In 2004 David Grisman and Mike Marshall came together to bring the first Mandolin Symposium to life. It was their vision to create a true symposium, a place where some of today’s best mandolin players would come together to share ideas, meet, teach and discuss the mandolin with students from all over the world. The first symposium exceeded everyone’s hopes and dreams — an enthusiastic revival of the instrument was felt by all who attended.

It was the hope in creating the Mandolin Symposium, that it would fill the void between what was basically a folk music approach to learning and a more systematic approach to studying and learning about the wide range of mandolin styles that exist. For twelve years, the Mandolin Symposium facilitated students’ quest for knowledge about the mandolin and mandolin music.

The Mandolin Symposium was a beautiful week of mandolin heaven that occurred at the end of June in Santa Cruz, CA overlooking the Pacific Ocean. And in 2015 The Mandolin Symposium came to a close. The Mandolin Symposium was a very unique type of experience that was All about Mandolins All of the Time, and it was All about sharing the knowledge, skills and love of the Instrument.