Pickers in the Northwest might be interested in honing their mandolin and guitar skills in May when Roland White, Diane Bouska and Mike Compton present workshops and a concert at The Humane Society of Redmond Event Center in Redmond, Ore.

White will present a beginning mandolin class and his wife, Bouska, will teach a class on playing bluegrass rhythm guitar. Compton will give mandolin instruction for intermediate to advanced players.

The workshop leaders will present a concert on May 2 and lead the workshops on May 3 and 4.

The workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. The student fee of $135 does not include lodging, but lunch and dinner will be provided on Saturday.

The workshop is limited to 20 students (confirmation with receipt of check). Early reservations are strongly encouraged. Workshop sponsors Dennis Fehling and Pam Bigoni can be contacted at (541) 504-0838.

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Mike Compton

Friends of Bluegrass, an organization supporting bluegrass events in the Holly Springs, N.C., area, is sponsoring a mandolin workshop Aug. 26 featuring Mike Compton.

The class, limited to 15 to 18 participants, will be held at the Holly Springs Cultural Center. It will cost $75, with Friends of Bluegrass members being reimbursed $5.

The workshop is geared towards intermediate players with an interest in acquiring a more thorough understanding of how to reproduce the original bluegrass mandolin sound. All levels are welcome, however. Some knowledge of standard notation/tab will be helpful. Students are encouraged to come prepared to actively participate. The workshop is not intended as a lecture.

“Topics will include a brief bio of Bill Monroe, his influences and regional culture as it related to the development of the music,” according to a press release from the center.

“A visual reference to the work of Van Gogh will be introduced. The class will spend time working on right hand technique, various examples of tremolo, triplets, down strokes, slides and melody insinuation. Recorded examples to illustrate points may be included as deemed necessary. There will also be examples from the black mandolin culture.”

Born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1956, Compton started playing mandolin as a teenager. He moved to Nashville in 1977 and was eventually recruited by Pat Enright and Alan O’Bryant to help found the Nashville Bluegrass Band.

After a stint with the band, Compton joined the legendary John Hartford, recording a half-dozen albums with the Hartford String Band and touring extensively until Hartford’s death in 2001. He was one of the Soggy Bottom Boy on 2001’s Grammy Album Of The Year, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” In 2000, he rejoined the Nashville Bluegrass Band.

Information about the workshop is available at http://www.friendsofbluegrass.org. Inquiries can be addressed to questions@friendsofbluegrass.org.

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