BMO TO END CONCERT SEASON WITH MANDOLIN MELODIESBLOOMFIELD – The Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra, Enrico Granafei, Conductor, will conclude its 2008-2009 Concert Season with a performance of Mandolin Melodies on Saturday, May 9, at 3 p.m. at Bloomfield Middle School. The program will feature works by composer John B. Kok, Snowflower, (arranged and conducted by Tom Lleshaj), Tu che mi hai preso il cor (arranged and conducted by Daniele Brenca), and Sogno d’una vergine, (arranged and conducted by Conductor Emeritus Gabriel L. Nevola). The Middle School is located at 60 Huck Road (off of Broad Street). Admission is $8 Adults and $5 Senior Citizens and Students. For additional information, please contact orchestra President Carol Franz at 973-746-3203 and visit the website http://nj.mandolins.home.att.net
TOM LLESHAJ, music teacher, composer, arranger and multi-instrument player, was born and raised in Albania where he studied in a Professional Music High School for Trumpet and French horn. He received his B.A. in Composition from The Academy of Fine Arts in Tirane, Albania before moving to the United States and settling in Queens, New York. Currently, Tom is a graduate student for the Masters Degree Program in Music Education at Lehman College. The Albanian song “Snowflower” is a story of a young man looking for his true love. "After travelling and passing many mountains and valleys, he stops to rest in a small garden where he finds "the Snowflower" and asks her to spend the rest of her life with him." The idea of the arrangement came from Maestro Granafei who met Mr. Gjoni, the composer, in Albania back in 1980 and received an original transcription of the song with the composers’ autograph.
Born in Agropoli, Italy (1975), double-bassist, arranger, and composer DANIELE BRENCA, has enjoyed a successful career both in the United States and abroad. He completed his double-bass diploma in 2000 from the Umberto I Conservatorio, Salerno, and in 2002 was awarded the title of "Professore d'orchestra" at the Teatro Lirico in Spoleto. Mr. Brenca collaborated with singer and actress Pietra Montecorvino in a series of appearances for various concerts, festivals, and television programs throughout Europe, including, Vomex, Sfinks, Premio, Tenco, and Top of the Pop’s. Currently, Daniele resides in West Orange, New Jersey Tu che m'hai preso il cuor (Yours is My Heart Alone), by Austrian composer Franz Lehar, is a popular love song originally written in German.
Born in Lauria (Basilicata) and raised in Cosenza (Calabria), harmonica virtuoso, classical guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, composer, and orchestral conductor, ENRICO GRANAFEI has a long history of diverse musical experience which encompasses Classical Music, traditional Italian music, Brazilian music and Jazz. Enrico received a degree in classical guitar from the Conservatory of l’Aquila in Italy in 1976 and began his artistic career playing in concert halls throughout Italy and on television.
He discovered Jazz through the chromatic harmonica and began to explore new possibilities for the harmonica, following in the tradition of Toots Thielemanns. His love of Jazz brought him to New York in 1985, and he soon began to perform in local jazz clubs, including The Blue Note and Birdland. At the same time, he was invited to join I Giullari di Piazza as an actor, guitarist and vocalist. Enrico also continued to nurture his passion for Neapolitan music by performing as a soloist and in duo in libraries, at festivals and at private and community events throughout the Metropolitan Area. During this period he recorded Canta Napoli, a compilation of his favorite Neapolitan songs featuring Enrico on vocals and guitar. During the 90’s, Enrico studied 19th century music under Carlo Barone one of the world’s greatest experts in the 19th century guitar and recorded selections of 19th songs for guitar and voice in Italian, Spanish, German, French and English, all of which he speaks fluently.
He co-founded and performed with Frizzi e Lazzi, an Italian American Theater group, with his wife, vocalist and mandolinist, Kristine Massari, Emelise Aleandri and Bob Lepre, for a few years, performing at several venues including Gracie Mansion, Penn’s Landing and several Italian festivals.
In 1992 Enrico earned a Masters’ degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he was the only student of Toots Thielemans .Since then he has performed extensively on the Chromatic Harmonica in the United States and continues to be a featured musician in major European Festivals, including Euromeet Jazz Festival (Italy), Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), Django Festival in Samois sur Seine (France) , Budapest Music Festival (Hungary), in Estonia and in major clubs throughout Europe. He is recognized as one of the finest chromatic harmonica players in the world and has recorded several CDs, including sessions with Eddie Gomez, Eliot Zigmund, Marc Johnson, Adam Nussbaum, Ted Curson, Nnena Freelon and many others. Enrico’s latest accomplishment is his work on Hands-Free-Chromatic Harmonica. The revolutionary instrument invented by Vern Smith allows him to play Chromatic Harmonica and Guitar at the same time, something that nobody has ever done before in Jazz. Close your eyes and you will hear two or three musicians but in fact it’s only one!
Since 1999, Enrico has been the owner and musical director of the prestigious Trumpets Jazz Club in Montclair, New Jersey (USA), the most important Jazz venue in the state. Enrico continues to perform traditional Neapolitan and Italian music as a soloist and in duos and trios throughout the Metropolitan Area. Enrico’s latest CD, In Search of the Third Dimension, on Miles High Records has received great criticial acclaim from jazz artists and critics including Stanley Jordan, Bucky Pizzarelli, Vintage Guitar Magazine, and Susan Frances (Jazz Reviews). Enrico has become the conductor of the Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra and is happy to mark the completion of his first successful season with the orchestra this evening.
Founded in 1941, The Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra is comprised of thirty volunteer musicians, from northern and central New Jersey and New York State. These musicians represent a vast cross section of ages, backgrounds, and careers, bringing a depth of experience to each rehearsal. Renowned for its versatility and musical ingenuity, the orchestra presents programs incorporating traditional Italian and American songs, opera and Broadway selections, classical and jazz pieces, and original compositions by local and international composers. The orchestra members truly view themselves as a family and that feeling of camaraderie beautifully flows through all of its performances and touches audience members’ hearts. The Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra is the last remaining of this genre in the state of New Jersey. The orchestra welcomes its new maestro and looks forward to many successful future programs and collaborations.
The Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra is dedicated to preserving the tradition of mandolin playing and welcomes players of all levels to join. Rehearsals, which are open to the public, take place every Tuesday evening from 7:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. in the basement of the Bloomfield Civic Center, located at 84 Broad Street. Rehearsals start the first week of September and end the second week of May. In particular, the orchestra is looking for additional players of the lower instruments of the mandolin family (mandola and mandocello), acoustic guitar, and woodwinds. For more information on how to join the Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra, please contact Maestro Enrico Granafei at enrimus@aol.com
