Evan J. Marshall
Pasadena Presbyterian Church will feature internationally renowned mandolin virtuoso Evan J. Marshall on Wednesday, Dec. 23, during its free virtual “Music at Noon” concert, available on Twitter, Facebook Live, and YouTube.
Marshall is widely regarded as the world’s premier solo performer on mandolin in duo-style. Playing alone, he sounds like several of the world’s finest mandolinists performing together. His stylistic signature is classical, with strong influences from the Italian and American Folk traditions. Country guitar legend Chet Atkins called him “a true virtuoso, one of the few great musicians of our time.”
Inspired by Atkins and violinist Jascha Heifetz, Marshall has created a uniquely recognizable approach to solo mandolin performance that combines bass lines, chords, rhapsodic runs and tremolo melodies. He started classical violin studies at age 7, and added the mandolin at age 14.
In addition to solo performances, Marshall has been a featured guest artist in pops concerts with a number of symphony orchestras, including Houston, Phoenix, Long Beach, Grand Rapids, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Jacksonville and Pensacola.
Two of his solo mandolin recordings – “Evan Marshall is the Lone Arranger,” and “Mandolin Magic” – have been released by Rounder Records. He has also recorded four solo CDs for his own label, Mandolin Conservatory.
In 1995, Marshall made his first appearance on “A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor. Between 1993 and 2005 he was a featured soloist at Disneyland, performing his signature “William Tell Overture: Finale” for about two million visitors to the famous Golden Horseshoe Theater during the course of 10,000 shows.
He has performed and taught at numerous regional and international conferences for mandolinists, who hold him in particularly high regard; Don Stiernberg has referred to him as “The Michael Jordan of the Mandolin.”
Marshall’s concert premieres on YouTube and Facebook at noon Wednesday.
To watch, follow PPC Music at Noon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MusicAtPPC or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pasadenapreschurch and YouTube, www.youtube.com/pasadenapreschurch.
