Over 100 years ago the Gibson Instrument company hired teacher-agents to sell, teach, and organize mandolin orchestras across the country. The teacher-agent model is no longer used today, with instruments available from vintage dealers, independent luthiers, and Gibson. But, the role of the teacher still exists in the form of those that organize mandolin orchestras for today.
Adam Sweet is one of those organizers. He would probably have been a highly sought after candidate as a teacher-agent for Gibson if he were born during that era.
Gibson sent teacher-agents out to towns to stir up interest. The teacher-agents would target violin players, since the mandolin is tuned the same as a violin. The lessons would be included in the purchase of a mandolin family instrument.
The teacher-agents would present performances by their students. This provided not only entertainment for the community, but gave the teacher-agent a forum to promote Gibson and recruit more students. Mandolin orchestras were immensely popular during the pre-war era in the early teens. Eventually, the 1920s brought a cultural shift, and the ukulele began to capture the public’s interest.
The demise of mandolin orchestras has obscured the rich history and music of the past, but the efforts of mandolin enthusists like Adam Sweet has kept to tradition and musical heritage alive. He has formed the South Hadley Mandolin Orchestra in Keene, NH in October of 1998, when Sweet was a teacher at the Keene Institute for Music and Related Arts. He moved it to South Hadley, MA in 2011.
The Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts is blessed with the cultural offerings of the 5 Colleges network (Smith, Mt. Holyoke, UMass, Amherst, and Hampshire) and rich musical offerings including the activities of a host of mandolin players. However, many of those performers learned to play by ear only, and the Mandolin Orchestra offers a chance to add to their playing a vast repertoire of mandolin compositions. Because the mandolin and violin families are tuned identically, that repertoire includes violin compositions too numerous to imagine.
The orchestra will be performing Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, select chamber works from modern composers, and “Jugoslavia” performed by L’Esperance on January 17, 2015 at the South Hadley Town Hall. There is no charge for tickets, but audience members are encouraged to become Supporting Members of the orchestra with a donation.
The orchestra provides more than rehersals and a opportunity to perform. The organization provides unique educational opportunities for mandolin enthusiasts of all ages and levels of expertise. They even have a Borrow a Mandolin program. See the link in the side bar for more details. They are taking donations of instruments for this program, so if you have an instrument that is not being played, this is a great place for a home for your instrument.
If you're a violin, viola, cello or bass player and you'd like to join The Mandolin Orchestra as a Student Member (see the Membership page on their site for details), they can provide you with a play to own instrument for free! If you are interested in learning mandolin, and meet the basic requirements, this is an excellent way to join a community of mandolin enthusiasts and be part of a rich heritage that dates back to the last century.
After graduating with a BA in Ethnomusicology from Hampshire College, Adam Sweet opened the Sweet Music Studio in 1986, and founded the Celtic Music Academy. Offering private and group music lessons, and many playing opportunities for amateur musicians including The Mandolin Orchestra of South Hadley, the Celtic Fingers dance band, Sher Delight Balkan band and The Americana Project.