Dynamic duo performs at Grey Towers

Kindred Spirts opened its summer series in the beautiful outdoor concert space at Grey Towers on June 14. The weather was perfect, and the mood of the audience was anticipatory.

The first program to kick off the series was Duo Mantar – a dynamic duo of classical mandolinist, Jacob Reuven, and classical guitarist, Adam Levin. The audience was mesmerized by these young artists, not only for their individual talents, but also for their pioneering of these two instruments together in concert. Their name, Duo Mantar, is actually a portmanteau, a blending of two words together: man (for mandolin) and tar (for guitar).

There are very few performing groups of mandolin and guitar and Reuven and Levin hope to change that. The mandolin is a member of the lute family, but it is similar in tone and range to the violin and much of the mandolin music is arranged from music originally composed for the violin.

Reuven and Levin found each other in 2017 when Levin’s father sent him a YouTube video of Reuven playing a piece composed by Eugene Ysaye, blending an old folk melody with Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in E major” which was originally written for violin. Ironically, Levin had been playing that same piece on the guitar. He contacted Reuven immediately, who was actually looking for a classical guitarist for an upcoming concert. Levin flew to Spain to meet him, they played together for 10 minutes, and Duo Mantar was born.

Both artists are committed to expanding the available repertoire for mandolin and guitar. They played well-known pieces like Vivaldi’s “Adagio from Concerto in D major” but the sound that emerged from these two instruments playing together was as interesting as it was unique. They also played pieces which they specifically commissioned for Mantar with the help of grants and private funding. For example, the played “Many Waters” which was composed by Avner Dorman and dedicated to Duo Mantar with various movements musically depicting Red Sea, San Diego Bay, Susquehanna River, Green Lake, and Jordan River.

Levin is on the faculty of Rhode Island University where he teaches classical guitar, and Reuven teaches mandolin at The Jerusalem Academy of the Arts in Israel. Together they perform festivals for the two instruments, held in the summer at Rhode Island University where they are developing a cadre of “mantar” players (with a small m). They hope to embrace the world with their love of music and give people an opportunity to get a beautiful, peaceful respite from the stress of today’s world.

”This is the type of quality we are delighted to bring to Milford,” said Yosif Feigelson, Artistic Director of Kindred Spirits, said of the artists.

Upcoming concerts are Terra (String) Quartet on July 12, Marianne Solivan Jazz Quartet on August 16, and Alexander Markov, (Violinist) on September 13.

For more information about Duo Mantar, see www.duomantar.com.

For tickets and information, log onto www.kindredspiritsarts.org or call (570) 390-8699.