Nashville’s Butch Baldassari, almost single-handedly revived the mandolin orchestra and the enthusiasm of its followers. Forming the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble in 1991, Butch found himself as leader of a truly unique musical group. In the evolution from the mandolin orchestras of the past, Butch Baldassari and the NME reconfigured a modern musical vocabulary for mandolin. In addition to this release, the NME has recorded three other CDs, “All the Rage” winning the group the 1999 Nashville Music Award for Best Classical Recording, “Bach Beatles Bluegrass” and “Gifts”on Columbia. A Scranton, Pennsylvania native, Butch’s musical talent received national attention as a founding member of the critically acclaimed bluegrass band “Weary Hearts” and then with the 1992 Grammy-nominated “Lonesome Standard Time”. A later stint with “Richard Greene and the Grass is Greener” won that group a Grammy nomination, as well. A diverse instrumentalist, Baldassari has many recordings to his credit, 15 CDs on his label, SoundArt, ranging in style from new acoustic music and traditional bluegrass to jazz and holiday classics, as well as numerous on other labels. Baldassari was an instructor for Homespun Tapes, produced and appeared on many recordings with other groups and for 10 years, hosted his “World of Mandolin” seminars, four days of intensive instruction. Butch was very proud of his association with the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University where he was an Adjunct Professor of Mandolin. A scholarship in his name continues to provide instruction on folk instruments.