Two of the world's top mandolinists present an evening of solo and duet performances that transcend the boundaries of traditional string band genres, taking the audience with them on a marvelous musical journey from rousing bluegrass to Bach to Charlie Parker and onward into the stratosphere. Mike Marshall is the leading proponent of an ebullient and fascinating brand of folk-jazz-classical music that explores territory stretching from Brazil through Appalachia to Europe and Africa, by way of Manhattan and the Florida swamps.

The acoustic string virtuoso first gained prominence in the late 1970s as a member of the David Grisman Quintet. Mike and Grisman alumnus, Darol Anger, went on to form folk-jazz fusion group, Montreux, and avant garde bluegrass quintet, Psychograss. More recently, Mike founded both the Modern Mandolin Quartet and the Brazilian ensemble, Choro Famoso, and performs regularly with bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer and banjo wizard Bela Fleck.

He released an album with Darol Anger, Jam (Compass), in 1999, and plans to release a new recording, Brasil (Duets), this coming spring. Chris Thile combines originality and soul with jaw-dropping musicianship. In 1990 he co-founded the group, Nickel Creek, which has risen to fame in recent years, with two Grammy nominations and two critically acclaimed albums, most recently last year's This Side, which debuted at #2 on the Country Album Charts.

Chris, whose shimmering sound exudes energy and authority, proved that his compositional skills are every bit the match of his superb and tasteful playing with the release of his first solo album, Not All Who Wander Are Lost (Sugar Hill), in 2001. The duo's inspired display of passion and prodigious technique, tempered with deep feeling and humor, is not to be missed.