With its scintillating contemporary qualities, the Nashville
Mandolin Ensemble has been hailed for revitalizing and reshaping
a type of ensemble music that enjoyed nationwide
popularity at the turn of the 20th century. Through its array
of mandolins, mandola, mandocello, violin, guitar and bass,
NME commands expressive string colors of kaleidoscopic range
and variety.
Founded in 1991 by Butch Baldassari of the Blair School
of Music, NME performs period arrangements for mandolin orchestra
along with animated transcriptions of classical, jazz and
pop music, along with new music from contemporary composers.
NME has performed at numerous venues and festivals throughout the country
including the Over The Rhine in Cincinnati, Atlanta's
Taste of the South and Sewanee Music Festival
in Tennessee. Television performances include TNN's Country
News, CBS Sunday Morning and the PBS production
Tennessee Crossroads.
The group's most recent recording is the critically acclaimed
Bach, Beatles,
Bluegrass (SoundArt) released in October 2003.
All The Rage
(New World) was presented the 1999 Indie Award for Best Acoustic
Instrumental Recording (AFIM) and Best Classical Recording
at the Nashville Music Awards. NME's other recordings include
Gifts (Columbia) and Plectrasonics (CMH).
"NME is a fabulous listening experience."
- Mark O' Connor
"In this unplugged era, NME fits right in."
- Diane Samms Rush, Knight-Ridder Newspapers
"NME offers a unique ensemble sound in string music today."
- Norman Levine, Classical Mandolin Society of America
Booking
by Alkahest Artists
alkagency@aol.com
1.888.728.8989
Butch Baldassari - mandolin
Matt Combs - violin
Walter Carter - mandola
John Hedgecoth - mandocello
Van Manakas - guitar
David Spicher - bass
Download
high-resolution photos of NME.
Current tour dates
can be found at this location.
This feature article
about the NME recently appeared in the Nashville Tennessean.
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