LAKEPORT, Calif. – Talented regional mandolin players will be featured in this weekend’s special Lake County Symphony’s Chamber Orchestra Baroque concert.

The concert will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30, at the Soper Reese Theatre.

David “Gus” Garelick and Gail Sharpsteen are founding members of the Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble, in Sebastopol.

For the past 11 years, this group has been performing mandolin music from around the world: Classical music from the Baroque Era, Choro music from Brazil, Klezmer music from Eastern Europe, Italian music, Spanish music, and much more.

Gus Garelick originally learned mandolin from his Russian relatives, and quickly discovered the rich tradition of mandolin music, from the folk music of Russia and Eastern Europe to American Bluegrass, Brazilian Choro, Italian Ballo Liscio music, and classical works by Vivaldi, Mozart and Beethoven.

He was a member of the Berkeley Mandolin Ensemble in the 1980s, where he first performed the Vivaldi Mandolin Concerto. Years later, upon moving to Sonoma County, he was delighted to find people willing to form a new mandolin ensemble. He also plays violin in the Lake County Symphony.

Gail Sharpsteen learned to play the mandolin when she inherited her grandfather’s 1923 Gibson in the 1980’s.

She also learned to play the mandocello, and more recently the mandola, and plays all three instruments (but not at the same time!) with the Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble.

Sharpsteen’s primary instrument is the violoncello and she is active in chamber music and theater music in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties.

She has played in the cello section of the Lake County Symphony for the past four years.

The special concert has open seating and a lower admission fee of $10 (under 18 are free) and is not part of the Symphony’s main concert season.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

Debra Fredrickson is a volunteer with the Lake County Symphony.