On Sunday, April 24, the Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland, in partnership with the Hedgelawn Foundation, is very excited to present GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane to its stage.
Ronn has dedicated his professional life to bringing the lute — the most popular instrument of the Renaissance – into today’s musical mainstream and make it accessible to a wider audience.
Born in West Virginia, Ronn grew up in Maryland. At the age of thirteen, upon hearing “Wipeout” by the Surfaris, he fell madly in love with music and taught himself to play on a “cranky sixteen-dollar steel string guitar.” It wasn’t long before he shifted to formal studies on the classical guitar. He graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued guitar studies at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. The next year, he began to perform solo recitals on the lute and became a member of the early music ensemble, The Baltimore Consort and toured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
Ronn McFarlane
Ronn was a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory from 1984 to 1995, teaching lute and lute-related subjects. In 1996, Ronn was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory for his achievements in bringing the lute and its music to the world. He has over 35 recordings on the Dorian/Sono Luminus label, including solo albums, flute & lute duets, the complete lute music of Vivaldi, a collection of Elizabethan lute music and poetry, and recordings with the Baltimore Consort.
Ronn has also made his mark in music as the founder of Ayreheart (an ensemble brought together to perform new compositions as well as early music), as a guest artist with Apollo’s Fire, The Bach Sinfonia, The Catacoustic Consort, The Folger Consort, Houston Grand Opera, The Oregon Symphony, The Portland Baroque Orchestra, and The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.
Ronn’s original compositions are the focus of his solo CD, Indigo Road, which received a GRAMMY Award Nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album of 2009.
Showtime for the live concert event is 4 pm. Tickets are $15 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $20 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.
The programs of the Mainstay are also supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.
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