Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra
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The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra, also known as The Bonne Amie Musical Circle, is a mandolin ensemble which was established in 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are the oldest ensemble of their kind in the United States.{{cite web |last=Stephenson |first=Crocker |date=September 29, 2007 |title=Good friends, long years, a house with mandolin music |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=308435 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929141144/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=308435 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}}
History
The group was founded in 1900 as the Bonne Amie Musical Circle.Ruppa, Paul (1988). The Mandolin in America After 1880 and The History of Mandolin Orchestras in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (M.Mus.). University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. It reformed in 1982 under the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra name.{{cite thesis |type=Ph.D. |title=The Guitar in America as Reflected in Topical Periodicals, 1882{{ndash}}1933 |last=Noonan |first=Jeffrey James |publisher=Washington University in St. Louis |date=2004}} As late as 1990, under the direction of Ernest Brusubardis, the group had only 11 members.{{cite news|title=Link to past provided by Mandolin Orchestra|first=Jay|last=Joslyn|work=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=June 11, 1990|pages=1.6}} Starting in the 1990s the group expanded, playing public concerts in other major cities and releasing recorded music.{{cite news|title=Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra Thriving in its 100th Year|work=Chicago Tribune|first=Michael|last=Parrish|date=February 2, 2001|pages=7.28}} In a review of the concert in 2000 celebrating the group's centennial, Elaine Schmidt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described them as "not the tightest ensemble in town, nor the most polished."{{cite news|title=Pair bring flair to birthday concert|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=December 9, 2000|first=Elaine|last=Schmidt|page=B6}} The Orchestra was a guest on A Prairie Home Companion twice in 2006.{{cite news|title=Mandolin orchestra to play with master Marshall|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|first=Mary-Liz|last=Shaw|date=November 16, 2007|page=E18}} One member, Jacob Scokir, played with the group from 1938 until his death in 2008.{{cite news|title=Scokir, Jacob L.|date=May 20, 2008|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|page=B99}}
References
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External links
- {{official website|http://www.milwaukeemandolinorchestra.org/}}
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Category:American instrumental musical groups
Category:American mandolinists
Category:1900 establishments in Wisconsin
Category:Orchestras based in Wisconsin