Tag: Steve Mandell

Steve Mandell Memorial Music Scholarship Fund awards announced

The recipients of the 2021 Steve Mandell Memorial Music Scholarship Fund grants have been announced. These awards are offered annually to assist those seeking to learn, develop, and enhance their music education in folk, bluegrass, old-timey, or other acoustic Americana styles. Grants between $500-$1,000 are provided based on need and/or ability.

The Mandell Memorial Fund Scholarship is managed by Common Ground on the Hill in Maryland, in honor of Steve Mandell, who passed away in 2018 from prostate cancer. He had been a prominent bluegrass and folk guitarist, starting in New York as part of the folk scene around Washington Square in the 1960s, eventually moving to the suburbs of Baltimore where he remained active as an artist. Steve’s biggest claim to fame was as the guitarist who played alongside Eric Weissberg on the classic recording of Dueling Banjos that ended up in the score for the movie Deliverance in 1972.

Later in his life, Mandell’s presence was felt as he initiated a concert series at his congregation in Reisterstown, MD. He was also a regular at regional festivals and served frequently as a judge for music competitions in Virginia and Maryland.

Following his death, Common Ground launched this scholarship, funded by tax deductible donations for this purpose. The number of scholarships to be given each year is dependent on the amount of donations received, as well as income from investments of the fund. Scholarship awards are paid directly to a music camp, instructor, or college designated by the applicants.

Chosen to receive awards this year are:

  • Emma Salemi, Arnold, MD – violin/fiddle
  • Elizabeth Keppler, Bangor, PA – hammered dulcimer
  • Maude Brossoie, Nottingham, MD – guitar
  • Deborah Jackson, Baltimore, MD – bass

Recipients will be honored officially during the Charm City Bluegrass Festival in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, MD, Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Applications are open now for the 2022 grants, and submissions received by December 31, 2022 will be considered. Application forms can be found online. The scholarship is available regardless of age.

Donations are gratefully accepted for the furtherance of the Steve Mandell Memorial Music Scholarship Fund.

Steve Mandell passes

Steve Mandell, who played one of the most recognizable guitar parts in bluegrass history, died today.

Mandell, who stayed active in the Baltimore-area bluegrass community until his death, had prostate cancer.

If you live away from the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area, you might not be familiar with Steve. But you most certainly know his music. That’s him, countering Eric Weissberg’s banjo on the instantly recognizable Dueling Banjos, from the 1972 movie Deliverance.

But Steve was far from a one-trick pony. He could play and sing hundreds of songs from the bluegrass canon. He was a regular at jams, concerts and music camps in the region, eagerly sharing his vast knowledge with anyone who asked. I last saw Steve a few weeks ago at a Westminster, MD show by Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. Frank introduced Steve during his set. A few of us gave him a standing ovation while others, perhaps not knowing they were in the midst of a legend, applauded politely.

Steve, who lived in the Baltimore suburbs with his wife of 43 years, Terry Mandell, had been battling prostate cancer for more than 20 years. But you’d never know it to see him. His smile, like his guitar, was a constant companion. And his sense of humor was finely honed. He and Roland White brought down the house at the Common Ground on the Hill music and arts camp a few years ago with a faux argument about who was taller. It could have gone either way.

Steve is also survived by a son, Joshua.

Services will be held at noon Friday at Sol Levinson and Brothers funeral home, 8900 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville MD. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Bluegrass Trust Fund, c/o IBMA, 4206 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN, 37216, or to Common Ground On the Hill, 2 College Hill, McDaniel College, Westminster, MD, 21157.

RIP, Steve. Thanks for the music.

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