1. A New CD!!
2. Performances and Workshops.
3. Grey Larsen Mastering Services Available.
4. All Things to be Considered.
5. The Irish Tune Bank Meets the Magazine World.
6. Two More Books to be Published by Mel Bay Publications.
7. Current Specials at Grey's Online Store.

1. A New CD!!

Grey Larsen and André Marchand are delighted to announce that their long-awaited second CD, Les Marionnettes, has just been released on the Sleepy Creek Music label! It is available for purchase now.

This CD follows well in the footsteps of their very popular first recording, The Orange Tree.

Les Marionnettes features André's singing, guitar and foot percussion, and Grey's flute, whistles, concertina, harmonium, piano and fiddle in unique and captivating arrangements of traditional songs and tunes from French Canada and Ireland, six of their own original tunes, and an old-time waltz from Indiana. You can listen to two complete tracks by clicking here and selecting the "Listen" buttons.

You may order both Les Marionnettes and The Orange Tree (The Grey & André CD Bundle) at the discount price of $23.98 by clicking here.

Grey and André will celebrate the new CD by performing at the wonderful folk festival, Memoire et Racines (Memory and Roots), in Joliette, Québec, Canada this coming weekend, July 23-25. Tickets are still available.

In Québec and the Acadian Maritimes, the "Northern Lights" are traditionally known as les marionnettes, perhaps because they sometimes appear to dance like puppets on an invisible string. There are several legends about gifted fiddlers magically summoning les marionnettes with their music.

This is the inspiration for the title of Les Marionnettes and for the CD's title tune, composed by fiddler Lisa Ornstein. We hope that the music on this CD conjures up some magic for you!

Also, you may visit the Les Marionnettes Extras Page to find in-depth information about the music, English translations of the French song lyrics, photos, information on the making of the CD, and more.

2. Performances and Workshops

In addition to concerts with André Marchand and others this past year, Grey has been giving solo concerts,workshops, and teaching private lessons and classes around the country. If you know of a concert venue, house concert series, festival, music school, music store, or other forum that might be interested in having Grey perform, teach, or some combination of the two, please let Grey know at www.greylarsen.com/contact.php . And consider hosting a house concert yourself - they're easy to do and lots of fun! (Check out www.houseconcerts.org for an overview and some helpful suggestions.)

Grey will be teaching and performing in August at the Lark Camp World Music and Dance Celebration near Mendocino, CA and the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp near Estes Park, CO. There is still time to sign up for classes.

For details on these camps and Grey's other upcoming performances and teaching, visit Grey's schedule page.

3. Grey Larsen Mastering Services Available.

If you or someone you know has a recording project in the works, please consider professional mastering by Grey. Mastering is the final creative opportunity in the recording process. The mastering engineer enhances and optimizes the depth, clarity, balance, loudness and effectiveness of the music. All major label releases are mastered.

With the increasing accessibility of mastering tools and technology, mastering is now well within the budget of most independent musicians. More and more of them are discovering how the mastering process can greatly enhance the sound and success of their recordings. In fact, lower budget recordings are helped more by mastering than higher budget ones.

The most important element of fine mastering is a mastering engineer with an excellent musical ear and a great deal of experience. Grey fits the bill, and specializes in mastering acoustic-based music.

If you are curious how mastering will enhance your music, why not find out? Grey will master one song for free. Click here for more details.

Grey has produced, recorded and/or mixed over 80 recordings and has mastered more than 120 CDs during the past eight years. He is happy to supply samples of his mastering work as well as references upon request. His most recent mastering project is the compilation double-CD set from the International Traditional Music Association, Wooden Flute Obsession II.

For more information about Grey's recording and mastering services, please visit the mastering pages or contact Grey directly.

4. All Things to be Considered.

Grey had a wonderful time in April taping a story with host Melissa Block for National Public Radio's All Things Considered. The segment focuses on Grey's Irish flute playing and his definitive book, The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle.

We have learned that NPR feature stories do not necessarily air right after they are recorded! Once we are notified by NPR, we will announce the story's broadcast date to all the folks on Grey's email list (and supply a link for listening to the story on the web, for those who miss the live broadcast).

If you received this newsletter directly from grey@greylarsen.com, you are on that email list. If you are not sure, just sign up here.

5. The Irish Tune Bank Meets the Magazine World.

A selection from Grey's Irish Tune Bank is now a regular feature in the Scottish traditional music quarterly, The Living Tradition. This is one of the most highly-regarded publications in the traditional Celtic music world.

The Tune Bank is Grey's online learning center for Irish tunes. Each downloadable "tune packet" in the Bank (some free and others for purchase at $2.49) contains an mp3 of Grey playing the tune on Irish flute, his comprehensive musical transcription of the tune, and his written commentary on it, giving background information as well as tune-specific suggestions on breathing, phrasing, fingering choices, and ornamentation. The material is presented so as to be useful to players of all melody instruments, not just the flute and tin whistle.

Check out the Irish Tune Bank.

6. Two More Books to be Published by Mel Bay Publications.

Grey's first two books, The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle and The Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox, have both met with worldwide acclaim. If you'd like to read some of the feedback on these books, please click here.

Grey's two collections of Irish tunes, Celtic Encyclopedia for Flute and Celtic Encyclopedia for Tin Whistle, are near completion and should be published in the coming year. Grey has chosen tunes for these books that are idiomatic and pleasing for flute and whistle players as well as some that will stretch and challenge players to explore new territory.

These will be the first large Irish tune collections using Grey's new ornamentation notation system. For more on this system, please visit the Irish Tune Bank where you may download free PDF information files.

Have a great summer!

7. Current Specials at Grey's Online Store.

• The Grey & André CD Bundle: Les Marionnettes and The Orange Tree for $23.98 ($2.00 off).
  
• The Grey & Paddy CD Bundle: Dark of the Moon and The Green House for $23.98. ($2.00 off).
  
• The Book Bundle: The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle and The Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox for $64.90 ($5.00 off).

Grey always welcomes your feedback, comments and ideas. Just use the contact form to be in touch with him. We hope you'll enjoy being part of an online community that values and supports his work.

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