Guitar Sunday: The Hampton Trio

This popular series from Portsmouth Public Library and PMAC (Portsmouth Music and Arts Center) is back! Guitar Sundays will continue this year indoors, produced and curated by Mitch Shuldman.

Drawing from a rich selection of guitar talent from both New Hampshire and the greater Boston area, the series of recitals will highlight the versatility and range of the guitar from classical to jazz to acoustic.

Join us on January 16 at the library for the Hampton Trio! Registration is required. Space is limited.

The program for this afternoon will include music from the French baroque arranged for the Trio’s instrumentation, and a selection of contemporary American and international works including a new three-movement suite by Philadelphia composer Mark Linkins, dedicated to the Hampton Trio.

The Hampton Trio (Beverly Davis, Mark Davis, Robert Margo) performs original music and arrangements from baroque to contemporary for an ensemble of classical guitar, mandolin, and mandola in G. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of Trio Nuovo (Japan) and Trio Chamorro (Spain), the Hampton Trio’s mission is to popularize and add to the existing repertoire for this instrumentation. Recent performances by the Trio include the Classical Mandolin Society of America’s Virtual Summer Event, the “Sunday Sounds Series” at the Hingham (MA) Public Library, the 46 Festival Internacional de Plectro de La Rioja (Logroño, Spain), and Music at Fishs’ Eddy (NY).

Beverly Davis (classical guitar) has been involved in plucked string ensembles since the 1980’s when she studied classical guitar with Reed Desrosier. A long-time member and former president of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Davis directed the 2001 International Festival of Mandolins in Providence, Rhode Island. She also tours and records in a duo with Mark Davis and with the New American Mandolin Ensemble.

Mark Davis (mandolin) began his guitar and mandolin studies with Hibbard Perry in Rhode Island and continued his musical training with the eminent German guitarist Siegfried Behrend. Over his career Davis has performed widely in the United States and abroad and has made numerous recordings. He is the Music Director of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra and the New American Mandolin Ensemble.

Robert Margo (mandola in G) is an accomplished performer on plucked strings. Twice a prize-winner at the national performance competition of the Classical Mandolin Society of America (CMSA), Margo frequently writes articles on mandolin topics for the CMSA’s Mandolin Journal. Margo is a member of the New American Mandolin Ensemble and the Providence Mandolin Orchestra.

Visit the Hampton Trio on Facebook and at markmdavis.com/the_hampton_trio. For a sample of a Hampton Trio performance, see youtube.com/watch?v=pf6sXIKq-d8.