MARLA FIBISH and BRUCE VICTOR are NOCTAMBULE. They play traditional and original music in a variety of forms – traditional Irish tunes and songs, their own tunes written in traditional forms, and compelling musical settings of a broad array of poetry. This unique collaboration brings out qualities in both of these seasoned musicians that you may not have heard from them before. Their music is rendered with lush beauty, sensitivity and humor on an unusual array of strings -- various guitars in varied tunings, mandola, mandolin, bouzouki, cittern, tenor guitar -- and their blended voices.
They take the name Noctambule, French for 'night-owl,’ from a Robert Service poem about a nocturnal ramble through the back alleys of Paris, which they set to music and included on their first CD together, Travel in the Shadows.
In performance, Bruce and Marla will take you on a journey. Their love of traditional music will shine through their instruments, and they will wrap you in their beautifully crafted songs, bringing an unusual array of poetry to life with their music and their voices.
Pack something warm, and come prepared for adventure ....
BRUCE VICTOR is an eclectic and accomplished guitarist, composer, and singer, who plays several different guitars in several different tunings. In recent years he has added the cittern to his array of string sounds. Seemingly resisting any single musical genre, he has been labeled a 'poly-stylist’ by one of the editors of Acoustic Guitar magazine. He has played with The Sirens of San Francisco, The Triplicates, and as a solo performer. He was the founder of The Acoustic Vortex, a non-profit musical organization that produced house concerts, mentored youth performers, and performed benefit concerts for other non-profit organizations. He is also a practicing psychiatrist and was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. In June of 2020 he launched a blog entitled Call The Musician in which he muses upon experiences and other phenomena in the intersection of music and medicine. More here!
MARLA FIBISH is one of the prominent voices of the mandolin in Irish music. She brings a deep and distinctive sensibility to the tradition on one of its lesser heard instruments. She is also known for her compositions, musical settings of poetry and tunes that have been featured in her work with Out of the Rain and Three Mile Stone, and on her acclaimed all-instrumental recording with Jimmy Crowley, The Morning Star. In January 2020 she released a solo album, The Bright Hollow Fog. In addition to the mandolin, Marla brings mandola, tenor guitar, bouzouki, accordion, and her alto voice to the Noctambule sound. An experienced and sought-after mandolin teacher, Marla teaches private students, classes, online with Peghead Nation, and has been a staff instructor at many music camps, including The Mandolin Symposium, The Swannanoa Gathering, O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat, California Coast Music Camp, Colorado Roots Music Camp, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Lark Camp and Portal Irish Music Week.
