Paul Ruppa

Paul Ruppa is a musician and mandolin historian with degrees in Scandinavian Studies and Music History. Since he bought a Vega cylinder-back mandocello in 1973 (for $175), his interest in America’s mandolin history has grown and “kind of became an obsession.” He has been a member of the century-old Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra since 1981, and has directed the MMO on Garrison Keillor”s “A Prairie Home Companion. “Currently, when not looking for more information about the origin of America’s appreciation of the mandolin, he is realizing a dream by leading an ambitious recording project. His goal is to produce a musical tribute to what he calls “the American Mandolin Orchestra Era.” For the project, Ruppa has formed an ensemble of first-rate, local musicians to play vintage mandolin arrangements on antique Vega instruments. The repertoire selected for the project is all linked to Wisconsin’s unique mandolin orchestra heritage. Ruppa says “It sounds crazy, but it might just work.”

▪ bio current as of 2017

By the same author:
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  2. Finding Waldo: The First Family of American F-Hole Mandolins, Mandolas, and Mandocellos
  3. American Mandobass History 101
  4. Letter to the Editor: Remembering Joe Johnson