On November 16th, multiple-Grammy-winning composer and violinist Mark O’Connor will realize a long-held dream: Books I and II of the O’Connor Violin Method will be published. While touring the United States and composing orchestral and chamber music, O’Connor has educated thousands of young musicians at his summer string camps and at such notable institutions as UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music and Harvard, always focusing on what he calls “America’s classical music.”

This sounds like pretty serious stuff for students of the mandolin. Lou Martin, described as a “senior Monroe mandolin disciple, and Rounder Records solo artist, has released two self-published instruction books.

“Twenty Studies in the First Position for Bluegrass Mandolinists, Op. 5” is designed to assist bluegrass mandolin players in becoming literate with standard musical notation….