Simon Mayor is a mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

ist and fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 player, guitarist, and composer.

Works

With his solo debut The Mandolin Album in 1990 he embarked on a series of recordings to give the mandolin a uniquely British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 voice. The CD was made Recording of the Week on BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

. His mix of original and traditional material alongside classical pieces has been noted by BBC World Service

BBC World Service

The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

 (Recording of the Week), Q

Q (magazine)

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...

, Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan (magazine)

Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...

, Living Tradition (Scotland) and Sing Out!

Sing Out!

Sing Out! is a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that has been published since May 1950.-Background:Sing Out! is the primary publication of the tax exempt, not-for-profit, educational corporation of the same name...

 (USA).

He has written instructional books about the mandolin, including New Celtic Mandolin and The Mandolin Tutor. He is also a regular columnist for Acoustic magazine, along with Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor, MBE is a British jazz guitarist who has performed in groups, guitar ensembles and as an accompanist to many of the world’s most famous musicians...

, Doyle Dykes

Doyle Dykes

Doyle Dykes is an American country acoustic guitarist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is influenced by a wide variety of musical styles and musicians such as Chet Atkins, the Allman Brothers, to the Beatles and U2...

, Gordon Giltrap

Gordon Giltrap

Gordon Giltrap is an English acoustic and electric guitarist and composer, whose musical styles cross multiple genres, including folk, blues, folk rock, pop, classical and rock....

 and Julie Ellison.

In May 2000 he entered the UK's Classical Artist Top Ten with a 'best of' release of his own compositions and classical works on Universal Records.

His touring schedule has included the Rudolstadt International Folk Festival (t), Shetland Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, The Stephen Leacock Humour Festival (Canada), Cheltenham Literature Festival (England), Edinburgh Fringe

Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...

 (Scotland), The Classical Mandolin Society of America and others.

He leads Britain's first modern mandolin quartet, the Mandolinquents. The quartet emerged from a 1997 line up, The Mandolin All-stars with multi-instrumentalists Maartin Allcock

Maartin Allcock

Maartin Allcock , also known as Martin Allcock, is a multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer.-Biography:...

 and Chris Leslie of Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...

, and longtime musical partner, Hilary James

Hilary James

Hilary James is a British musician. A vocalist and multi-instrumentalist she plays guitar, mando-bass and is a singer, and songwriter. She works mostly with her partner Simon Mayor and with their ensemble the Mandolinquents...

. The Mandolinquents now includes the renowned classical guitar virtuoso Gerald Garcia

Gerald Garcia

Gerald Garcia is a classical guitarist and composer.After studying chemistry at Oxford University, he became a professional musician, making his debut at the Wigmore Hall in London. His more than fifteen CDs have sold more than 30,000 copies worldwide...

, UK banjo champion, Richard Collins

Richard Collins

Richard Collins is a Canadian actor who played the character of Philadelphia "Phil" Collins on the television show Trailer Park Boys.In 2011 he also appeared as 'Big Ron' in episode 3 of The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour....

 and James doubling on mandobass.

He played swing fiddle on the album for the show Five Guys Named Moe

Five Guys Named Moe

Five Guys Named Moe is a musical with a book by Clarke Peters and lyrics and music by Louis Jordan and others. The musical originated in the UK in 1990 at Theatre Royal Stratford East, running for over four years in the West End, and then premiering on Broadway in 1992...

, and he plays occasional folk fiddle for country dances as his schedule allows.

Simon Mayor and Hilary James have also written satirical and topical songs for BBC news programmes including Newsnight

Newsnight

Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....

. A fan of fellow Yorkshire man Jake Thackray

Jake Thackray

John Philip "Jake" Thackray , was an English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling,...

, Mayor occasionally performs a special programme of Jake's songs.

Youth audience

He tours regularly with long-time partner Hilary James. The duo have worked extensively with young people in theatres and schools. They have also presented Play School and for six years were regular hosts of BBC School Radio's The Song Tree. In addition, Mayor has played violin, guitar, banjo and mandolin as part of the regular band in BBC School Radio's Singing Together', 'Music Workshop' and 'Time and Tune'.

Mayor and his partner have written over fifty children's songs, many for their own Musical Mystery Tour children's CDs and the Musical Mystery Tour songbook published by Faber Music

Faber Music

Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....

. The songs have also featured on classic British children's series such as Play School, Listening Corner and Green Claws and are used extensively in education, including English language teaching courses for Danish schoolchildren. Alongside www.mandolin.co.uk they set up www.childrensmusic.co.uk in 1999.

External links

• http://www.mandolin.co.uk
• http://www.childrensmusic.co.uk