About

2022 CMSA Convention

The Classical Mandolin Society of America and your host, the Kalamazoo Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra, invite you to attend the 36th Annual CMSA Convention, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Wednesday, September 21st through Sunday noon on September 25th at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, with preconvention workshops beginning Tuesday, September 20th.

Following the option of one of three pre-convention workshops, the convention kicks off on Wednesday afternoon with a set of workshops and the first En Masse Orchestra rehearsal with returning conductor Dr. Jim Bates, followed by the Welcome Party in the evening. Evening concerts featuring our guest performers and our host orchestra will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. You can also look forward to open mic concerts, daily workshops on classical and non-classical topics, and late night sight reading and other ‘jams’. Friday includes our Gala banquet and raffle. The general CMSA membership meeting is Sunday morning, a last chance to spend time with bleary-eyed sore fingered friends. 

Schedule:

• Pre-convention Workshops: Tuesday evening, September 20, and Wednesday morning, September 21
• Convention Starts: Wednesday afternoon, September 21
• Convention Ends: Sunday at noon, September 25

Cost: $325 for playing; $285 for non-playing, $75 for day pass

Day Passes: Day passes are now available for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. You may purchase a maximum of two day passes. With a day pass, you have access to all of the day’s activities, but will not have access to the En Masse music (come watch the rehearsal!) You must be a member of CMSA to purchase a day pass, and must comply with all COVID protocols. Note: The Friday Day Pass does not include the Gala Banquet, so purchase a Gala Banquet ticket if you plan to attend!

Hotel Reservations

For the nights of September 20th-24th, CMSA has negotiated a discounted Queen/King Standard sleeping room rate of $146.00 USD (before taxes) for Single or Double occupancy (Triple rate is $156 and Quad rate is $166). To receive this discounted rate when making online reservations, be sure to quote Promo Code “CMSA”. If making reservations by phone, call the hotel directly at 1-269-343-3333 and be sure to tell them you are attending the Classical Mandolin Society of America Convention.

The discounted rate available 3 days pre and post the convention is based upon availability.

Travel & Transportation

Kalamazoo is centrally located in Southwest Michigan, between Chicago and Detroit. If you travel by air there are several options. The Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO)  is served by Delta and American Airlines with multiple flights to and from both Chicago and Detroit. The Radisson Hotel, our host venue, is 5.5 miles from the AZO and offers a complimentary shuttle service by appointment (269-343-3333). Grand Rapids Gerald Ford International Airport (GRR) is less than an hour’s drive from downtown Kalamazoo and hosts airlines with non-stop flights to over 30 U.S. cities. We are also 122 miles from Detroit Metro Airport and 146 miles from Chicago O’Hare.

About Kalamazoo

The convention hotel, the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, is adjacent to the historic Kalamazoo Mall, the first pedestrian mall in the United States. The locally owned and operated hotel is within walking distance of a variety of shops, restaurants, and more importantly, craft brew pubs. In February, 2021 Kalamazoo was ranked as the “coolest city” with the lowest cost of living by the fashion website PureWow (https://www.purewow.com/travel/coolest-most-affordable-cities-us).

This medium sized city punches above its weight class in the arts, especially in music.  The Irving S. Gilmore Piano Festival, founded in 1989, is a unique and well known music festival which gives significant awards to up and coming pianists from around the world.  The Stulberg International String Competition promotes excellence in string instrument performances by gifted young artists. The greater Kalamazoo area boasts of several museums including: the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum (local history and hands-on science), the Air Zoo (aerospace and science), and The Gilmore Car Museum.

As an educational center, Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and Kalamazoo Valley Community College.  The Kalamazoo Promise, which provides in-state college tuition for graduates of Kalamazoo public schools, is the first of its kind.

Kalamazoo was home to the UpJohn Co., once a leader in the pharmaceutical industry.  It was acquired in more recent years by Pfizer.  Portage, MI, a neighboring city to the south has been in the news of late as the manufacturing site of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. Another giant in the medical field, the Stryker Co., is a medical equipment designer and manufacturer that was founded in 1941 by a Kalamazoo surgeon, Dr. Homer Stryker.

Of course, of much interest to the mandolin community, the Gibson Mandolin – Guitar Manufacturing Company, was founded in Kalamazoo in 1902.  Gibson operated in Kalamazoo until 1984.  The Gibson Guitar factory, built in 1917, still stands at 225 Parsons Street and is currently undergoing renovation. The Heritage Guitar Co. was founded by a group of former Gibson employees in 1985 and still builds guitars at the former Gibson location.

Guest Artists

In 2021, Ricardo was inducted as a member of the CMSA Honorary Board of Directors. At the 2022 convention, Ricardo will lead the Mandolin 1 sectional, perform at concerts, and present workshops, including a pre-convention workshop.

Katherine Lasso

Guest Performer

Since childhood, Katherine Lasso has been nurtured by the Colombian musical tradition. She studied Colombian Andean bandola at the Luis A. Calvo Academy, an extension of the Francisco José de Caldas District University, with teacher Paulo Triviño. In Bogotá. In 2013, she won the “young performers of the Banco de la República de Colombia” contest, being selected “young performer” of bandola soloist and “young talent” of the French Alliance. The same year she was the winner of the ICETEX “Carolina Oramas” scholarship for young talented artists to study abroad. In 2014 she began mandolin studies with maestro Juan Carlos Muñoz at the Esch-Sur-Alzette Conservatory in Luxembourg, where she obtained the first prize diploma of mandolin in July 2020. In September of the same year she began to study a Master in Music: Mandoline, à finalité didactic with Vincent Beer-Demander at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Belgium.

As bandolist and mandolinist, she has had the opportunity to make music on important stages in Colombia, Argentina, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Corsica, Belarus and Japan. During her career as a mandolin player, she has participated in the most important plectrum festivals in Europe with the projects: Arekipe (Duo Sandoval-Lasso), Mandolin 2+2 Quartet, Fado- Mirian Rugeri, Ensemble à plectre d’Esch/Alzette , Ensemble of plucked strings of the Royal Conservatory of Liège and is the concertmaster of the French Orchestra of mandolins and guitars “Aicopi”.

Katherine is currently a teacher of mandolin at the EMARI music school “Ecole de musique agréée et conservatoire de musique” in Metz, France, she is also a teacher at the mandolin nursery of the mandolinist circle of Tétange, Luxembourg and the Aicopi association, Moselle region, France.

At the 2022 convention, Florian will lead the Mandocello sectional, perform at concerts, and present workshops.

Discover more about Florian on his website at https://www.fkrumpf.com/

Matt Cosgrove

Guest Performer

Matt Cosgrove has been playing the guitar since the summer of 1990. Matt’s guitar playing has been nationally televised on the Rejoice Broadcast Network serving in both solo and accompaniment roles. Matt placed first in the annual commencement contest at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) and performed for nearly 5,000 people watching live and by close circuit television in adjacent auditoriums. Recently, Matt has performed Twilight composed by Toru Takemitsu with the Kalamazoo Symphony in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Matt received a Bachelor of Arts in guitar performance from PCC. He also received a Master of Music in Guitar performance from the Florida State University. Matt’s major teachers have included Bruce Holzman, Joe Stallings, Steven Walter, and George Yeatman. While at PCC, he studied chamber music with Daisy and Alberto Jaffe. He has also performed in the Master Classes of Juan Mercadel, Ricardo Cobo, David Tanenbaum, Stephen Robinson, Jorge Caballero, Douglas James, Lorenzo Micheli, Adam Holzman, Oscar Ghiglia, and Jeremy Jouve. Matt has taught at the college level since January 2000. He taught guitar, bowed string instruments, music theory, and advanced cello full-time at Pensacola Christian College until 2006. He has also taught at Pensacola Junior College, Grand Rapids Community College, and Cornerstone University. Matt moved to the Kalamazoo area in July of 2011 and is teaching at Kalamazoo College.

Christi-Ann will be the Composer in Residence at the 2022 Convention in Kalamazoo and will present a workshop.

Jim Bates

En Masse Orchestra Conductor

Dr. Jim Bates is Director of Orchestral Activities at Otterbein University and Director of the Capital University Symphony Orchestra. Since 2006 he has served as an assistant conductor for the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras and the Westerville Symphony. As a conductor and teacher, Dr. Bates is able to draw on considerable experience as an educator, performer and historian.

For eighteen years he was a conductor for the Louisville (KY) Youth Orchestras and was music director of that organization from 1996 – 2001. From 1988-2001 he was music director of the Louisville Mandolin Orchestra. In 1999 he joined the conducting staff of Interlochen Center for the Arts and continues to direct the Junior Orchestra program and Junior String Institute there during the summer. He has served as a clinician or guest conductor in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, California, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Washington, Texas and Colorado. He has served as president of Kentucky ASTA and as string coordinator for the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.

In addition to string education he is very involved with the Classical Mandolin Society of America (CMSA) and period instrument performance. He serves on the National Board of Directors of CMSA and is actively involved with the Education Committee. He is the immediate past president of the Ohio String Teachers Association, and is on the board of the Friends of Early Music in Columbus.  Currently, Dr. Bates is assistant conductor and principal bassist of the Westerville Symphony (OH), and is the Creative Director of The Early Interval, Columbus’ professional early music performance ensemble. He has degrees from the University of Louisville (B.M.E.), a Masters in double bass performance from Indiana University, where he studied bass with Lawrence Hurst and baroque performance with Stanley Ritchie, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Kentucky. He has two sons, Ethan and Gideon. 

At the 2022 convention, Mark will lead the Mandolin 2 sectional and present workshops.

Joel R Hobbs

Section Leader

Joel R Hobbs is multi-instrumentalist and composer from Austin Texas. He was a founder of the Austin Mandolin Orchestra in 2004. He has written more than forty pieces–and arranged over a hundred–for mandolin ensembles.  In 2015, he was Composer-in-Residence for the Classical Mandolin Society of America.  He has produced and released five recordings of his work, which are available on Apple Music and other streaming services:

·      Good Dogs Always Eat (2011) – jazzy tunes for mandolin

·      Opus Twelve: New Music for Mandolin Ensembles (2014) – 21 original pieces

·      Dubliners Blues (2015) – a small collection of folksy songs

·      Vesper (2019) – Mandolin and Guitar Duets with Jonathan Rudie

·      Woodwind Impressions (2022) – three suites for woodwind quintet

Joel’s music is published through Hyoshi New Media, Inc. and many of his scores are commercially available at SheetmusicPlus.com.

Contact Joel and discover his latest adventures at joelhobbs.com.

Workshops

Pre-Convention Workshops

Tuesday, September 20th and Wednesday, September 21st

This year’s convention will offer a choice of two pre-convention activities on Tuesday, September 20, starting at 6 pm and continuing on Wednesday, September 22, at 8:30 am. Each 6-hour seminar is separate from the convention and requires a registration fee of $75. Register early as spaces are limited!

Matt Cosgrove

Pre-Convention Workshop

Guitar

Convention Workshops

Workshop handouts will be available on the Convention tab of your sign-in profile once you have registered and as they become available.

Please print handouts and sheet music prior to the convention, as we will not have copies available on-site.

To access handouts and sheet music, first register for the convention. Then, sign in to your CMSA account. Select the Convention tab. If you do not see your account information, click the Sign-In option on the top menu bar of the website.

• Pilates and Posture for Mandolin Players on Thur-Fri-Sat mornings prior to sectionals. CMSA member Kat Randolph will lead three Yoga/Pilates sessions: 45 minutes of stretching, strengthening and breathing exercises specifically tailored to building body awareness and good posture for mandolin players. The exercises are tailored to help players have good posture for playing, extend the time they’re able to play, and avoid injuries. Yoga/Pilates is free, but CMSA would appreciate a small donation to help cover expenses. Suggested donation of $5/session if you attend one or two sessions, and $10 if you attend all three.

 The Hampton Trio: Ensemble Workshop on Calace presented by Mark Davis, Beverly Davis, Robert Margo

Polish your ensemble skills with the Hampton Trio as we work our way through pieces from the Hampton Trio repertoire by Raffaele Calace (Rondo, and Mazurka).

 Partita Piccola No. 1: Etude for Mandocello presented by Florian Klaus Rumpf

Using his composition Partita Piccola, newly composed for this year’s convention, Florian will explore technical and musical issues in solo performance on the mandocello.

 Workshop presented by Ricardo Sandoval

Guest artist Ricardo Sandoval will present a workshop, topic TBA.

 John Goodin: Reflections on his Ensemble Music presented by Jim Bates and Mike Schroeder

Join Mike and Jim for their personal and musical insights into the late John Goodin’s ensemble works. Listening AND playing–be sure to bring your instrument! Parts available in advance on the CMSA convention website.

 The Guitar Fingerboard presented by Matt Cosgrove

Join Matt Cosgrove for this guitar workshop.

 Gibson History Workshop presented by Tom Dietz

Tom Dietz will present this workshop.

 Arranging Solo Mandolin Pieces from Scratch presented by Brian Oberlin

The workshop will delve into the options for adding simple harmonies and strumming to easy melodies; all the while maintaining the melody as written. We will progress into studying more complex harmonies and melodies while delivering the same treatment. The class will include studies on Row Your Boat, Maggiorani’s Non Sei Tu and Di Capua’s Marie, Ah Marie.

 The Filipino Rondalla presented by Composer in Residence, Christi-Anne Castro

This session is an introduction to the rondalla ensemble of the Philippines, its history, the instruments, and the variety of music performed. Bring your instruments, so that we can try out a folkloric piece together.

 New Music Reading Session #2: Easier/Intermediate Level led by Jim Bates

The second of two sessions. Participants will read through several new compositions for mandolin orchestra, selected by Jim Bates from those submitted to the CMSA’s “Call for Scores”. DOWNLOAD YOUR PART FROM THE CONVENTION WEBSITE AND PRACTICE IN ADVANCE! Easier/intermediate pieces.

Participate

There are many ways to take part in the convention, from Open Mic performance, to Volunteering, to Sponsorship.

Open Mic

Look forward to lunch-time open mic sessions where single or groups of performers can show off the latest pieces they have been learning. We will have an Open Mic session on Thursday and on Saturday from 11:30 am to 1 pm. This is a very popular event!

Be sure to register for the convention before you request an Open Mic slot. Times are still available for the Thursday and Saturday sessions. We are trying to schedule solo and duet numbers on Thursday and larger groups on Saturday, but we will try to fit everyone in as per their requests. Time limits for solos is 5 minutes and for ensembles is 10 minutes.

At least one person must be registered for the convention to perform at Open Mic. Please contact us if you have questions about Open Mic requirements.

Sponsorship

We invite you to help sponsor our annual convention and to reach out to our members.  Benefits such as ads in the Mandolin Journal and vendor tables allow you to connect with members. Learn more about bronze, silver, and gold levels of sponsorship below.

Donations

Gear

Order your tee-shirts and totes when you register and they will be waiting for you at the convention.

CMSA Tote Bags

CMSA has a limited number of older tote bags for sale. Order a tote with your convention registration and it will be waiting for you at the convention. $10 each.

En Masse Orchestra

This year’s convention will be crowned with our famous En Masse Orchestra performance, conducted by Dr. Jim Bates. Any mandolin players who double on mandola, guitar, or mandocello are encouraged to play lower voiced instruments to help balance the orchestra.

The dress code for the En Masse Concert is black slacks or skirt and black shirt or blouse.

Watch Kalamazoo Video

Pricing & Registration

Registration fee includes all materials and activities of the convention, including the Welcome Party, convention workshops, Gala Banquet, open mic sessions, concerts, late night jam sessions, and En Masse music for those playing in the orchestra.  Pre-convention workshops, tote bags, t-shirts, and membership renewal are additional.

You must be a member of CMSA to register for the convention.