ABOUT MARLA
Marla is one of the prominent voices of the mandolin in Irish music. Her voice on the instrument is distinctive and instantly recognizable for its infectious rhythm, clarity and tone. In addition to the mandolin, Marla plays mandola, tenor guitar, and dabbles at the button accordion. She is a singer and composer, and is known for her musical settings of works from a variety of poets, as well as an increasing store of tunes written in traditional forms.
She has recorded 10 albums over her varied career, including two in the 1980s with the vocal trio Out of the Rain and four releases with Noctambule - her collaboration with her husband, guitarist Bruce Victor. Her acclaimed 2020 solo album The Bright Hollow Fog includes guest appearances by Keith Murphy, Martin Hayes, Steve Baughman, and Rebecca Richman. In 2010 she recorded an instrumental album with beloved Cork singer Jimmy Crowley, The Morning Star, which has become essential listening for mandolin enthusiasts, and prior to that, the trio recording Three Mile Stone is a Bay Area cult favorite. In 2025 she released Playdate with fiddler and concertina player Rebecca Richman, which has birthed The Playdate Trio.
Her performance highlights include a residency at The Irish Arts Center in New York with Martin Hayes, followed by the Masters of Tradition festival in Bantry, Co. Cork.
Over the years, and as the instrument has gained popularity in the tradition, she has become a respected and sought-after teacher, and loves nothing more than nurturing newer players and helping them find their own voice on the instrument. She teaches at camps and workshops around the US and in Ireland, including The Swannanoa Gathering, The Mandolin Symposium, O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat, Portal Irish Music Week, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Southwest Mandolin Camp, and many others, as well as online with Peghead Nation. In 2026, she co-cofounded the inaugural Irish Mandolin Gathering, held in Cork, Ireland, and is working to establish an international community of players and enthusiasts of the mandolin in Irish Music.
NOCTAMBULE
Noctambule is Marla's collaboration with her husband, guitarist Bruce Victor. Bruce and Marla released their debut CD together, Travel in the Shadows, in 2013, and followed it up in 2015 with The Waking. Both recordings feature poetry that they have set to music and arranged for their bevy of strings, as well as original instrumentals. In July of 2017, Noctambule released A Sweetish Tune. This album is largely traditional Irish music, with some newer tunes written in the tradition, by Marla and by others, along with a few songs - a traditional Irish ballad, a new ballad, and a poem set to music by Marla and Bruce. In September 2021, they released Every Migrant is My Fellow, an album of songs reflecting on life transitions of many sorts, set against the isolation of the times. More info here.
the playdate trio with REBECCA RICHMAN
Marla and Rebecca released PLAYDATE in January of 2025. Rebecca plays fiddle and concertina. The album features many of Marla's tune compositions, and features many players from our lovely extended traditional music community. We have begun touring with Lewis Santer on bouzouki and guitar as The Playdate Trio. Lots more info here!
TEACHING
Marla teaches privately, and in group classes, online with Peghead Nation, and has taught at many music camps, including The Swannanoa Gathering, Lark Camp, California Coast Music Camp, The Mandolin Symposium, Colorado Roots Music Camp, Portal Irish Music Week and The O'Flaherty Irish Music Retreat. In 2026, she co-founded The Irish Mandolin Gathering.
Details on upcoming workshops and camps and more on my teaching page.
There is a singular sound that results from the unique combination of a musician, their music and their instrument. We take that for granted with a singer, whose instrument cannot be separated from the musician, nor from the music that they make with their body. I feel it no less true for an instrumentalist, if they are fortunate to find and bond with an instrument that can become their voice.
This incredible mandolin came to me through my grandfather. I remember him playing it for me, my brother and sister, and my cousins when we were children. It was after he died that I picked it up and began to learn to play it, learning to play music at the same time. I have always played this mandolin -- its voice is part and parcel of the thing that is my music - its sound is my sound.
Forty-something years ago I got bit by the Irish music bug. I like to think I was exposed to it at a particularly vulnerable moment. I did not have the good fortune to grow up with the music; I knew nothing about the music. It caught me off guard and took over! I wanted to play it. My grandfather's mandolin was in my aunt's attic. I knew just what to do...
I had no idea at the time that the mandolin is a relative newcomer to the Irish music tradition, still very much developing its voice and finding its place at the session table. My combination of ignorance and enthusiasm led me to find my own way of playing the music with enough lift to be a part of the session, part of the thing that is Irish music. — Marla Fibish
What people say about Marla...
"Some of the best mandolin playing in Irish music.”
—Dennis Cahill, Guitarist
"Marla is a wonder on the mandolin; rhythmic beyond imagination, clear as a bell tone, great invention, lovely ornaments at just the right times and places, and a sureness and ease that allows the listener to relax and be carried away."
—Kevin Carr, Folkworks
"Marla’s amazing mandolin playing sets the bar for all others"
— Stuart Mason, Fiddlefreak Folk Music Blog