Mandolin

Rick LaRue

Violin, guitar, bass, mandolin, viola, cello and piano

Rick LaRue is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Music with violin as his principal instrument. Over the years he has taught violin, guitar, bass, mandolin, viola, cello, and piano. He has performed with fiddle legend Vassar Clements, jazz great Ira Sullivan, former Dizzy Gillespie bassist Chris White, and Grammy award winning band The Mavericks. In addition to being a member of the Miami Symphony and Lynchburg Symphony he has recorded with the Florida International University Jazz Band and Celtic rock band The Volunteers. He has also directed orchestras and taught strings, jazz band, guitar, improvisation, fiddling, and music theory in Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York private and public schools. Rick currently performs with the Lynchburg Symphony, The Acme Swing Band www.swingco.net, The Toad Mamas contradance band www.toadmamas.com, The Bella/LaRue Jazz Project, guitarist Peter Richardson, and the The LaRue/Donahue Classical Duo. He teaches the following styles on all string instruments including guitar: classical, jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, and Irish.

Andy Thacker

Mandolin

Andy is a very accomplished strings musician. He believes the mandolin can be added to many musical scenarios beyond where it is traditionally found. He applies this flexibility to his teaching techniques, which gives his students the opportunity to learn the instrument while experiencing it’s realm of possibilities. He has played the mandolin in a variety of different styles of music from traditional Bluegrass and Old time, to Jazz and Rock. Andy regularly performs with the progressive Bluegrass band, Walker’s Run and local Bluegrass/80′s cover band, Love Canon. Previously having toured with national acts such as Addrienne Young and Irish guitarist Ryan McGiver, Andy understands the musical roots of the mandolin, but challenges the instrument in a wide range of genres.