We’re excited to welcome you to our brand new podcast series—the ArtistWorks Music Roundtable. In this series, members of the ArtistWorks faculty are joined by notable musical guests to discuss topics on anything and everything music. Subjects ranging from touring and memorable moments on the road to recording, songwriting, musicianship, music theory, technique, and more will be addressed. Nothing is off-limits, and all musical themes are fair game!

In this inaugural episode of the ArtistWorks Music Roundtable, our Director of Content and Production, Marcus Luscombe, is joined by two of our mandolin instructors—world-renowned bluegrass mandolin and multi-style instrumentalist, Mike Marshall, and classical mandolin icon, Caterina Lichtenberg. Together, they discuss their favorite instruments, what drew them both to the mandolin, a few stories from their time touring, and the importance of the number “2” in their personal and musical lives.

LEARN MORE: Want to learn how to play bluegrass mandolin from a master musician like Mike Marshall? Try a free mandolin lesson now!

For those of you who may not know, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg are a married couple. In addition to performing around the globe, recording, and teaching as a duo, Mike and Caterina share their lives together and, for reasons they cannot explain, the number “2” has played a significant role in their relationship.

“Caterina and I might be the strangest married couple out there,” Mike explains with a chuckle. “We’re two mandolin players with two young children. We live on two continents in two countries. We speak two languages in our house, and all of our instruments feature strings paired in twos.”

Having both performed around the globe for most of their musical careers, Caterina and Mike share some amazing stories from their times on the road. Caterina describes a particularly humorous performance during one of her past tours in Chile and Argentina.

“After a performance in Chile, I traveled to Argentina for my next show,” Caterina explains. “When I arrived in Argentina, I was under the impression that I had the rest of the day for myself based on the itinerary I was provided for the tour. So, that evening I went and enjoyed a nice steak dinner and relaxed with some wine. I normally don’t drink very much, but that night I had most of a bottle. After finishing my meal, the concert host ran in to tell me that my show was about to start. Let’s just say, that night I asked the guitar player who was accompanying me to play as loud as he could.”

LEARN MORE: Want to learn classical mandolin from a master musician like Caterina Lichtenberg? Try some free online mandolin lessons now!

To learn more about these two master musicians and their life of touring, recording, and performing, listen to the full podcast with Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg here:

If you’re interested in studying the mandolin and learning about Mike and Caterina’s unique approaches to performance and musicianship, check out their online mandolin lessons right here at ArtistWorks!

ABOUT THE ARTISTWORKS MUSIC ROUNDTABLE PODCAST:

On the ArtistWorks Music Roundtable, members of our faculty of master musicians are joined by notable musical guests to discuss topics on anything and everything music. Subjects ranging from touring and memorable moments on the road to recording, songwriting, musicianship, music theory, technique, and more will be addressed. Nothing is off-limits, and all musical themes are fair game!

Looking to dive into more music podcasts? You’ve come to the right place. Investigate previous episodes of the ArtistWorks Music Series podcast where plenty of topics are explored with fantastic, hand-selected, and knowledgeable guests.

Want to get started on overcoming the roadblock on your musical journey with our online music lessons? Try out some free sample music lessons with any of our master musicians and learn from the best!

READ MORE:

Mandolin Lesson: An Introduction to Mandocello with Mike Marshall

Caterina Lichtenberg Solo Nominated for Opus Klassik Award

An In-Depth Interview: Mike Marshall Celebrates 8,000 Video Exchanges