [4] [5] Since the year 2000, several Peterborough musical groups have come together in December each year put on a concert called In From the Cold. This well-attended community event [6] raises thousands of dollars each year for the Peterborough Youth Emergency Shelter. [7] [8] The organizers wanted to add something new to the 2003 concert, and since many of them were mandolinists, they performed three Christmas carols on mandolins, with Driedger as arranger and Conductor.
In 2004 the group moved beyond its original purpose, adding to its membership other mandolinists from Peterborough and the surrounding area. At first practices were held in members' homes, but soon a larger space was needed and the group began meeting in the premises of the Art School of Peterborough. After spending a number of months building up a repertoire, the still somewhat small orchestra made its first solo appearance, providing the music at a fund raiser for the Art School in the Great Hall at Trent University.
Once again in December, and for the next seven years, the orchestra took part in the In From the Cold concert. [9] [10] continuing to raise money for the Youth Emergency Shelter. [8] Each year a recording of this concert is broadcast Christmas Day on Trent Radio - 92.7 CFFF FM. [11] [12]
In 2005, the Mandolin Society appeared in "Rigoletto... in Bluegrass", Rob Swales' award-winning [13] [14] film adaptation of the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, performing the Prelude and Introduction from the opera at the Peterborough Folk Festival. [15] [16]
In 2006 the orchestra's first full length concert was held. [17] Musical arrangements for the concert were created by Driedger and other members of the group. By this time the group had seventeen members and included several octave mandolins. This was the first of many annual concerts. [18] [19] [20] The program each year includes solo pieces and guest musicians. [21] [22]
Also in 2006 the Mandolin Society performed as part of the Peterborough New Dance Festival, [23] and the Artsweek Street Festival. [24] Later that year, the orchestra performed at the Peterborough Festival of Trees; this festival raised over $200,000 for local health care facilities. [25]
By 2007 the orchestra had grown to 20 members, having once more outgrown its practice space and moved to the Peterborough ArtSpace building. To help support this organization, the group took part in the annual Twelve Days of Artspace fundraiser. [26] Society members formed a special four-piece band, the MandoBeatles, who made their first appearance at the MSOP Spring Concert. [27] Also that year, the Mandolin Society took part in the "Goddess for a Day" event at Peterborough Square to raise money for the United Way. [28]
In 2008 two members of the society who played together as the Messey Fargusons (a word play on the name of a local farm implement company), took up mandolins and each year thereafter performed as a duet in the spring concert. [29] That year, as well as its usual concert and participation in the In From the Cold fundraiser, the Mandolin Society took part in Folkways Sundays at Lang Pioneer Village, playing music from the 19th century for passing tourists and history buffs. [30] The orchestra also provided inspirational music at a meeting of the Peterborough Unitarian Fellowship, [31] participated in a concert in support of the Ontario Music Centre summer camp, [32] and later performed as part of "Alley Waltz 2008: Counting the Ways", a production of Peterborough's Disappearing Theatre. [33] Practices in 2008 were moved to Sadleir House.
In 2009 the Mandolin Society included two mandocello players in its lineup at the spring concert, [18] and participated in a concert in support of the Canadian Amateur Musicians Association Summer Music Camp. [34] The orchestra also provided period music at the Ontario Heritage Society annual conference, and once again entertained the congregation of the Unitarian Fellowship.
For the first time, in 2010, the orchestra included a custom built mandobass, a rarely seen instrument. [35] Beginning in 2010, the City of Peterborough has presented the Mandolin Society each year with a community grant in recognition of its cultural contributions to the local community. [36] That year the annual concert included as guests the conch shell ensemble Davey Jones' Locker.
By 2013 the Society was meeting weekly at Sadleir House. [37] Instruments played included standard mandolins, octave mandolins, mandocelli and one mandobass. The Messey Fargusons, the MandoBeatles and a variety of guests musicians continued to perform as part of the annual concert. The Mandolin Society continued to participate in community events and charity fundraisers in Peterborough.
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada. According to the 2016 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 81,032. The population of the Peterborough Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes the surrounding Townships of Selwyn, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Douro-Dummer, was 121,721 in 2016. In 2016, Peterborough ranked 32nd among the country's 35 census metropolitan areas according to the CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Diane Therrien.
Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.
Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.
William Patrick "Willie P." Bennett was a Canadian folk-music singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and mandolinist. Bennett was part of the 1970s folk music scene in Canada, and wrote and recorded many original songs. As well as performing as a solo artist, he was part of several well-known Ontario bands.
Christian Tanna is a Canadian drummer and music event organizer based in Peterborough, Ontario. He is best known for his work with the band I Mother Earth.
Christopher Scott Thile is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow. In October 2016, he became the host of the radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion, which in December 2017 was renamed Live from Here.
Greg Wells is a Grammy winning Canadian record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold and streaming numbers in billions. He has worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kid Cudi, Adele, Michael Bublé, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Rufus Wainwright, John Legend, In The Heights, Taylor Swift, Jazmine Sullivan, The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic, Ariana Grande, "San Quentin Mixtapes, Vol. 1" with David Jassy, Pharrell Williams, Pink, Theophilus London, Dua Lipa, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Jake Wesley Rogers, Missy Elliot, MIKA, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, Deftones, Katy Perry, Jamie Cullum, Aerosmith, Weezer, and music legends Sir George Martin, Quincy Jones, Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the Count Basie Orchestra.
Peter Ostroushko was an American violinist and mandolinist. He performed regularly on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion and with a variety of bands and orchestras in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and nationally. He won a regional Emmy Award for the soundtrack he composed for the documentary series Minnesota: A History of the Land (2005).
Doyle Lawson is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
A mandolin orchestra is an orchestra consisting primarily of instruments from the mandolin family of instruments, such as the mandolin, mandola, mandocello and mandobass or mandolone. Some mandolin orchestras use guitars and double-basses instead of, or as well as, the lower mandolin-family instruments.
The Peterborough Lakers are Senior "A" box lacrosse team from Peterborough, Ontario. They play in the Major Series Lacrosse league where under the current format, they compete in 16 regular season games from May through July and playoffs beginning in August and ending with the Mann Cup in September. The Lakers play their home games at the 4,329-seat multipurpose Peterborough Memorial Centre.
George Raab is a Canadian printmaker who has gained an international reputation for his wilderness landscape photo-based etchings and aquatints.
Daryl Bennett is a former municipal politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was twice elected mayor of Peterborough, having won the position in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. In October 2018, councillor Diane Therrien defeated him in his bid for a third term.
Rigoletto... in Bluegrass is a 2006 Canadian independent film directed by Rob Swales, based on the 1851 opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. Filming took place in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, in 2005 and the film was first screened in 2006.
Oregon Mandolin Orchestra (OMO) is an all-volunteer community orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2010, the OMO consists of about 30 members and has been led by music director Christian McKee since April 2017.
Bobby Watson is a Canadian blues singer and guitarist based in Peterborough, Ontario. He plays both acoustic and electric rock and Memphis style blues.
Hank Fisher, more commonly known as Washboard Hank is a Canadian musician, songwriter and stage performer. He was born in Peterborough, Ontario in 1954. He plays a number of instruments, including banjo, guitar and percussion. He is known for his unusual performances with self-created instruments. In 2016 he performed with his band, the Wringers.
Alon Sariel is an Israeli mandolinist, lutenist and conductor.
Electric City Football Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Peterborough, Ontario which plays in League1 Ontario's men's and women's division.
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