join us
Imagine staying on a working family-run farm resort on top of a ridge in the heart of the Umbrian countryside surrounded by incredible vistas, nature, and other people crazy about the mandolin. Where everything you eat is organic, cultivated and made fresh on site - from the pasta, bread, wine, olive oil, proscuitto, cheese, vegetables, and other culinary delights. They also breed Chianina cattle, Cinta senese and Large white pigs and the Apennine breed of sheep. This is “La Dolce Vita” - and the perfect place to allow your imagination to soar and your musicianship to expand.
Join us for four nights and four days of playing, learning, jamming and hanging out with - Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg, two of the most versatile mandolin players of our time. No matter your skill level, Mandolin World Retreats will take your playing to the next level.
We will touch on all styles of mandolin playing from Bluegrass, Swing, Jazz and Brazilian Choro, improvisation and chord theory to the entire history of Classical mandolin techniques spanning 300 years.
Not only will you get a chance to learn from these mandolin masters, but there will be plenty of time for actual playing with the other students, or as part of an ensemble. We will keep this gathering intimate (maximum of 12 students) so that there is a lot of interactional time with the instructors, and among the participants.
This retreat is geared for those who love the mandolin and who want to come together in a unique locale to be inspired, meet new musical friends, partake in good food and wine, make music – and just have a GREAT TIME!
When not playing music, you can find many outdoor places to relax, or if you want swim in our private stone pools. You may even choose to take walks or runs in this expansive natural setting. This will be an immersive Mandolin extravaganza that also doubles as a fun-filled Italian vacation! Your family and friends will want to join you!
meet YOUR mandolin INSTRUCTORS
Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall is a three-time Grammy nominated musician who has been at the forefront of the American string music scene for over 40 years. He has released over 35 CDs spanning a wide musical spectrum from contemporary Bluegrass to Brazilian Choro, Swing, Classical and original New Acoustic Music. In 2002 he founded his own Adventure Music Record label.
Mike has toured and recorded with some of acoustic music’s greatest innovators including David Grisman, Stephane Grappelli, Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, Darol Anger and Tony Rice. He has produced 10 about mandolin playing, 3 dvds for the Homespun series and he founded the Mandolin Symposium at the Univ. of California in Santa Cruz.
The ‘Mike Marshall School of Mandolin’ with the Artist Works company is the most popular online teaching format in the world and Mike has directed the Acoustic Music Seminar at the Savannah Music Festival since 2010. Mike’s energy, enthusiasm, and enormous bag of musical skills, tips, and techniques always leave his students coming back for more!
caterina lichtenberg
German born Caterina Lichtenberg is one of the most important mandolinists of our time. She currently holds the Professor position for classical mandolin at the Music Conservatory in Cologne, Germany and graduated with honors on both mandolin and classical guitar from that same institution.
She has toured throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia for over 20 years and has produced over 13 recordings with artists including guitarist Mirko Schader, harpsichordist Brigitte Engelhard, Quartetto MaGiCo, Le Son d ́Argent, LAGuitar Quartet, Trio Delicado, and Mike Marshall. Caterina has performed as a featured soloist with a number of distinguished symphonic, chamber, and radio orchestras, including the MDR Orchestra under Fabio Luisi, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly, and the New Century Orchestra under Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Schleswig-Holstein festival with Daniel Hope.
Caterina also teaches on-line through her Classical Mandolin school at the Artist Works Company. Caterina’s patience, warmth and genuine love of mandolin gives her a special ability to transfer an enormous breadth of musical knowledge and skill into bite-size morsels for her students to savor.
Special Guest Guitarist PEPPINO D’AGOSTINO
Peppino D'Agostino, a native of Italy, has been hailed as “a guitarist's guitarist” by Acoustic Guitar magazine, recorded 18 albums, been featured at prestigious international music festivals, and toured extensively with prominent artists from around the world - including Tommy Emmanuel, Leo Kottke, Martin Taylor, and Eric Johnson to name a few.
Now, as the co-founder of Music World Retreats, he is creating his own brand of supportive, guitar teaching, and music learning experiences. One thing is true – Peppino D’Agostino is always thinking about how to share his love of music and the guitar with the world.
pricing and plans
RETREAT PARTICIPANT
$3200*
ALL ACTIVITIES INCLUDED
ALL WORKSHOPS (18+ hrs instruction)
4 Nights Lodging in a Private Room with Bath
All Meals
Evening jam sessions & instructor performances
Optional Farm Tour
Time to Explore the area
Lots of Fun!!
*thE Price includes all taxes. You can pay 50% of the fee upon registration with the remaining balance due 30 days later. Contact us if you need a 3-payment plan.
PARTNER ADD-ON
$850
PERFECT FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Time to Explore the area
4 Nights Lodging (shared room)
All Meals
Evening jam sessions & instructor performances
Optional Farm Tour
Optional Cooking Demonstration/Class
Lots of Fun!!
What Do You Get?
All Workshops ♫
Over 18 hours of music workshops with Mike and Caterina - and Peppino will be there for those who want some guitar instruction too
Delicious Traditional Meals♫
Join Mike, Caterina and all your mandolin buddies for incredible, organic, fresh, traditional, Italian fare. Everything is grown, harvested, and/or made on site from ingredients and products from the land.
Evening Open Mic/Jam Sessions ♫
Bring your instruments to these post dinner music-making sessions where we just let it all hang out.
Faculty Performances♫
Close-up and intimate performances with Caterina, Mike, and Peppino just for our participants.
Goodie Bag♫
You’ll get some nice surprises in that goodie bag when you arrive.
Umbrian Experiences♫
We have some ideas for outings that you may want to participate in - perhaps a cooking class, a farm tour, or an excursion to Gubbio. We want you to get a taste of this beautiful region.
What Will You Learn?
Bluegrass, Classical, Swing, Jazz and Brazilian Styles
Classical Tremolo
Rhythm Playing
Chord Theory
Scales and Arpeggios for improvising
Warm up Exercises
Dynamics, Color and Expression
Ensemble Playing
THE LOCATION
Our retreat is on a working farm resort, an agriturismo, set on a ridge near Monte Cucco, in the region of Umbria, Italy known for its lush landscapes, medieval towns - and of course, truffles, chocolate, and wine. It is a 20 - 45 minute drive to the historic towns of Perugia, Gubbio, Assisi, Spello, and Spoleto - or to two well known caves in the area; Parco Monte Cucco or the Frasassi Caves - which once was the backdrop for an Andrea Bocelli holiday concert.
The nearest airport is in Perugia, although Florence and Rome are only about 2.5 hours away.
Two famous summer music events are also held in this region - the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, and the Umbria Jazz Festival. Two days before (or after) our retreat will be a wonderful flower festival called Infiorate di Spello.
private pool and teaching area
organic, farm-fresh meals
THE VINEYARDS of the farm
THE DAILY SCHEDULE*
Monday, June 3
Monday, June 3
3:30 – 4:30 pm Students Arrive
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Welcome, Introductions and Opening Session
7:00 pm Welcome Reception and Dinner
Post Dinner Evening Jam Session
Tuesday, June 4
Tuesday, June 4
8:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
9:30 am – 10:30 am Workshop I
11:00 – 12:30 pm Workshop II
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Lunch and Free Time
4:00 pm – 5:15 Workshop III
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Workshop IV
7:00 pm Dinner
Post Dinner Jam and Open Mic
Wednesday, June 5
Wednesday, June 5
8:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
9:30 am – 10:30 am Workshop V
11:30 – 1:30 Gubbio Tour
1:30 pm – 3:30 Lunch and Free Time
4:00 pm – 5:15 Workshop VI
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Workshop VII
7:00 pm Dinner
Post Dinner Faculty Concert and Open Mic
Thursday, June 6
Thursday, June 6
8:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
9:30 am – 10:30 am Workshop VIII
11:00 – 12:30 pm Workshop IX
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Lunch and Free Time
4:00 pm – 5:15 Workshop X
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Workshop XI
7:00 pm Dinner
Post Dinner Final Gathering
Friday, June 7
Friday, June 7
8:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
Departure
*Schedule may be modified.
This is What Participants tell us…
Our Retreats have been life changing Mandolin moments for many who have attended. Here’s what a few had to say about their experience…
"Most excellent and inspiring weekend. Didn't know that I could learn so much in so short a time and only dismayed by how much is left to learn. The education process never stops when done correctly I suppose. Mike, Caterina and everyone involved with providing this weekend are the best, and I'll be back."
"What a fun weekend! Learning directly from the two greatest mandolin players in the world - Caterina and Mike is inspiring and nurtures us to grow as musicians. The beautiful concerts, the opportunities to connect through our music and play together, the food, and the nice people created an enjoyable experience. We look forward to the next retreat. Thank you so much."
"A highly immersive and entertaining learning experience. I didn't want to leave! Mike and Caterina are warm and generous teachers and their mandolin performances sprinkled throughout alone were worth the trip. Plus exposure to orchestra performance! Highly recommended -- I plan to attend again."
"How fortunate to have the opportunity to learn directly from such renowned musicians as Mike and Caterina! The retreat was well organized by thorough and caring people, with a good series of classes and many opportunities to play. The intimate setting allowed me to make new friends, and the public performance was a great finish to the amazing weekend!"
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. WHEN AND WHERE DOES THE RETREAT TAKE PLACE? ♫
The retreat takes place near Gubbio, Italy in the Umbrian Countryside, at an agriturismo from June 3 - 7, 2024. Meals, accomodations, workshops, nightly music jams, and most planned activities will be on-site. Most areas at Villa Dama will be reserved for participants of this retreat only. Lodging will be spread out among various buildings on the property.
Q. CAN MY PARTNER ATTEND EVEN THOUGH THEY WON'T PARTICIPATE IN THE CLASSES?♫
Absolutely, non-participating partners are very welcome and the price per non-participating partner is $850 which can be added to the retreat fee when you register. Partners may also sit in on a workshop session or two as long as there is adequate space in the classroom. All planned meals, faculty concerts, jam sessions, and "Umbrian Experiences," are included in the Partner package. Lodging will be in the student's room.
Q. WHAT IS YOUR CANCELLATION POLICY? ♫
You can receive a full refund minus any transaction fees within the first 30 days of booking. Please consider getting travel insurance to cover unexpected occurences that may cause you to cancel after the refund period. Music World Retreats reserves the right to re-schedule or cancel any event if there should be an "Act of God" or occurence outside our control that makes the scheduled retreat impossible to hold such as a pandemic, natural disaster, earthquake, or any civil unrest that would put our participants "at risk." In these situations (which we hope never occurs), we will reschedule or refund participant payments minus any transactional fees and expenses related to the event that we cannot get reimbursed. If we reschedule, and you cannot make the new date, we will credit your account for the amount paid for up to 1 year, and you can use that credit towards any other retreat that is held during that year. There is a 10 student minimum and 22 student maximum. After purchasing your place at the retreat, please wait to plan airfare or other costs until you get an email from our office letting you know the minimum number of students has been reached.
Q. WHO CAN I CONTACT IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE RETREAT? ♫
Please contact us.
Q. CAN YOU ACCOMMODATE THOSE WITH DIETARY ISSUES? ♫
We are happy to try and accomodate your dietary needs. Vegetarian, vegans and basic diet requirements are included in the price – just contact us. Villa Dama does an amazing job in preparing baked goods and pasta for those who are gluten-free.
Q. ARE THE RETREAT VENUES SUITABLE FOR THOSE WITH MOBILITY ISSUES?♫
We are not able to accommodate anyone with severe mobility problems. Please contact us to discuss your particular needs
Q. HOW DO I GET THERE? ♫
You can travel to the Umbrian region of Italy by air from all over the U.S. and Europe. Fossato di Vico-Gubbio Railway Station is the nearest train station to the agriturismo. Perugia (PEG) is the closest international airport, but most people will probably fly into Florence (FLR) or Rome (FCO), and either rent a car to get to Villa Dama, or take public transportation to Perugia or Gubbio - and then arrange private transport to the agriturismo. The most direct trains to Fossato di Vico-Gubbio will be from the Roma Termini train station and takes about 2.5 hours and run frequently. If you are considering spending some time before or after the workshop, the easiest option would be to rent a car from whatever airport you fly into in Italy. You will receive more detailed information about getting around the Umbria region, including possible private transport options upon registration. In the meantime, you can check out directions HERE**
Stay in Touch:
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If you have any trouble with this form, just email Donna Wapner at: dwapnermusic [AT] gmail [DOT] com
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
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Hosts Peppino D’Agostino and Donna Wapner
MUSIC WORLD RETREATS are hosted by Peppino D’Agostino and Donna Wapner. Our goal is to partner with some of our favorite musicians and creative friends - and together develop intimate, supportive, learning experiences. We pick locations that will encourage and inspire one’s creativity. When participants walk away having learned something new, had fun, made new friends, and can’t wait to join us again - we know we have done our job well!!
