The 22nd David Surette Mandolin Festival, to be held March 8-9 at the Concord Community Music School, celebrates the many voices of the mandolin, a stringed instrument heard in bluegrass, old-time, classical, swing, blues, Brazilian, Italian, and Celtic music.
The festival is named for its founder, New England musician David Surette. With a reputation that reached across the U.S. and beyond to Canada, England, France, and Italy, Surette was admired and respected as a player, composer, and teacher.
The three-day event begins with a concert at the Dance Hall in Kittery, Maine, on Friday, March 7, followed by workshops on Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, at Concord Community Music School, with an evening concert at the music school on March 8.
The Concord workshops will give mandolin players of every level the chance to work on their skills with world-class instructors. This year’s instructors are Italian mandolin virtuoso Carlo Aonzo, Nashville bluegrass picker Sharon Gilchrist, Vermont jazz and swing player Will Patton, and Celtic multi-instrumentalist Neil Pearlman of Portland, Maine.
The concerts feature not only Aonzo, Gilchrist, Patton, and Pearlman, but also Surette’s family—Susie, Isa, and Julianna Burke.
To register for the workshops or buy tickets for the Saturday evening concert at Concord Community Music School, visit ccmusicschool.org/event/david-surette-mandolin-festival-2025/.
For tickets to the Friday night kickoff concert at the Music Hall (Kittery, ME), visit thedancehallkittery.org/events/david-surette-mandolin-fest.
