Simon Mayor Mandolin Workshops 2024

Here’s news of two workshops for 2024. Scroll down for a general overview.

‘A Carolan Special’ – Kenwood Hall, Sheffield. 15-17 March 2024

The two visits to Kenwood Hall, Sheffield in the spring of 2023 proved very popular and sold out quickly – originally I’d only scheduled one weekend, but Turlough O’Carolan’s tunes seem to have an unflagging appeal. So I’ll be back at Kenwood Hall in March. I’ll be using some of the more successful Carolan repertoire from 2023 but will be trawling his collected works for new gems too – there’s no shortage of great melodies to try. I may also throw in the odd Irish trad or baroque piece.

Click for full details and booking form.

‘Mandolins At Settle’. 29 Sep to 3 Oct 2024

The annual, four-day Mandolin Retreat will take place 29th Sep to 3rd Oct 2024 at the much loved Falcon Manor Hotel, Settle, N Yorks.

Click for full details and booking form.

Falcon Manor Hotel

Simon will also be teaching in Somerset at Halsway Manor  –  8-10 March 2024 and 24-28 June 2024.

Simon’s workshops – an overview

While Simon has never had time to commit to individual tuition he has put considerable energy into group workshops.

He has taught at numerous international festivals including the Classical Mandolin Society of America, the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival (Ontario, Canada) and the International Guitar Symposium (Iserlohn, Germany). He also teaches regularly in the UK at The National Centre For Folk Arts (Halsway Manor, Somerset) and at his own mandolin and fiddle workshops.

A retrospective – Mandolins At Settle

Simon’s Mandolin Retreats are typically two day meetings, but the first, longer, four day stretch of mandolin immersion was at The Falcon Manor Hotel in the heart of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales in 2019, It attracted an international array of players. Covid prevented a 2020 meet, but things were back to normal with an even bigger groups in 2021 and 2022.

Phil Nixon interview (4 minutes)
Phil Nixon, an experienced bass guitarist, talks with Bill Buckley on Radio Berkshire about becoming a
beginner mandolinist at Simon’s Mandolin Retreat.

Regular participant Alan Thornsby has contributed these thoughts on gatherings over the past few years:

Mandolins At Settle 2023'A Carolan Special' Kenwood Hall 2023Mandolins At Settle 2022Mandolins At Settle 2021Mandolins At Settle 2019

Mandolins At Settle 2023

The last weekend of September saw the fourth mandolin retreat at the Falcon Manor Hotel. The welcome from all of the staff and the quality of the food was exceptional. These underpinned another successful and enjoyable retreat. The majority of the participants had attended previous retreats and the new members quickly became part of the group. All the music had been suggested by participants as favourites from earlier retreats. Although several of the pieces had challenging sections and/or parts, Simon’s patient and humorous approach, explanations and demonstrations ensured that everyone made progress and successful performances.

As at previous retreats, the mornings were given over to studying and playing the pieces as an orchestra. The afternoons provided the opportunities for invited guests to lead discussions. Mike Vanden again shared his expertise on the different qualities of wood used in mandolin building, with contributions from Peter Barton and Mark Challinor. Simon, Richard Collins and Elias Sibley talked about and illustrated their different styles of mandolin playing. Both sessions also included questions and answers from the whole group.

Following the sumptuous evening meal and enjoyable, if not hilarious, table discussions, there was the usual session in the bar during which a range traditional tunes were shared.

The obvious difference to the usual retreat was the absence of a informal concert by Simon and Hilary. This was replaced by a concert at the oldest music hall in the world, Settle’s Victoria Hall. Simon and Hilary were joined by friends Richard Collins (guitar, mando bass, mandolin and banjo), Elias Sibley (guitar and ukulele) and Florence Petit-Sibley (cello and mandocello). The five friends gave excellent performances, both as a group and as individuals, across a range of genres from classical, jazz, swing and of course not forgetting the duelling banjo and guitar.

As a regular participant, the Falcon Manor is my favourite venue and certainly this retreat was incredibly enjoyable. Many of us are already looking forward to the next retreat, whilst some of us are already working on suggestions for new music!

As ever a huge thank you to Simon, Hilary and all of the other participants (and their partners) for another fantastic week. Hope to see you at Falcon Manor next year, if not before.

Kenwood Hall 2023

Carolan Special March 2023

The weekend of 10 -12 March saw a return to the Kenwood Hall hotel, Sheffield to focus on arrangements of tunes by the Irish harpist and composer Turlough O’Carolan. Despite the appalling local weather conditions (at least 30cm of snow) and subsequent road and traffic conditions, everyone arrived safely. In addition to some reasonably local participants, as well as further away in the UK., we were joined by others from Scotland, America and Israel. The several regular participants were joined by a number of new members, including a mandocellist joining our mandobasses to give further depth to the arrangements.

As ever, the group quickly came together as new friendships were made and old ones rekindled.

Simon’s patient teaching, encouragement and examples of fingering ensured that a everyone enjoyed the arrangements. Everyone successfully tackled some of the more challenging parts of the wonderful tunes. The concentration given by all of the participants is perhaps illustrated by the exhausted chats rather than informal playing at the end of each evening. All came away with a greater knowledge and love of Carolan’s music and regret that the weekend was over so quickly… but there is another next month !!!!

‘Spillover’ Carolan Special April 2023

The second Carolan mandolin retreat at the Kenwood hotel was as enjoyable as the first. Again there was an international flavour with participants from across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland and even one ‘over for the weekend’ from Canada.
In addition to the new members, there were participants from previous workshops, as well as some from the earlier Carolan retreat. Again there were other members of the mandolin family, with the mandocello and octave mandolin supporting Hilary’s mandobass.
As ever the teaching was excellent, with examples, anecdotes and patience from Simon to ensure everyone was fully involved, challenged and encouraged. This allowed participants to develop greater confidence and personal development in their playing. The opportunity for a solo contribution enabled people to play in public for the first time, within a comfortable atmosphere.
Once again another highly successful weekend playing mandolin and sharing the music of Turlough O’ Carolan.
Many of us are looking forward to the now annual four day visit to the Falcon Manor Hotel in Settle, to further explore favourite pieces from previous retreats.

Mandolins At Settle 2021

Mandolins At Settle 2022

‘2022 saw a third visit to the Falcon Manor Hotel that has become a favourite venue for Simon’s mandolin retreats. The staff were as ever friendly and welcoming. The accommodation and food excellent.There was a mix of returning and new members who quickly gelled together as a group of friends creating a mandolin orchestra. The mornings sessions were intensive yet relaxed as Simon explained techniques of mandolin playing using a range of musical genres. There was the opportunity for participants to share knowledge and tunes with each other, to ask Simon for individual advice and the challenge of solo playing in front of a group of like minded friends. The retreats have always had an afternoon discussion/performance related to the mandolin and this year was no exception.On Monday Simon talked about the important role of tonic sol-fa in learning to play by ear. Geoff Bowen is a local fiddle player and researcher. He gave a talk and performance focussing on how musical phraseology and tone in baroque dance music encouraged dancers. This style of playing became part of the country dancing and music of the area. Mike Vanden, the well known luthier made a return visit to talk about making a f-style mandolin and to show several examples of his beautifully made instruments.The after dinner sessions in the bar gave the chance to share and learn tunes, as well as for Simon and Hilary to perform an informal concert.

Overall the retreat was another highly successful time. It was enjoyed by both the participants and the several spouses who enjoyed walking in the local area in addition to listening to a mandolin orchestra. Even before the end of the four days many people were looking forward to the next retreat in Sheffield focussing on the music of O’Carolan.’

Mandolins At Settle 2021

Mandolins At Settle 2021

‘After two and a half years it was finally time to return to The Falcon Manor Hotel in Settle for a four day mandolin retreat. Once again it did not disappoint as the group were the only residents in the hotel. The staff were extremely welcoming, friendly and hard working. The food was excellent and the wonderful surroundings, including the log fire, enabled regular and new participants to quickly bond into a balanced and supportive group. Although several of the group had met at other weekend retreats, the longer four day meeting enables a less hectic, more relaxed and intimate atmosphere to develop the group socially as well as musically.Morning sessions working through the provided music explored a range of genre and the opportunities to improve technique and play in parts. Afternoon sessions gave time for participants to share ideas and play together as well as benefit from individual sessions with Simon. The illustrated talk by Paul Sparks on ‘The Mandolin in the Eighteenth Century’ was a fascinating insight to the world of the early mandolin. It was enhanced by Paul, on mandolin and John Mackenzie on guitar with examples of music from the period. The informal interview of Chris Newman by Simon gave another opportunity for participants to listen to anecdotes and techniques, as well as hear Simon and Chris play together.

After an enjoyable dinner and lots of table talk, most evenings concluded in the bar where impromptu song and music sessions often carried until late. The informal evening concert by Simon and Hilary was, as ever a joy to be part of, mirroring the range of music we had all been playing.

I have been fortunate to attend and enjoy many of Simon’s workshops over the last few years and I continue to learn ( and hopefully improve!) However I can honestly say I am sure this was the most enjoyable in terms of the music, the hotel and the group dynamics. I already have next year’s retreat in my diary!’

Mandolins At Settle 2021

Mandolins At Settle 2019

‘This was my fourth Mandolin Retreat with Simon. The Falcon Manor hotel was a perfect venue, especially as we were able to fill the hotel. The excellent rooms and food were enhanced by the very friendly and helpful staff who made each of us feel so welcome. The group gelled quickly together and old friendships were rekindled and new ones formed. Participants came from across the country as well as visitors from Texas and Spain.

It was centred on the usual mixture of genre and styles fully supported by Simon’s excellent and enjoyable teaching of techniques. However, spending four days rather than the two on previous retreats, created a more relaxed and supportive learning experience. Regardless of the level of the ability of each individual, there was something new to learn every morning. The afternoon sessions with input from Simon and Hilary on song accompaniment, mandolin building from Mike Vanden, and a history of Mandolin orchestras from Paul Sparks added to a deeper understanding of aspects of our favourite instrument.

The opportunity for each individual to contribute a solo piece was a valuable challenge and development of a new skill for some. The evening sessions in the bar were again an opportunity to share and join in, learning tunes and songs from a range of musical genre. In short it was the best retreat so far and I hope to be able to repeat the experience on future retreats.’

The videos…

Highlights of the weekend at Kenwood Hall 2016
Mandolin & Voice weekend at Halsway Manor 2017

Testimonials from previous Mandolin Retreats…

Please scroll down for a full description of what you might expect; first, here are some comments from previous Mandolin Retreats…

‘The weekend surpassed my hopes and was truly motivating, highly instructive and huge fun. It was great to see such a mix of abilities all able to play together. Everyone was so supportive and encouraging.’ Nick Reiter (UK)

‘The best Mandolin Retreat I’ve ever attended… I’m still reminiscing and I can’t wait to get home and try some of the things I learned from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and  your love of music with us.’ Ken Brown (California, USA)

‘I appreciate all the time and trouble you took preparing for the weekend and guiding the sessions with your playing, advice and invaluable tuition on technique.’ Les Ward (UK)

‘It was a lovely weekend and so nice to do so much playing and be surrounded by mandolins! Your teaching was great, I found it really helpful and just the right level of instruction and playing and it was great to have the parts for the music in advance – a lovely selection of pieces.’ Diana Buckle (UK)

What will I learn?

My preference is to teach through tunes, discussing matters of technique as they crop up. I cover basic right and left hand positions, tremolo, position shifts, playing in closed positions, use of the plectrum and tone production, improvisation, and much more. My aim is to de-mystify the mandolin as much as possible, whether that be finding your way around the neck, or understanding some of that dreaded music theory!

The Retreats are also a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and to learn to play as an ensemble. So while some tunes will be melody only, some will be arranged in parts specifically for ensemble playing; I always try to make one part very simple so the less experienced players will still be able to contribute.

Music (in both standard notation and tablature) and MP3 sample files is sent out well in advance so you can acquaint yourself with the tunes. Don’t in any way think that you need to learn them all note-perfect before you come. Above all, the Retreats are meant to be a fun, relaxing time, and the amount of preparation you put in is entirely up to you – there will be no exam! Having said that, at all workshops I’ve hosted we’ve all been delighted at what a great sounding mandolin orchestra we’ve had by the time things wind up.

The approach will not be geared to any one musical genre; I try to make it as general as possible. And by the way, I’m very happy for you to make audio recordings of the sessions.

How good do I have to be to attend?

This varies a little depending on the event; you’ll need to read the synopsis for the particular Mandolin Retreat you’re interested in. Generally, you’ll need a reasonable knowledge of how to read either mandolin tablature (easy) or standard music notation (a steeper learning curve), and the ability to get from start to finish of a simple tune without stumbles. For less experienced players I often create a particularly easy part in ensemble pieces. Music and sound files are sent well in advance.

Other instruments?

If you play any other instruments from the mandolin family (mandola, mandocello, octave mandolin, luito cantabile – or even mandobass) you’re welcome to bring them too. The ensemble playing in workshops can benefit hugely from the inclusion of some of the mandolin’s lower-pitched relatives, and occasionally a guitar. You can let me know in advance if you’d like the music in bass clef or transposing tablature.

What do I need to bring?

Music stand, print out of the music, spare strings and plectrums, toothbrush (optional). Oh, and a mandolin…

Simon Mayor & Hilary James – concert

Simon and Hilary often play a public concert on one evening. Entrance is always free to those attending the workshop.

Bookings & fee

To be announced for future Mandolin Retreats.

Bringing a friend?

If you’ll be attending as a couple and sharing a room and would like a special rate, or if you’d like to bring a spouse or friend who will be sharing your room but not attending the course, or if you have any other questions please use the contact form.

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