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NORTHWEST ACCORDIONNEWS

Saint Louis Blues Alexander Sevation The Great American Squeeze Charles Magnante - ComposerLeavenworth Intenational Accordion Celebration!

VOL. 21 NO. 2Northwest Accordion Society Summer Quarter 2011

90 years later, the petosa accordion model AM-1100 has achieved

what many thought no longer humanly possible, what petosa considers to be

“The Art of Perfection”

The petosa AM-1100 has set the standard of excellence for which all other accordions are compared.

A New Era of . . .

Northwest Accordion News

Summer Quarter 2011 1

Is your membership renewal due? Check your mailing label. A membership application/renewal form is included on the last page. Send your renewals or change of address to:

Northwest Accordion Society 5102 NE 121st Ave. #12Vancouver, WA 98682

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY

The Northwest Accordion News is a quarterly newsletter published by the Northwest Accordion Society for and by its members. The purpose of the NWAS News is to unite the membership by providing news of its members, and articles that instruct, encourage, and promote the playing of the accordion.

NWAS PUBLICATION PRIORITIES Advertising Original Compositions News from Our Members Instructive/Technical Articles Summaries from Regional Socials and Events Coming Events

Articles will be printed if received prior to the publishing deadline. Should space be an issue, articles will be printed in the order in which they are submitted. All decisions regarding publication will be made by the editors of the NWAS News.

To submit articles for publication, mail them to the Vancouver, WA address listed. It is preferred that articles be submitted via e-mail as attached WORD documents or on a disc. Typed, paper copy needs to be dark and clear to allow scanning and to minimize errors.

Photographs sent for publication will be returned if they are accompanied with a SASE of correct size and adequate postage. Photographs may be sent electronically or on disc.

To reprint articles or photographs from magazines and newspapers, written permission from the publisher is required. Please submit the necessary “permission to print” with material sent.Views in the articles and information printed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Northwest Accordion Society or its advertisers.

Inquiries, questions, suggestions, etc.Contact Doris Osgood, 3224 B St., Forest

Grove, OR 97116. (503) 357-0417. E-mail: [email protected]

NWAS News Deadlines: February 1, May 1, August 1, November 1

Northwest Accordion News StaffDoris Osgood ....................................(503) 357-0417 [email protected]

Judith Ames ......................................(360) 254-5245 [email protected]

Colleen Halverson (Advertising) .....(503) 484-5064 [email protected]

NW Accordion Society Offi cers Bonnie Birch, President/Treasurer ..............................................(206) 622-4786Doris Osgood, Vice President/Communications .........................(503) 357-0417Judith Ames, Secretary/Technology ............................................(360) 254-5245

Advisory BoardRick Hatley, .................................................................................(253) 288-0442Shirlee Holmes ...........................................................................(206) 282-4934Dick Myking ...............................................................................(253) 537-0136Birgit Teuwen ..............................................................................(206) 368-9720Cooksie (Kaserzon) Kramer .......................................................(425) 828-9104Brenda Bard ................................................................................(425) 822-4404Jim Tobler ...................................................................................(425) 745-4872

Membership:Doris Osgood ..............................................................................(503) 357-0417 [email protected] Ames ................................................................................(360) 254-5245 [email protected]

Mail letters & articles to:Northwest Accordion Society

5102 NE 121st Ave. #12, Vancouver, WA 98682

Or e-mail to: [email protected]

ADVERTISINGFull page $110.00Half page $55.00Quarter $30.00Business card $10.00

Prices are PER ISSUE. US Funds

Photo-ready Advertising (with accompanying check)

for this publication may be sent to:Northwest Accordion Society

6453 SE Nathan Ct., Hillsboro, OR 97123or e-mail [email protected]


summer Quarter 20112

Letter from the Editors

Greetings!It doesn’t seem possible that SUMMER is almost

upon us (we’re fi nally getting weather in the 70’s!) Are you ready for the Accordion Camps, Competitions and Celebrations coming up? Which events are you planning to attend? Please take your camera with you and send us your reports and photos. We want the FALL issue to be packed with news from YOU (deadline August 1).

We truly appreciate all who write to us and send us photos.

Please remember, that if you would like to be the FIRST to receive the NWAS News, electronically, drop me a note and I’ll send you a link to the latest PDF.

[email protected]

Quarterly Update

Dear Members,The red clover is just beginning to bloom around

Forest Grove. It’s later than usual but the beautiful patchwork of red and green encircling our town is a sure sign that spring is fi nally here.

My life has been a bit crazy since our last issue. My husband has had some serious health issues. Those are beginning to be resolved, I’m happy to report. In the midst of dealing with that, our computer crashed! I will spare you the details but must say that it was a nightmare experience. The hard drive was DOA just as I needed to begin work on the summer issue. We did have our fi les archived separately; re-storing those was painfully slow. After some weeks of trying to get things back, we ended up having to buy a new computer…

The summer accordion season is nearly here. There are activities from Alaska to California. The Ac-cordion Celebration in Wallace, ID is a new addition to the summer festival roster. The fi rst of the accordion celebrations will be in Leavenworth, WA. The North-west Accordion Society has put together a weekend to remember. There will be outstanding concerts each evening, a large variety of workshops, free concerts at the grange, performances at the gazebo, and com-petitions covering all categories and ages. Check the information in this publication on this and all of the other summer events.

Also in this issue, you will fi nd a rare accordion arrangement by Charles Magnante. Saint Louis Blues has not been in print for a long while. This music was part of a private collection. We are grateful to Frank Busso of Deffner Publications for giving permission to print Saint Louis Blues in the NWAS News. Thanks, also, to Ron Ostromecki for engraving the old origi-nal. For all of you Magnante afi cionados, this is a real treasure.

Just as Judith and I were ready for the “paste up” of this edition, I learned that Ron Ostromecki lost his beloved wife, Nancy, after an extended illness. My heart is heavy for Ron; I am so very sorry.

Please support the advertisers in our publication. When you purchase their goods and services, be sure to mention having seen their ads in this magazine.

Judith and I thank you for your continued support. We’ve both had some struggles these past months but continue on. The magazine is a labor of love that requires many hours. My daily correspondence is very time consuming. One day we’ll log ALL of our hours’ work; you will be amazed!

Table of Contents2 Letter from the Editors2 Quarterly Update3 Charles Magnante – Composer4 Saint Louis Blues3 In Remembrance9 Letters to the Editor10 International Accordion Celebration12 In Remembrance13 Alexander Sevation 13 Accordion Player Extraordinaire 16 Vincenzo Abbracciante Plans 2011 USA Tour17 Get Ready For Leavenworth18 Seattle Accordion Social25 Dusting Off The Old Accordion27 Tacoma Accordion Socials28 By the Way – 29 NWAS Welcomes New Members:29 Senior Concert presented by Jamie Maschler30 SQUEEZIN' 30 2011 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD 31 Spring Accordion Social in Forest Grove32 Frank Marocco Honored33 Most Frequently Asked Questions 33 About Copyright34 The Great American Squeeze35 Great American Squeeze a Success!35 In Remembrance…37 Accordion Events Calendar



Charles Magnante – Composer

Those of us that started play-ing the accordion during the 1950’s and ‘60’s are well acquainted with Charles Magnante. He was an accor-dionist that was held in high regard and had performed in the most famous concert venues in the United States. During the ‘50s and ‘60’s he trav-eled to the Pa-cifi c Northwest to adjudicate regional competitions and performed in con-cert up and down the west coast.

Tom Collins of Montana had great stories of “Char-lie’s” love for fi shing. Tom took him on fi shing trips and recalled Charlie’s writing music as they traveled in the car together.

A brief biography of Magnante was printed in the opening pages his method book published by Robbins Music Corporation, copyright 1937. Entitled “Biography of the Author”, the following information was given.

“Charles Magnante was born in New York City in 1905. At an early age he showed signs of unusual tal-ent by singing along when his father played the accor-dion. A few years later, his dad, who was considered an excellent accordionist, found out that Charles was secretly practicing on his instrument, promised to buy one for his ninth birthday and give him lessons. From then on, his father was his only teacher.

When this issue reaches you, the accordion camp at Silver Falls will be near its conclusion. Camp is the beginning of the busy summer schedule. I hope that you are planning on participating in accordion celebra-tions this summer. Save your money for gas; share a ride if you can. I hope to see many of you. Let’s make this a summer to remember.Doris [email protected]

“At fourteen he was playing professionally and at sixteen his solo work so impressed vaudeville agents that he received tempting offers to go on tours. Acced-ing to his father’s advice, however, he continued his studies before seeking further glory.

“When radio station WEAF was opened he was invited to play over the air and soon became a mem-ber of the famous Roxy Gang. With this organization he introduced Frank Harling’s Jazz Concerto, featur-ing the accordion. This was a marvelous opportunity to show his tremendous technique after several other players failed to overcome its diffi culties. Soon after, he appeared at the Roxy Theatre with the Roxy Jazz-manians and the Grand Orchestra of 110 musicians. Later the R.C.A. Victor Co. engaged him exclusively for recordings. He also appeared on such radio pro-grams as “Lucky Strike”, “Show Boat”, “Hammerstein Theatre of the Air”, “Texaco”, “Manhattan Merry-Go-Round”, and “Melodiana”.

“By brilliant mastery of his instrument, Magnante has established himself as the most sought after solo-ist in the country and is duly recognized as such in the world. His compositions and arrangements comprise many solos for the accordion and have created a high standard of technique.”

The Northwest Accordion Society is grateful to Deffner Publications for permitting the reprinting of Magnante’s arrangement of “St. Louis Blues” in this issue of the Northwest Accordion News. This solo arrangement has not been available for purchase but will be added to the solos offered by Deffner Publica-tions. We are thrilled that those of you unacquainted with Charles Magnante will have the opportunity to enjoy his complex arranging style. For many, Mag-nante was the “gold standard” for arranging during the Golden Age of the Accordion.

In Remembrance

It is with regret that we inform you that the Ron Ostromecki’s beloved wife , Nancy, lost her batt le with can-cer May 11, 2011. She courageously fought a long illness. The Nort hwest Accordion Society extends deepest sympathy to Ron and to his daugh-ters during this sorrowful time .



rit.

a tempo rit.

SAINT LOUIS BLUES

Maestoso

W.C. Handyarr. by Charles Magnante

poco rit.

Moderato

dim. poco a poco

cresc. poco a poco 7

Slow Blues Tempo

M M

sempre staccato

M M

M

Copyright O. Pagani & Bro. Inc., ASSIGNED Ernest Deffner Publications, PO Box 11663, Alexandria Va. 22312 USA International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved

www.ernestdeffner.com

M

Engraving by R. R. Ostromecki



St. Louis Blues pg. 2

M MM

7

M

M M M

MM

M 7




Mesto

m m 7

7 m 7m M

7 m

m 7 7 m



cresc.

rit.


Moderato

7

poco rit.

alla spiritual piu mosso

m

(chord solo)

M m

Moderato

Allegro Moderato

piu mosso

m

(chord solo)

M m

m M m M

cresc. molto

gliss. Allegro




7 M

M M

MM M 7 M dim.

M 7 M

Slow Swing Tempo

7

7

gliss gliss gliss

dim.



Letters to the EditorDear NWAS,

Received the spring quarter 2011 news magazine a while ago, and as usual you’ve done a splendid job of putting it all together again! I always read it from cover to cover each time I get mine!

You again put in another beautiful song composed by Joe Cerrito, this time. (Arr. By; Frank Morocco) Most of the songs featured are a bit above my head however, but it gives me something to work up to!

Another great service that you put into the magazine is some very helpful hints put out by professional Accordion players as well as others, to help us less fortunate be better players!

Like for example; on page 28/29 the excellent article put out by a professional Accordion player and teacher; Mr.Andy Mirkovich titled; “A crucial part of mastering the Accordion-The Bellows”.

This whole article is chockfull of very helpful information to all Accordion players! He hit the nail on the head with that one I think! Although I’ve been doing most of what he writes about for some years now, he puts the spotlight on the whole problem in such a simple and easy to-understand-way to help everybody out who didn’t know this before!

I sincerely hope that he will contribute more helpful information in the future, as well as others! This would be a tremendous help for all beginners as well as others just struggling along! And what better way to convey this information than in our favorite magazine!

Having said, I would like to put in my two cents worth, if I may.

On page 3 a Miss Doreen Fox from Bremerton, WA had a problem and “Would like to ask a teacher the proper care and storage of an Accordion~ Now I’d rather doubt if I could be considered Qualifi ed as a teacher in this regard! However, as a fellow player I may have some very interesting, if not actually helpful information that maybe of help to her as well as other folks ... “On the care and feeding of the Accordion~

Here is how I personally handle it .. and so far has worked out GREAT FOR ME!!

I put the Accordion on the kitchen table, the front facing me. (standing on it’s 4 feet)

I then wipe it thoroughly with a soft dry face cloth. Next I cut out a six inch square piece of an old worn out cotton “T” shirt and fold it up into a 1x3 inch pad. I then get out my favorite car wax; Meguiar’s NXT Generation Tech Wax, a synthetic polymer for ultimate DEEP GLOSS and PROTECTION.

Get some polishing cloths at the same time-you

get the car wax if you don’t have it yet. (or a similar wax)

Follow the instructions on the bottle and put a few drops on the cloth you cut out and wax the whole Accordion. Folding and refolding the cloth as it picks up dirt. USE SPARINGLY!

Be very careful not to get anything between the cracks. Only the surface!

Yes I put some on the piano keyboard .. the white and black keys. Again be very careful not to get anything between the cracks! WORK SLOWLY!!

After it hazes over I again use a piece of ‘ an old “T” shirt and wipe it down. Then I use my regular polishing cloth, and go to town!! Watch it SHINE! see the DEEP GLOSS! etc, etc,

By putting wax on the piano keys and a dab on the bass keys will help keep the sweat from your fi ngers from penetrating the keys attracting dust and other crud that accumulates over time making them dirty, sticky and dull 100king .. YUCK!!

Now every time you fi nish playing and put the Accordion away go over it and wipe it down with your clean face cloth fi rst and then fi nish with the polishing cloth, and you will NEVER HAVE A BUILDUP OF CRUD AGAIN!! Sincerely. Wilbur Wybenga, Olympia, WA

To all of you dedicated, committed, hard-working folks, (you know who you are) who do such a great job of putting together our NW Accordion Magazine!!Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!You are very much appreciated.Sincerely,Ed Kuenzi, Aumsville, OR

Hello!I just want you to know I enjoy your magazine very much. The Spring edition was really excellent.Will Klos, Edmonds, WA

Thank you all for your hard work to keep the accordion community informed!Lynda Griffi th, Grand Rapids, MN

You have an outstanding publicationMichael Sanossian, Oakland, CA

Enjoying the MagazineLupe Guzman, Sunnyside, WA



International Accordion CelebrationJune 16 – 19, 2001

www.accordioncelebration.orgBy Doris Osgood

I’m excited! This will be my 17th consecutive ac-cordion celebration in Leavenworth. My life has been a little crazy, but I’m looking forward to participating and to creating a great music festival experience.

As last year, the venues for our activities will be set from the Festhalle at the east end of town, the gazebo in the middle of town, and the grange hall at the west end. The workshops will be held in the up-per part of the grange which will avoid the stairway to the lower fl oor. Free accordion lessons will be offered at the lower level Friday and Saturday afternoons. The grange will also be the site for concerts on Friday and Saturday afternoons that will be free to the public. This will offer an opportunity for tourists and those curious about the accordion to have a “close encoun-ter” with the instrument and the music. Soloists and groups are scheduled for both days. The Saturday concert will feature the Northwest Accordionaires, a large ensemble of players.

The gazebo will feature both amateur and profes-sional accordionists during the accordion celebration. Performers are being scheduled as I write. This very public venue serves to promote the music festival and to enhance the Bavarian quality of Leavenworth. Fri-day and Saturday, all players are invited to participate in the organized “jam”. Music booklets are provided which include old time tunes. Ear players are wel-come. The chord changes are noted making it acces-sible to everybody. Please remember to bring your own music stand. Folding chairs are provided.

The Festhalle is the site for the competitions and for the evening concerts. Competitions begin at 9:30 AM Friday morning and will conclude late Saturday afternoon. Should extra time be needed, competition could continue early Sunday morning. Our concert schedule is exciting. The programs will be diverse

and will include the many genres of music accessible to the accordion. This year’s performers are all new to the Leavenworth concert stage; you won’t want to miss any of them.

Parademeister, Rod Miller, is ready to go for Sat-urday’s parade of accordions from the Festhalle to the gazebo. Participants will assemble at the festhalle, rehearse briefl y, get “marching orders”, and play their way down the street. We’re hopeful that a ride will be available for some players. Rod wants everyone to prepare Beer Barrel Polka, Edelweiss, Happy Wan-derer, Musse Den, (Wooden Heart), Lili Marlene, and Snow Waltz. (all likely key of C).

Bonnie Birch, LIAC chairman, has organized and coordinated the celebration schedule. Volunteers will make this whole thing work. If you haven’t done so already, contact Bonnie for a work assignment. Fes-tehalle Commander, Steve Berg, will coordinate and train the festhalle staff. We need friendly people that will provide “customer service” with a smile! Staff will sell buttons, shirts, pins, tickets, music, and dispense information. Be prepared to be asked what we’re about often… Contact Bonnie to volunteer at: [email protected] , 206-622-4786.

Travel this year is going to be costly; gasoline is expensive. Fortunately, once you’re in town, you can park the car! Wear comfortable shoes, get a portable hand truck/carrier, or wear your soft case on your back. We can walk for the entire weekend. We can promote the music and the fi tness element too. I look forward to seeing old friends, making new ones and to enjoying the music. Let’s meet in Leavenworth for the love of the accordion.

Doris Osgood, enjoying herself at Leavenworth



Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration Sponsorswww.accordioncelebra on.org

Virtuoso Sponsors - $2,000 or moreLeavenworth Chamber of Commerce

Northwest Accordion SocietyProjekt Bayern

Major Sponsors - $500 or more City of Leavenworth

Leavenworth Chamber of CommerceNorthwest Accordion Society

Projekt Bayern

Business Sponsors John Giuliani Sr. memorial fund (Sponsoring youth competition)

Andreas Keller (Co-Sponsoring Leavenworth Open)Petosa Accordions (Sponsoring the Popular Open Category)

Gino Picini (Co-Sponsoring Mario Pedone) Tempo Trend Accordions (Co-Sponsoring Jelena Milojevic)

Accordion Players, Accordion Clubs, Friends of the AccordionAccordion Club of Roseburg, OREloise AdairKatherine AllenSteve and Jeannie BergBonnie BirchFrank Bruckner and Gale LewisLeland CadeRobert CoeVern ColeBonnie Combs (in memory of Gary)Eugene DedaKathleen FalcoPaul A. Francis

Colleen HalversonShirley HolmesHugo Accordion BandNWAS Socials in Forest Grove, ORNWAS Socials in Seattle, WARod MillerAndy MirkovichDrs. Jim & Shirley O’BrienTerry RanstadAnn RobbinsTualatin Valley Accordionists, Forest Grove, ORRick & Eileen WebberVera Wendel

For all categories of sponsorships, we will list the donor name plus their website address on this web page and in our quarterly news-letter.

For sponsors donating $25 or more, we will list their name and website address on our festival fl yer. This fl yer will be available at all information booths at the festival and will contain the festival schedule plus a list of donors.

Virtuoso sponsors and Major sponsors will receive a prominent position on our website, magazine, festival fl yer, and information booths. In addition, they will be thanked on stage at the Festhalle, grange, and gazebo at appropriate times.

If you are interested in donating, please send your check (made payable to Northwest Accordion Society) to NWAS/LIAC, 5102 NE 121st Ave. Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98682.

You may now contribute through the website - www.nwasnews.com using Visa, MasterCard,American Express, Discover, or your Bank Card. This is processed through PayPal (you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this). Minimum dona on of $10 via

PayPal.

Business and club dona ons via PayPal - please email your business name, contact name, address, website address, phone num-ber, etc. to [email protected].



Special Thanks To Deffner PublicationsFor giving permission to print “St. Louis Blues”Deffner Publications is a long time provider of

print music for the accordion.Deffner Publications

P.O. Box 11663Alexandria, VA 22312

703-941-9300 [email protected]

The Northwest Accordion Society presents the Leavenworth International Accordion

CelebrationJune 16 – 19, 2011

Competitions, Concerts, Workshops, Vendors, Perfor-mance Opportunities

A music festival experience – fun for the entire familyJoin us for the love of the accordion.

In Remembrance

The accordion family lost two members this winter. Both were active players years ago but lived quietly away from sight in recent years. Bill Pierce, aka Accordion Bill, passed away February 20, 2011 in Vancouver, WA. He’d had an accordion repair business and gave lessons for many years. J. William Pierce was known as a fi ne player and was responsible for many Clark County accordion players. At his request, there was no memorial service.

Gene F. Boscacci passed away March 28, 2011. Gene was a lifelong Seattle-area musi-cian before retiring to Everett in 2004. He’d had multi year engagements at the Marine Room at the Olympic Hotel, Washington Athletic Club at the Casbah in the New Washington Hotel, to name a few. Andy Mirkovich recalls that Gene was an excellent performer, arranger, and recording artist. Andy shared that he was an inspiration and that he admired him very much. Gene was born May 21, 1926 in Cle Elum, WA; a celebration of his life was held April 1 at Rose-hill Community Center in Mukilteo.

Historic Wallace Accordion Festival HEADLINERS SET .....

This summer, August 12, 13th, the quaint and historic town of Wallace, Idaho (just SO miles N. of Coeur d'Alene) will host its fi rst accordion festival. The town is a buzz with everyone pitching in, and the venue has been set with major guest artists and workshops to educate and entertain the most discriminating accordion enthusiast.

Registration begins at noon on Friday and "all" players are en- couraged to come to the gazebo and strut your stuff. Open- ing the gazebo's activities will be The Happy Wanderers. They will be playing many of their most popular pieces, and are guaranteed to please all who come and listen.

Friday night’s concert will feature Big Lou the original Polka Princess and Bruce Gassman the King of Accordion Rock and Roll. If you're in the mood to dance a little .... here is where it all starts.

Saturday evening will feature Seattle’s own Andy Mirkovich, with Cory Pesaturo and Bruce Gassman again. It will be a weekend to remember!

The stars will be out and hills will be alive with the sound of music.. accordion of course!!! Mark your calendar Aug 12, 13th 2011. Wallace Idaho. For more information email [email protected] or call 208-457-1175 or 208-651-2536

Come join us at Leavenworth - June 16 -19, 2011!



Alexander Sevation Accordion Player Extraordinaire

By Dorene Fox

The sign on the marquee at the Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington read “Alexander Sevation, An Accordion Player, Really”. Yes, Alexander is a real accordion performer who was there to present a full evening program of music at the beautiful and presti-gious Admiral Theater. This theater has a unique de-cor featuring a hand-painted underwater seascape of mermaids and fi sh swimming in the sea. This was the beautiful scene set for an exciting evening with Alex-ander.

People proclaimed Alexander wonderful with a Wow even before he performed. This made me anx-ious to hear him. His program consisted of classical music of Mozart, Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff, Shubert and a variety of ethnic Russian compositions. Alexander played his bajan accordion which resonated through-out the theater followed by enthusiastic applause from his audience. The bajan is the name of the button chro-matic accordion invented in the early twentieth century. The left hand is 120 basses like the piano accordion. The right hand consists of 106 buttons arranged in fi ve rows. This instrument has an enormous and noble sound and has a switch that turns the regular bass to free bass. Yes, he thoroughly stood up to his compli-

ments with powerful energetic playing and a rousing, standing ovation.

Alexander was born in Minsk, Belarus and began studying at the age of seven. He attended Glinka Musi-cal College in Minsk in 1991 and advanced to recitalist and soloist with an orchestra touring Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy and Japan. Highlights of his career in-clude performances in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama. He had the honor of becoming the fi rst place three-time winner of the International Accordion competition. He also won in Norway’s Oslofjord , The Cup of the North in Russia and the Anthony Galla-Rini Accordion Competition in the US.

Bravo Alexander! Yes, it is Alexander with a WOW!

To whom it may concern: Enclosed is my article and picture of world

accordion champion, Alexander Sevation for publication. It was my happy privilege to interview him and shake his hand. Alexander is a super accordionist and was happy to contribute his story to Northwest Accordion News magazine.

Mr. Sevation granted his permission to publish his accordion picture for publication.

Your magazine is well received by accordionist everywhere, and it is my privilege to be a contributor to it. The photography in the last issue was outstanding. It has truly enhanced your magazine. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Dorene Fox, Bremerton, WA



Some of the Guest Artists from 2010

Spokane Accordion EnsembleLen Gedica

Smilin’ Scandinavians North Wind



Piano and Piano Accordion Lessons on the Eastside

1. Cooksie (Kaserzon) Kramer ABCA. LBCA (London). Music Examiner & Registered Teacher with Royal Schools and Trinity College London has limited vacancies for Piano and or Piano Accordion Lessons from Beginners to Master Classes. Please phone 425 828 9104 or email [email protected].

2. Would you like to play in an Accordion Orchestra? Junior to Advanced. No charge – original Music arrangements. Fun Social get together.

Call Cooksie 425 828 9104 Email [email protected].

Vincenzo Abbracciante Plans 2011 USA Tour

By Rob Howard

Italian accordionist Vincenzo's fi rst USA per-formance and jazz workshop of 2011 will be held at the Accordion Festival in Leavenworth, WA, on June 18th. He is available for accordion club or festival performances, West Coast, between June 7th to 15th, and on the East Coast between June 20th to 29th, after which he will be on tour in Africa.

Vincenzo will be playing the latest Borsini ac-cordion, which has taken a year to build by hand. He will also be involved in playing at various jazz clubs around the country. Live video performanc-es and some studio recording in Los Angeles is also on the bill.

He is currently fi nishing up a long awaited jazz CD which will be made available at his per-formances. Please contact Jeffrey Iacono, Borsini Accordions (USA), as soon as possible to ar-range a performance.

For further information email: [email protected]

“OPENING NIGHT CONCERT”

Starring: Anthony Rolando and Valerie Vaccio Len Gadica

COMPETITIONS OPEN STAGE

SATURDAY DANCE – “Len Gadica”

TRADE SHOW WORKSHOP

1-780-929-8836 Email: [email protected] www.edmontonaccordion.com

Full details on web site

SEPTEMBER 23 – 25, 2011 EDMONTON, ALBERTA

Celebrate the Accordion!

Check out all of the events listed in our Accordion Events Calendar on page 37. Participate if you can, show your support and enjoy the fabulous music of this amazing instrument!



Get Ready For Leavenworth1. Bring a music stand (for the gazebo or other performances as needed)

2. Prepare for the parade: (assemble at 12:15 PM at the Festhalle)Beer Barrel PolkaSnow WaltzHappy WandererLili MarleneEdelweissWooden Heart

3. Contact Doris Osgood to schedule performance at the gazebo. Note the schedule: www.nwasnews.com email: [email protected] 503-357-0417

4. Contact Bonnie Birch to [email protected] 206-622-4786

5. Send in your entry for competition by June 5

6. Bavarian style costumes for downtown would be great!



Seattle Accordion SocialBy Marjorie Rombauer

February 14, 2011

Dick Myking began the evening program with a waltz dedicated to a Norwegian woman who came to this country under his mother’s sponsor-ship. Called “Greet the Folks at Home,” it tells the story of a

young man leaving Norway who said those words to a sparrow who fl ew over his ship as it traveled along the Norwegian shores. Dick followed that song with a lively schottische, Skogens’ Blomster and the “Wiggen Polka,” named after the man who wrote it.

He turned to more serious music to play “The Palms” by Jean Baptiste Faure, a song often heard in churches at Easter time. Dick’s rendition was powerful and expressive, with a full range of dynamics. He concluded with serious, introspec-

tive, music by Lynn Schaefer, “Alone,” with heavy four-note chords and a lovely, single-note, or sometimes octave, melody.

The Folk Voice duo, Birgit and Phil Ages, performed music from a number of countries. They started with a sea chanty – atypical be-cause of the underlying story: A stowaway girl dressed as a sailor failed in her duty to handle sails, so she was tied to the mast for lashing. “But,” she said, “I’m the captain’s sweetheart.” He kissed her gently. The end. (Presumably there was no lashing.) Next was an African song, “As the Sun Goes Down,” with Phil playing the guitar

and singing,. Phil played a mandolin solo in the next number, a lively Finnish Hempta, a mixer dance with walking, turning, separating and tak-ing new partners. Phil played his mandolin again

for an Italian song, with Birgit’s accor-dion accompaniment blending beautifully. Then “Little Co-quette,” with butterfl y-like mandolin sounds, followed by a Finnish schottische, refl ecting Swedish infl uence, with Phil playing his

fl ute. They concluded with a song about Vienna, with Phil singing and the audience joining in.

Lee Wright played a program of romantic music, beginning with a tango, then “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” and “Beautiful Go-renska” (a northwestern region of Slovakia), and another tango, Poruna Cabeza, from the movie “Scent of a Woman.” But romance went out the window with Auf Der (“On the Autobahn)”, as he played out his dream to test drive a hot car on a German autobahn.

Bonnie, Nick and Paul next played a nice variety of around-the-world music. They began with the waltz from “The Merry Widow” operetta. Then another waltz, with Nick singing (about an amusement park where sailors hang out). From

Paul with his guitar and tubathe “Toreador Song,” and the Bohemian Dance. The latter was a great adaptation for the ac-cordion, with Nick and Paul joining on the guitar and the tuba to provide heavier bass. On to Italy for a medley, “Come to Me,” “Don’t Forget Me,” and “Ciribiribin” (ending at a fast pace). Paul displayed yet another talent tonight as he played an electric guitar for the Italian medley, followed by his singing of O Sole Mio in English. He noted that it was Elvis Presley who helped make this classic a popular song in the United States. Then “It Had Better Be Tonight,” with Nick singing, and

“Carmen” they played



two duets by Nick and Paul, “Me and My Shad-ow” and “Let It Be Me.”

David Locke, who came next, picked up an audience call for “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” and played for an im-promptu singing of that song so appropriate for Valentine’s day, and there my notes end as I ran out of paper. But we know that David’s per-formances are always entertaining.

March 14, 2011Tonight we were at the Gypsy Trader Café

again, with Paul Fedorowicz in charge. The evening was dedicated to Maria Strunk (Goth) who died on her 75th birthday, March 1st. She was a regular attendee of Seattle Socials and also regularly played her accordion at Mariner baseball games. Her daughter, Adriana Wells was present.

Students of Paul began the evening. I was focusing on getting better pictures and failed to get the

names of their numbers. Mari Becker and Emily Johnson played duets (their fi rst time together), followed by Russell Bates and then by Paul’s newest student. The Pixie Vixens (Juliana Bohn and Cindy

Martin) came next. All played well and we can look forward to hearing them again.

Paul Fedoro-wicz played next, accompanied by John Giuliani on the bass, a great pair. They had not played together previously, and Paul chose to play numbers that he had not played publicly before (and one or two that John hadn’t even heard of, I think.) It was quite a variety, beginning with contemporary (and jazzy) Klezmer music by the composer of mu-sic for “Fiddler on the Roof,” a quiet Bulgar (the Jewish polka), Johnny Mercer’s “And the Angels Sing,” some rock and roll (“She’s Not There” by the Zombies and something from the “Little Brit-ish Invader Book”), a twist (“I Like it Like That), and concluding with more rock and roll.

John then switched to his accordion and offered some old time tunes for us, “Up a Lazy River,” “Shanty in Old Shanty Town,” Galway Bay,” “Avalon,” “Sundown,” and “Sentimental Journey.” A great trip down Memory Lane!

John, back to his bass, then joined Birgit and Phil Ages to play, specially in memory of Maria Strunk, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Roll out the Barrel.” Phil and Birgit followed with Irish music and a waltz (Phil playing his concertina and then a pennywhistle) and concluded with Phil singing “O, Marie,” in memory of Maria Strunk.

For the evening fi nale, Jamie Maschler played a demanding classical program--a Pre-lude and Fugue, a Prelude in A Minor, and more. (I didn’t note more details because I expected to get them in program form at her Cornish Senior Recital on April 11th; it was my misfortune to have

Russell Bates

Pixie VixensJuliana Bohn and

Cindy Martin

David Locke

Jamie Maschler

Mari Becker and Emily Johnson

Paul Fedorowicz and John Giuliani



a confl icting obligation that evening, and I missed it.) Jamie played a heavy free bass accordion, sitting and standing (while wearing spike-heeled shoes!). Her technical masterly is impressive; her extended bellows shaking is unbelievable. And she’s only 21 years old! (Do an internet search on her name and fi nd out more about her, including a rave review of her Senior Recital.)

April 11, 2011I missed this one because of a confl icting

obligation, but I hear that I missed a good one, as I might have expected since John Giuliani was in charge.

Lee Wright entertained with his accordion music during the social hour. Three Renton ac-cordionists played during the fi rst performance hour, Louis Traverso, Gino Picini, and John Giuliani. They added up their ages and had 231 years of Renton accordionists – and John is just a youngster! Mario Tonda also played. That’s a lot of good music, but there was more.

July 17 – 31, 2011

Music · Dance · Visual ArtsLiterary/Theatre Arts · Healing Arts

FSAF is supported in part by the NEA, ASCA, and Fairbanks Arts Association/City of Fairbanks & FNSB regrant. FSAF is in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Come Study in

Fairbanks, AlaskaIn the Land of the Midnight Sun

FSAF 2011 Accordion Guest Artists: Shelia Lee, Piano Accordion Joe Smiell, Buttonbox

www.fsaf.org907-474-8869

John G., Mario Tonda, Louis Traverso, Gono Picini, Lee Wright and Andy Mirkovich

In the second performance hour, Andy Mirkovich was the featured player, sometimes accompanied by John Giuliani on his bass.

Deadline for Fall issue - August 1

Send your articles and pictures to [email protected] or mail to: NWAS, 5102 NE 121st Ave. Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98682.



For more information call 1-800-472-1695 or email: [email protected]



Day of the Accordion 2011by Marjorie Rombauer

This is the Day of the Accordion that almost didn’t happen. It was cancelled, but then revived when faith-ful enthusiasts pulled together to put together another outstanding DOTA experience, fi lling out twenty years of successful accordion programs.

The DOTA programs were the brainchild of Ken Olendorf and Joe Spano. Sponsored by the North-west Accordion Society, they were introduced about 1990 as a showcase of accordion performances to follow the accordion competitions at Seattle Center sponsored by the Northwest Accordion Teachers’ As-sociation. The watershed year was 1999. In that year, the fi nal NATA competition was held, dedicated to the memory of Joe Spano, who had established and spearheaded the competitions at the Seattle Center House from 1954. The next DOTA was scheduled for June of 2000, but it didn’t happen. Paul Allen’s Ex-periment Music project had just been completed, and the musical extravaganza to celebrate the opening squeezed the accordionists out of the Center House. So, in 2000 and 2001, the accordion performances were moved to December as part of Winter Festival performances.

In March 2002, DOTA was back, led by Bonnie Birch and Jim Tobler, both of whom had performed at the 1999 event. They were backed by NWAS volun-teers who continue to volunteer down to today, in-cluding Doris Osgood, Dick Myking, Cooksie Kramer, Brigit (Teuwen) Ages, and Rick Hatley. These fi ve provided, and continue to provide, free accordion lessons or other invaluable assistance. The Cooksie Kramer band (now the Northwest Accordionaires) performed for the fi rst time in 2002. Jim Tobler retired last year, but all those other familiar faces were back, along with others who have lent their talents, time and assistance to the program over the years.

Bonnie describes the 2011 event this way: “I am proud to say we had another fabulous Day of the Accordion this year with outstanding attendance and outstanding performances. There was something for everybody. On the main stage, we provided a variety of music with groups playing different styles of dance-able music. In between each group, soloists fi lled the time with a ‘splash of sound.’ The upstairs stage provided a more intimate setting and was a great suc-cess. As usual, our free accordion lessons attracted a large following. I can’t thank everyone enough for their cooperation, being well-prepared, being on time, and presenting a great image of the accordion to the public. Particular thanks go to Rick Hatley and Einar

Tapio, who organized the upstairs performances, and to Dick Myking and his teachers who provided the ever popular free accordion lessons.”

Doris Osgood was there to greet the 2011 at-tendees. She has been our regular greeter for many years, answering questions and directing traffi c at the information table and taking care of problems as she sees them. Accordion and piano music was also being sold at the table this year. On the other side of the audience area were tables where CDs, DVDs and other music forms were sold on behalf of local and other accordionists.

Groups that performed on the main stage were the Happy Wanderers Band, the Ken Olendorf Trio, the Hans Rainer Band, the Ethnic Underground Band led by Paul Fedorowicz, the Bonnie Birch Band, the Primo Basso Band with Lenny Luzzi, and the North-west Accordionaires Orchestra led by Cooksie Kram-er. Performing between the group performances were those who provided a “splash of sound,” Kory Tide-man, John Giuliani, Einar Tapio, Jamie Maschler with Harold Belskus, and the Folk Voice duo (Brigit and Phil Ages). This programming permitted the groups to set up in the background without infringing on perfor-mance time.

In the past, an upstairs room has been the scene of performances by unscheduled “rising stars.” This year, most of the performance times were pre-sched-uled for students of Cooksie Kramer and Paul Fedoro-wicz and for individual performances by Einar Tapio, Lyle Schaefer, Eileen Webber and Jeannie Berg, John Giuliani, Jamie Maschler and friend, Ben Gown and Dick Myking. Unscheduled accordionists appeared to fi ll the empty time slots.

The 2011 DOTA was a great program. If you missed it, be sure to watch for the date of the 2012 event.

Ethnic Undergoround Band led by Paul Fedorowicz



Bonnie Birch

John Giuliani and Ken Olendorf

NorthwestAccordionaires

Happy Wanderers

Bonnie Birch Trio

Lenny Luzzi

Hans Rainer BandKen Olendorf Trio



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Hello Karl, I enjoyed your article in the 19 February 2011 of

The Bulletin. I live in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. My sister, a Bend resident, sent it to me since I practiced the accordion in the early to mid 60s. (I am now 58) I learned from Mr. Bianco whose studio was in SE Port-land. I still have one of his accordions. It has traveled from Oregon to New Jersey to Frankfurt, (then) West Germany and back to New Jersey. It still plays hav-ing warded off basement fl oods, humidity and lack of attention. I do not play it now but you have sparked an interest so I may pick it up again.

I found it interesting your story of strolling through restaurants, clubs and theaters. My father was a pa-thologist. He would take me with him to funeral homes and hospitals so I could practice the accordion while he performed his medical duties on the deceased. Fortunately, given my abilities, I did not have vocal critics that you may have endured.

By the way, did you ever know Mr. Bianco? I have often wondered what ever happened to him as the ac-cordion declined in popularity.

Thank you for sharing your story. It brought back many fond memories of my childhood. Sincerely, Colonel Douglas D. Lehman USAF Ret.

Doris, This was interesting, and I answered telling him of my friendship with Jimmy which went back to the late 50's. Before he seriously went into the accordion business, he sold "fake" books. He sold these after he opened his studio and imported accordions. – Karl Kment



Dusting Off The Old AccordionBy Heidi Hagemeier

Reprinted with permission, The Bulletin, Bend, OR

Photo of Karl Kment by Lillian Jones

Pulling the bellows apart with a fl ourish, Terry Ranstad launched into a haunting melody, right hand pausing on the accordion keyboard in fi rm chords.

It took a second to identify the visceral reaction to the music: the theme from “The Godfather” movies. The song, Ranstad said, is actually one of love in Italian.

“You have to squeeze it, make love to it a bit,” Ranstad said, explaining how to inject passion into the music with the instrument. The accordion doesn’t look that large against Ranstad, a former college football player, although it’s a good 25 pounds.

For decades, the Bend resident let his accordion, a gift from his father, collect dust in a closet. Now he’s 61, and the instrument has become his passion.

“It’s fun music; it’s just fun,” he said. “You start to play and the smiles come out.”

Ranstad is not alone. While in recent decades accordion music in American culture has been the stuff of nerdom — think Urkel in “Family Matters” and “Weird Al” Yankovic — it’s now popping up in some prominent places.

In 2009, an accordion soloist played Carnegie Hall for the fi rst time in roughly 30 years. Symphonies are enlisting accordionists as guest artists. And rock bands from The Decemberists to this past week’s Album of the Year Grammy winner, Arcade Fire, are incorporating the accordion into their music.

The Accordion Club of Central Oregon sprang up within the last two years, gathering once a month in Redmond to learn new music, exchange tips and jam. Its list quickly grew to 30 players.

While there’s nothing scientifi c to measure it, enthusiasts say the accordion is on its way back.

“The accordion is alive and well in Central Oregon,” declared Redmond resident Karl Kment, 83, who played as a youth and about 15 years ago took it up again.

Rise and fall of the accordionThere was a time when the accordion was

one of the most widely played instruments in the country.

The accordion has long been popular in other cultures. The fi rst version, Kment said, originated in China. By the mid-1800s, musicians played different versions of the accordion throughout Europe, incorporating it into folk music from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.

Its popularity came to the U.S. with immigrants, who played traditional dance music like tarantellas from Italy and schottisches from Germany. Musicians also mixed the accordion into North American folk music, particularly in Cajun and Mexican communities.

Then came the 1950s, which Kment termed “the golden age of the accordion.”

It was a common instrument for children and teenagers in the ’50s to learn. Ranstad recalled that, growing up then, every small town — including his, Grants Pass — had an accordion studio.

By then, the most popular type of accordion played in North America was the piano accordion, with its piano-like keyboard on the right side and series of buttons on the left.

Although it has a keyboard like the piano, the accordion is actually more like a pipe organ, said Kment, who once owned fi ve music stores across Oregon.

The accordion is a wind instrument, but unlike a clarinet, for instance, the reeds are metal instead of wood. The musician moves air over the reeds by manipulating the accordion’s bellows, controlling volume in the process. Pressing a key on the keyboard or a button on the left side of the



accordion frees reeds to vibrate in the moving air and make sound.

The keyboard produces the melody and the buttons the bass. And there are registers, like on an organ, that allow the musician to switch the reeds so the accordion makes different sounds, from oboe to clarinet to piccolo. Because of this versatility, Kment said, the accordion is the only instrument with which musicians can play orchestral music “fairly authentically” alone.

And due to all the reeds — in a full-size accordion there can be almost 450 of them — piano accordions are fairly heavy, often weighing between 25 and 30 pounds. There are now also models available in which the reeds are replaced by electronics, making the instrument lighter.

The quality of accordions vary, and high-end accordions involve artistry, said Lillian Jones, a La Pine resident who plays with the Accordion Club of Central Oregon. The most expensive ones can go for between $10,000 to $30,000.

The accordion’s popularity continued into the 1960s but started to wane, Kment said, when The Beatles came to America. Suddenly, all the young people wanted to learn guitar.

“I should have been in the van business,” Kment chuckled, recalling how he would sell huge amplifi ers from his music shops to accompany the guitars, and soon young musicians were driving vans to cart the equipment around.

Rediscovering the instrumentLast Saturday, eight accordion players

gathered in a semicircle at the Cougar Springs Assisted Living Center in Redmond. First they practiced a piece together under Kment’s direction. Then they shared music they’ve been practicing on their own. And lastly, they launched into what they called their jam session, playing crowd pleasers like “Beer Barrel Polka” and “My Blue Heaven.”

Their stories of how they got into playing the accordion share similarities.

They learned to play as children, sometimes at the behest of their parents. As they grew into adulthood, families and careers took precedence, and their musical instruments were shoved into storage.

Now, decades later, they’re digging them out

and dusting them off.Ranstad said his father, who valued music,

worked as a real estate agent. One day he came home with an accordion so his son could play the instrument. He had accepted it in lieu of a down payment on a house.

“It’s part of our family heritage now,” Ranstad said. “My parents sacrifi ced for me to play.”

Kment said he stopped playing accordion when he owned music stores. Instead, he learned the organ so he could demonstrate it to customers.

Yet at the age of 12, Kment “strolled” with his accordion in restaurants and clubs, which paid him for his music. He also remembers traveling with an outfi t that went town to town showing movies, as many little towns then didn’t have theaters. When something would go wrong with the projector, which Kment said was often, he would play accordion for the crowds to keep them happy.

Jones, 71, started again when she moved to Central Oregon more than a decade ago. At 7, she said she begged her mother for lessons. Then, at age 15, she auditioned to take lessons with Myron Floren, of “The Lawrence Welk Show.” He accepted her. She later gave lessons herself and was part of a band.

Then, Jones said, she raised a family of four children. Her interest in music took a back seat until recently.

Some, like Kment, play for their own enjoyment, although he accepts an occasional gig. He estimates he can play between 3,000 and 3,500 songs from memory.

Others play more publicly. Ranstad intends to play in the next Central Oregon’s Got Talent competition. And he and Jones both said they have placed in their age groups at the annual Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration in Leavenworth, Wash.

Ranstad said he expects more people will resume playing the accordion and pass it down to their grandchildren.

“When I play for high school kids or little kids, they’re fascinated,” he said. “It’s a romantic instrument.”

Heidi Hagemeier can be reached at 541-617-7828 or at [email protected].



Tacoma Accordion SocialsSubmitted by Eloise Adair

FebruaryOur February meeting was on Thursday the

10th, the third sunny day in a row so we had a good attendance - 54. Harvey Qualley played the piano while we were getting things ready for our program. I did get the names of three of the pieces he played, "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You", "Can I Have This Dance?" and "Love Me Tender".

Ted Janossy was our fi rst performer playing a chromatic accordion. He played "Norsk Bondevals" and "Livet I Finnskogama". Richard and Linda Bishop played next, Richard on accordion and Linda sang and played her guitar. Their fi rst song was "If I Give My Heart to You". then "Mother's Love and "Lieberstram". Their last song was "The Spinning Wheel Song". Ray Benz was next playing a song that lasted 6 minutes, "Flower of Paris".

It was good to hear Ray Reusch again. He played "Spanish is the Loving Tongue", "Annie Laurie" and "Plaisir d' Amour". Lyle Schaefer was next and he played a medley "Marne, Manhatten, Hello Dolly, and Come to The Cabaret". The he played "Happy Birthday" to Betty Graef and during our break we enjoyed a birthday cake .Then Lyle played "Twilight Time" After the break Rick Hatley and Tom Demski walked around and played “The Happy Wanderer". Then Rick did a solo on "Snow Waltz". Next he was joined by Dick Myking and Lyle Schaefer and they played "European Waltz" and "Just Because".

Diane Crews sang some love songs, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me". Lyle Schaefer came back and played a Medley of Valentine Songs, "If I Fell, Norwegian Wood, Because, Something and Michelle. He closed with "Tico Tico". Tom Demski was last on our program. He played "Varcarallo", a medley, "In Heaven There is no Beer, Beer Barrel Polka" His last song was "Ciribiribin".

MarchOur March meeting on Thursday the 10th was

very good, in spite of all the rain we have had. We had 48 people and a very good program. Ray Benz was our fi rst performer and he played "My Wild Irish Rose", "Barney McQuire" and "I'll Take You Home, Kathleen". Next up were Linda and Richard Bishop, Linda sang and played the guitar while Richard played the accordion on "The Galway Piper", " Land of Liberty" and "My Wild Irish Rose". Michael Barbarossa was next playing "Melody of Love", "Minuet L' Antique" and "P&H Polka".

Gabrielle Marshall and Max were next Gabrielle played the violin and Max played the guitar. When they arrived I saw they had an accordion with them but maybe the accordionist didn't come. They did a nice duet on "Mouth of the Tobique", "Crying Waltz" and "Five Foot Two". Next Eloise Adair played "Springtime in Sweden" and "Polka Dot Polka". Dick Myking was next playing "Down By the Old Mill Stream", "Janet's Waltz" and "Sharpshooters March".

Randall Tron played a medley of "Hawaiian Wedding Song, Tiny Bubbles, Aloha 0 E, Hawaiian War Chant and Memories are Make of This". Lyle Schaefer was up next playing "Try a Little Tenderness", "We'll Meet Again", "On a Clear Day", "Skinnys Polka" "Room Full of Roses" "Laura's Theme" "Godfathers'Theme" "All of Me" and "Dream". Diane Crews then sang for us "Fly Me To The Moon". Then what everybody was waiting for - Tom Demski played "Guaglione" and "Granada".

AprilApril has been colder than January this year so

I was surprised when we had 58 at our social and it rained hard all afternoon. In March we only had 48 at our social. We met at 7 p.m. to get set up and Harvey Qualley entertained us with great piano music. Louis Traverso was our fi rst performer. He played "Easter Parade", "Enderbcgen" "Ilsiro Waltz","Cal's Polka Medley", "Yes Sir that's My Baby" and "It Had to be You".

Next Ray Reusch played 3 hymns for Easter, "Morning Has Broken", "Vesper Hymn" and "The Angel Band". Then we had young Michael Barbarossa entertain us with "The Thunderer", "The Rosary" and "The Gypsy Dance". Linda and Richard Bishop entertained us with "You Can Make the Pathway Bright", "La Sorella" and "The Empty Tomb". Linda sang and Richard played his accordion.

We had a new young player next. Gabrielle Marshall played "Go Away", "All Through The Night" and "My Favorite Horse". Then Diane Crews sang for us, "L-O-V-E". David Emter played his chromatic accordion, he played "Foxy Waltz", "Simms Waltz" "Argentine Waltz" and "Jolly Wife Polka". Dick Myking was our last player, wearing a Hawaiian shirt because he had just returned from Hawaii the day before. . He played "Life in the Finnish Woods" or "Livet I Finnskogarna", Saturday Night Waltz" or Lordagsvalsen", "Girls From Ulad", "Olso" and "Bubbles".



By the Way – from Doris Osgood

As you know, the Northwest Accordion Society has been working hard to prepare for the Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration June 16 – 19. The guest performers will be outstanding; they’ve never performed at Leavenworth in the past. The new “free concert” venue at the grange is expected to be a great way to make additional contact with the non-ac-cordion public. Join in as many things as you can and volunteer as much as you are able. The Northwest Accordion Society isn’t one or two people; it’s an army of people with a passion for the accordion. I hope to see you there.

Keep your suitcase packed! The Olde Time Competi-tions at Kimberley will come next; it’s always the fi rst week after the 4th of July - his year July 4 – 9. Happy Hans champ, Alicia Baker will perform along with other outstanding, young accordionists. KIOTAC is the “granddaddy” of all the regional old time accordion competitions. We all love it! July 14 – 17 looks to be an exciting weekend in Victoria, BC. Frank Marocco and Jelena Milojevic, both internationally known ac-cordionists, will be the featured performers. There will be competitions, workshops, trade show, and an open stage at the Victoria Accordion Festival. July in Alas-ka is fabulous. Continue on from Victoria and take in the music arts festival in Fairbanks. August 11 – 14, Historic Wallace, ID will be the next destination. Featured performers will be Andy MIrkovich, Cory Pesaturo, Big Lou, and Bruce Gassman. There will be a gazebo with public performance too. Finish the summer in Cotati, CA August 20 – 21. Our Murl Allen Sanders will be a featured performer there. Be sure to brush up on your Lady of Spain.

Best wishes to Ruth Burgess of Portland, OR. Ruth celebrated her 90th birthday April 9. Ruth and her hus-band were professional musicians. He played guitar and Ruth played accordion. Ruth is still playing. The only help she needs is recalling all of the tunes that she knows! Nobody does a rendition of Springtime in the Rockies like Ruth; she sings a verse called Springtime in Alaska. We wish her at least 90 more years of accordion playing.

Joe Brikha of Galveston, TX writes that he will have to miss the accordion celebration this June. He en-joys coming to the Pacifi c Northwest where our tem-peratures a bit cooler and the scenery is lush. This June, his brother from Australia, whom he hasn’t seen for 15 years, will be visiting.

Special thanks to Marjorie Rombauer for putting together a report on the Day of the Accordion. It was an unexpected assignment for her. She’d had a death in her family and could only attend for a short time that day. Ordinarily she has camera in hand, but on that day she was in “coping” mode. Her account is found in this issue. The Seattle Center is undergoing major renovation. The Center House and the sur-rounding space have been pretty much unchanged since the World’s Fair that erected the complex. The amusement areas have been taken away and the entire Center House is going to be reinvented. The DOTA cannot be at that site next year during con-struction. We hope to fi nd a suitable site for next year’s event.

Jeannette and Horace Lazzari served as secretary and treasurer for the Northwest Accordion Society for many years. Horace managed our funds wisely and carefully. We are thankful for his stewardship to ensure that the NWAS is a solvent, non-profi t organi-zation. Horace is a well known classical accordionist from Walla Walla, WA. I recently heard from the Laz-zaris. Jeanette wrote, “At 86, we are slowing down.” She said that they just learned that Horace was mentioned on several web sites; they’d had no idea. Not only that, she said that they didn’t even know that they existed! Check these out:http://www.accordions.com/hlazzari/ - the link to the Horace Lazzari websitewww.accordionusa.com See article "Editor's Note" and"Opening of Horace Lazzari website" for an-nouncement of the grand opening on May 1st of Horace's websitehttp://www.accordions.com/cia/cia_wad_directory.htm - scroll down near bottom of the page. You will see "Opening of Horace Lazzari Web site"- Now you should be able to click on his name and it will take you to the website. This is for the world day of accordion.

NWAS member, Gary Dahl writes that he has re-ceived an assignment from MelBay to assemble a large classical “favorites” book. He says that it’s about 25% complete. He also said that many of the selections have never been transcribed for accordion and will be exciting to learn and perform.

Be sure to check the offi cial web site for the Leav-enworth International Accordion Celebration: www.accordioncelebration.org Ken Kohnhorst of Leavenworth is our Webmaster for the music festival site. You will fi nd details concerning competitions, concerts, tickets, volunteer opportunities, and other information.



June is National Accordion Awareness Month! We’re doing our best to promote awareness in the Pa-cifi c Northwest. Take advantage of the publicity and play for those in your circle of acquaintants. I will be playing at Harvey Clarke Elementary in Forest Grove. Many of the children have never seen an accordion up close; many of your friends may not either. We are all ambassadors of the accordion.

Remember to submit your articles and other informa-tion to our magazine address: NWAS News 5102 NE 121st Ave Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98682

Check the web site, www.nwasnews.com for current events and updates.

Senior Concert presented by Jamie Maschler

Thoughts posted by Matt Drews, April 12, 2011

My life changed last night after seeing the beauti-ful Jamie Maschler perform her fi nal adieu to PON-CHO Concert Hall at Cornish College of the Arts.

The pure joy and light that beamed off Miss Machler as she undulated and danced with her ac-cordion was mesmerizing. The entire audience was in awe of her powerful, graceful, and captivating presence on the stage. Shifting from complex clas-sically infl uenced solos into layered multi-instrument collaborations, I was taken on a journey into so many different textures of music. Classical, Tango, Acoustic, and new layers of collaborations I have never experi-enced; her favorite combination being her accordion with a guitar.

The mood was focused, clear, and intentional but infused with an anomalous quality of execution where I experienced my entire spectrum of emotions in one song. She fl uidly took the audience to sound-scapes which they haven’t experienced. She wove together her classical precision and genius compositional force with a sense of playful ease and abandon of the norm.

Tapping on the external surfaces and scratch-ing the metal bonds of her musical apparatus, with a pure grin, Jamie Maschler took each breath and gifted her vibrations to those who witnessed her perform. The concert was celebratory, inspiring, and made me wonder why I have never seen this gifted woman per-form in Seattle. If you haven’t been blessed with the opportunity, make time to celebrate an up and coming master of music who is about to burst out of Cornish and fl ourish around the world!

www.jamiemaschler.com

Frank Marocco7063 Whitaker Ave

Lake BalboaCA 91406

www.frankmarocco.com140 accordion arrangementsIntermediate and Advanced

The Chester Pietka Scholarships are available for young accordionists. Young people ages 18 and under, taking lessons from a recognized teacher, or wishing to do so, may submit a written request for scholarship funds for the purpose of taking lessons. Requests are to be submitted to the Portland Accordion Ensemble, 3224 B St., Forest Grove, OR 97116 or e-mail [email protected].

In addition to giving personal information, students are to share their interest and their goals for playing the accordion. These scholarships are open to the young people within the Pacifi c Northwest, not just the greater Portland area.

NWAS Welcomes New Members:

Randi Lincoln, Seattle, WAS. Gary Spak, Mercer Island, WAJohn Lucas, Tacoma,WAAva Shockley, Seattle,WAFriedrich & Janet Fuetterer, Seattle,WAGreg Perry, Kirkland, WAMax Marshall, Roy, WAJohn McMillan, Gig Harbor, WAAlicia Tindell, Millton-Freewater, ORBeverly R. Arralde, Yakima, WATheo Mace, Seattle, WAMeritta Beaty, Tacoma, WARobynn Snow, Walla Walla, WARoy Roland Gasselsdorfer, Sultan, WASandra Hetzel, Portland, ORLynn Haldeman, Portland, ORSandra Munoz, Renton, WA

Remember, you are welcome to give gift member-ships! The membership form is on the last page of this publication!



Bell & ReedACCORDIONWOODWIND

* * * REPAIRTUNINGSALES

RENTALSINSTRUCTION

* * *www.bellandreed.com

tel (206) 696-9054115 Prefontaine Pl S (401)

Seattle, WA 98104by appointment

2011 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Keith Church from Santa Rosa, California is this year's NW AS Scholarship recipient in the Age 16 to 25 Category. Keith is 16 years old and plays a synthesized piano accordion. He is very active in his community entertaining at the various Care Centers. His favorite one is the Family Care Center where there are a number of homeless children. Keith is a very enterprising performer who has his own business card and a CD with his musical repertoire. His teacher is Marjorie Konrad who commends Keith for being a good student who practices an hour each day. Keith is a high school student and is supplementing his growing expenses with his music and plans to continue studies on the accordion. Congratulations! Keith.

SQUEEZIN'

ACCORDION CLUB OF CENTRAL OREGON NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2011

Above photo is from 2010 August BBQ at Colleen Halverson's in La Pine. Coming up this August. Watch for announcements. We continue to have a nice group of accordion players participating at our monthly meetings. If you have missed the last few meetings, contact Lillian (541-536-1531) or Karl (541-548-0495) for copies of the Jam book so you can join us. Karl Kment is just recovering from surgery and not able to play his accordion, but he was there directing our group playing. Others who were not in attendance because of illness or travel plans were truly missed.

First time with our group was young Caitlyn Moore. She has had just four lessons from Karl and played a very nice "0 Solo Mio" and "Santa Lucia" for us. Thanks for joining us, Caitlyn. Hope to see you often at our meetings. It is nice to see young people interested in playing the accordion. Lorena Bliven started the solo segment of our meeting with a lovely presentation of "Make The World Go Away" and "Old Rugged Cross". Lorena is learning to read music. She has always played by ear. Good for you, Lorena! Next was Ed Danielson with "Can I Have This Dance" and very well-done arrangement of "Sharpshooters March". Sue Harrison played a beautiful Pietro Diero arrangement of "Tango of Roses", followed by "Fascination". Next was Lillian Jones with a Bohemian two-step, "Springtime (Na Jerel" followed by a very up-tempo "Auchtung Los Polka" by Walter Wild. We are looking forward to more participation from our new members.

The Jam session portion of our program is much more organized since we all have the same music in our Jam Books. Some have asked about contributing a few dollars at each meeting to offset postage and copying costs. We will discuss that at our next meeting.

Next month's meeting 1:30 p.m. May 14th at Cougar Springs in Redmond. Hope we will see you there! Come early and bring a friend!



Spring Accordion Social in Forest GroveBy Doris Osgood

Twice each year I fret over whether anyone will come to Forest Grove for our accordion socials.

Because Easter Sunday was SO LATE, the social was moved up to April 10; I’d been concerned that the change in date would cause scheduling trouble for people. Though the change did keep a few people away, we had a great gathering of accordion lovers – old and new – the afternoon was fi lled with accordion music.

I may be biased… but… I believe that this social had some of the best accordion play-ing ever! Many people refl ected that same sentiment. Our visitors were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of our program. I wasn’t surprised. I was thrilled.

A “ sacrifi cial lamb” must start the day. Rather than infl ict that role on someone else, I opened the day with a Norwe-gian Waltz then played “Easter Parade”;the audience sang along. Next up was 87-year-old Vera Wendel. She played “My Wild Irish Rose”, and “Roses”. Col-leen Halverson followed with “Yodeling Polka”, and “Langsvalsen”. We can always count on a polka from Paul Bria and we weren’t disappointed. He played “The Girl I Left Behind” and “Theresa Polka”.

The fi rst duet of the afternoon was Ann Thompson and Doris Osgood play-ing “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” and “Hilsen Til Isgog”. Next was a player who’s been playing for only a few months. Mallory MacDonald, a high school senior, played “Poet and Peasant Waltz” with Doris Os-good and “Our Boys March”. Leonard Ko-

satka has been traveling quite a bit but managed to squeeze in time with us. He played “12th Street Rag”

and “Under Paris Skies”. Watching

the develop-ment of our young players has been a delight. Em-ily and Alli-son Wheeler traveled from Roseburg (along with a

devoted fan club) to play as a trio in “Little Brown Jug” with their grandpa, Dick Carlson. Allison followed by playing the “National Anthem”. We couldn’t help but note how much she reminded us of Alicia Baker’s playing the same piece for the Portland Trailblazers at about the same age. Emily followed playing “Oh Suzanna”. Both of those solos require serious bass work. The girls were up to the challenge. Emily and Allison fi nished with a duet, “Let’s Dance the Polka”. The audience showed their appreciation with a long ovation. Grandpa Dick and Grandma Patty beamed.

It’s been a long while since Laverne Morris of Woodburn was able to join us. Since Karen Cordell, President of the Roseburg Ac-cordion Club, traveled north for Ruth Burgess’s 90th birthday celebration, she and Laverne were able to come to Forest Grove to play and to cheer on Emily and Allison. Laverne played “Don’t Blame Me” then she and Karen played “My Blue Heaven”. Karen played “Sun-rise, Sunset” solo.

We’ve come to expect the unexpected from Gerson Robboy! I feel safe in saying that NO-BODY plays like Gerson… He played “Coney Island Washboard” with vocal and “Garden State Stomp”. Gerson’s vocals have several verses with a complex story to tell. He’s a cross between Sasha Cohen and

Tommy Smothers. Fol-lowing Gerson was a new performer from Medford. Jeannette Dewey, Presi-dent of the Medford Ac-cordion Club, played Len Gadica’s “Latin Evening” and “Blue Velvet”. The fi rst segment of the afternoon concluded with Kathy Grambsch’s performance

Mallory MacDonald

Jeannette Dewey



of “Britannia” and “Waltz d’Amelie”.After a break for refreshments, the Tualatin Val-

ley Accordionists performed. The ensemble played “My Blue Heaven”, “Sweet and Low”, “Wonderful Co-penhagen”, and “Anema E Core”. Participating mem-bers were: Paul Bria, Don Hirsch, Connie Weimer, Colleen Halverson, Jack Jones, Vera Wendel, Dick Carlson, Mickie Eaton, Duane Navarra, Rosalee Sherman, Nancy Kaye, Wil Knoop, Ann Thomp-son, Jeanne Olson, Pamelajean Myers, and Doris Osgood. Before leaving the stage, Don Hirsch played an Easter medley of gospel songs - “Old Rug-

ged Cross”, “Were You There”, and “He Lives”.

Ed Ma-kovsky trav-eled from Pleasant Hill to join us too. He played “My Blue Heaven” and “Wed-ding Bells

Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine”. Our next performer played his Roland Virtual Accordion. Steve Gordon played “Konzerstuck” and Frank Marocco’s “Italian Medley”.

We’re always pleased when players who’ve only participated in groups or just ob-served decide to take on the meaningful stress of solo playing. First time soloists Mickie Eaton played “Fascination” and Connie Weimer played “French Toast”.

Our friend, John Giuliani of Renton, WA drove down for the afternoon. He played a Scandinavian piece and an Italian piece in memory of his parents; his mom was Swedish and his dad was Italian. They must be responsible for John’s sense of humor and great musicality.

Before our day was fi nished, a visitor requested that someone play “Life in the Finnish Woods”. Our resident Scandinavian, Dick Carlson, was able to oblige and our visitor was thrilled. We also had our 50/50 drawing for the scholarship fund which included some great gifts in addition to the sale of the vinyl record collection from Chester Pietka himself. The Pietka family had gleaned the collection fi rst and

Laverne Morris and Ed Makovsky

Mickie Eaton

brought the records to me to share at the social. Sev-eral people found treasures; the Magnante recordings went like hotcakes.

My husband, Gary, had the day off for a change and was able to man the admission table. As always I must thank him and all of those who help during the day and with the room restoration. Special thanks to Dick and Patty Carlson, Sue Armentrout, and John Giuliani.

The busy summer season is coming soon. I always regard the spring social as the kick off to the summer. Mark your calendars today for our next so-cial in Forest Grove. We’ll see you Sunday, October 23, 2011, just for the fun of it.

Frank Marocco HonoredThe American Society of Music Arrangers

and Composers presented a Luncheon with Special Guest Frank Marocco on April 20th at Catalinas in Hollywood. Frank Marocco spoke about his career, answering many questions.

Frank Marocco is one of the most recorded ac-cordionists in America (and, possibly, the world), hav-ing played on a vast number of movie soundtracks, television scores, commercial jingles and record albums, in the studios of Hollywood and beyond. He has recorded for and/or worked with artists ranging from Brian Wilson, Pink Floyd and Madonna to Lu-ciano Pavarotti, conductor Maxim Shostakovich and composer John Williams.

He was nominated eight years in a row for the Most Valuable Player Award by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S) and re-ceived that award twice. Frank is also a consummate jazz artist and a gifted composer with several of his own albums to his credit. He has played his music for audiences all over the world.

Do you have a favorite accordion memory? A favorite accordion teacher? A favorite perform-er? We’d love to have your articles to include in the Northwest Accordion News!

Email your articles to: [email protected] or mail them to:NWAS, 5102 NE 121st Ave., Vancouver, WA 98682.



Most Frequently Asked Questions About Copyright

Have you wondered about the rules of copy-right? The following is a list of the most frequent-ly asked questions about copyright according to the Music Publishing Association of the United States. http://mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/copying

Why Can't I Copy Anything I Want?It's against the law, other than in very specifi c circumstances, to make unauthorized copies of copyrighted materials.

What If I Am Faced With A Special Situation?If you want to include copyrighted lyrics in a song sheet-arrange a copyrighted song for four baritones and kazoo-or make any special use of copyrighted music which the publisher cannot supply in regular published form, the magic word is...ASK. You may or may not receive permission, but when you use someone else's property, you must have the property owner's permission.

What If There's Not Time To Ask?That makes no difference. Think of copyright-ed music as a piece of property, and you'll be on the right track. Plan ahead.

What About Photocopies That Are Now In Our Church/School/Library?

Destroy any unauthorized photocopies imme-diately. Replace them with legal editions.

Can I Make Copies Of Copyrighted Music First And Then Ask Permission?

No. Permission must be secured prior to any duplication.

What If I Can't Find The Owner Of A Copy-righted Song? Can I Go Ahead And Copy It Without Permission?

No. You must have the permission of the copyright owner. Check the copyright notice on the work, and/or check with the publisher of the collection in which the work appears. Once you have this information, write to the copyright owner.

As A Soloist, Is It Permissible For Me To Make A Photocopy Of A Copyrighted Work For My Accompanist?

No. Permission for duplication, for any pur-pose whatsoever, must be secured from the copyright owner.

Is It Permissible To Print Words Only On A One-Time Basis, Such As In A Concert Pro-gram?

No. Permission must be secured prior to any duplication. Using "just the words" makes no difference.

But What About Items That Are Out Of Print?Most publishers are agreeable, under special circumstances, to allow reproducing out-of-print items, but again, permission must be secured from the copyright owner prior to any duplication.

Can I Make A Transparency Of A Copyrighted Song For Use By Overhead Projector?

No. The making of a transparency is duplica-tion, and permission must be secured from the copyright owner.

Can I Make A Record Or Tape Using A Prere-corded Instrumental Accompaniment Track?

Two permissions are necessary here. One is from the copyright owner of the selection to be recorded, and the second is from the pro-ducer/manufacturer of the original record.

Can I Make A Band Arrangement Of A Copy-righted Piano Solo? Can I Make A Flute Ar-rangement Of A Copyrighted Work For Clari-net?

No. Making any arrangement is duplication, and permission must be obtained from the copyright owner.

What About The Photocopiers Who Don't "Get Caught"?

They force the price of legal editions higher. They enrich the manufacturers of copy-ing machines at the expense of compos-ers, authors, publishers and music retailers. They risk embarrassment from professional colleagues who understand the law; and they risk fi nes and jail sentences if taken to court. Frankly, we cannot imagine what kind of school, church or professional musician would derive satisfaction from being a thief.



The Great American SqueezeReno, Nevada April 2011

By Griff Bryan

Corky BennettThe stars were out and shined brightly on the

Great American Squeeze Off recently held in Reno Nevada. Dick Contino and Mario Pedone dazzled the audience with their own unique interpretations of accordion wizardry and musical interpretations. Corky Bennett put together a wonderful blend of mu-sic, and entertainment, while adding his own brand of comedy and accordion styling's as the event emcee. Professionalism is the word which comes to mind when I refl ect on the 2 day show in Reno. Whether inviting lovely (professional) female vocalists from the audience, or introducing a Tony Bennett imperson-ator, Corky Bennett put on a fantastic show. And there was even more when the show was not in the spotlight. Providing daily entertainment with his own unique style was Steve Albini as he serenaded us with vocals and his Roland digital accordion music during lunch and dinner. And if that was not enough, the lobby provided an open stage for anyone who wished to sit and jam. We heard from various members of the Reno Accordion Club, as well as solo’s from many of the professional visitors who can from far and wide to be entertained by Dick Contino and Mario Pedone. Perhaps it was the glitter of Reno and the bright lights that only a casino town can deliver. Whatever it was, in Reno this past April, the accordion fi lled the air with musical entertainment that will be very hard to top.

Stay in touch with Corky at: [email protected] for more of his accordion shows. I’ll see Corky again in Reno next year. You should plan on seeing him there as well. You will not be disap-pointed!

Dick Contino

Mario Pedone



Ask A TeacherBy Cooksie Kramer A.B.C.A – L.B.C.A

Member of ATG, AAA, ABRSM (London).

1. Would you recommend that I take theory ex-ams?

Defi nitely – you can fi nd more information online: www.abrsm.org and also please call me or email me at 425 828 9104 [email protected]. Studying Theory and Practical playing together is an immense benefi t. After studying and mastering Theory from Grade One to Grade Eight you will never have gaps in your musical knowledge and development.

In addition I always recommend Scale and Arpeggios Studies. E.g. Hannon and Czerny for Accordion. Also don’t forget to include sight reading.

Please feel free to email me with your questions to Ask A Teacher. [email protected].

In Remembrance…

Maria (Sonneveldt) Groth-StrunkMarch 1st, 1936 – March 1st, 2011

My sweet mother, Maria, a popular Seattle street musician, died of cancer in Seattle, March 1, 2011. The day prior, we celebrated her 75th birthday with 18 of her closest family and friends. It was made even more special with accordion and mandolin music by John Giuliani and Birgit & Phil Ages.

Maria’s passion in life was playing her accordion – an instrument she took up as a high school senior in Everett, WA in 1955. After raising three children, she teamed up with Louie Moss as the accordion duo “The Happy Music Makers”. They enjoyed some pay-ing gigs including entertaining for the Princess Mar-guerite cruise ship to Canada.

Since the early-80’s Maria played to sports fans outside the Super Sonics basketball and Seahawks football games, as well as to tourists at the Pike Place Market. She was especially devoted to Mariners baseball, playing outside the left center fi eld entrance of Safeco Field on game days, in rain or shine (with her little plastic dancing frog band keeping rhythm with her accordion) because, as she would say, she did not want to disappoint the fans. It was her man-date to cheer them up if the team lost, or celebrate with them when they won.

Maria was equally passionate regarding her membership to the Northwest Accordion Society which supported and furthered her career in many ways. Attending the monthly accordion socials held a very important place in her heart. She made dear friends through NWAS that shared her deep love of accordion music.

Maria is survived by her son, William, and daughters, Adrianna and Aleida, and her 5 grandchil-dren. Her family would like to thank all Mariners fans who made Maria feel appreciated and her friends at the NWAS who made her feel a part of a large won-derful musical family. ~ Adrianna

Great American Squeeze a Success!

Hi Doris,Thanks to devoted accordion fans across the

USA and Canada, "The Great American Squeeze Off" in Reno turned out to be a huge success in its very fi rst year! A special thanks to the folks from NWAS in attendance.

We tried to do something a little different than other festivals. Our event was a little looser and more relaxed. Everyone seemed to love it. The Silver Legacy Resort did an outstanding job of cater-ing and providing a great retail area, our "Chordeen Store."

Dick Contino and Mario Pedone were amaz-ing! Also thrilling our guests were Pete Contino, Ron Borelli, Steve Albini, The Truccos, Joe Cairo, John Covarelli, Nash D'Angelo, and Bob Russ. I personally had a great time emceeing and performing, as well.

We are planning to do it again next April 16-17 with more great artists from around the coun-try. Please visit www.cbproductions.net and www.thegreatamericanaccordionist.com for upcoming details.

Hope to see you again in Reno!Corky Bennett, ProducerCorky Bennett CB Productions, Inc. 748 S. Meadows Pkwy., Ste. A9-130 Reno, NV 89521 (775) 351-7019 Fax (775) 622-0554 [email protected] www.cbproductions.net



Entertainers in the NorthwestSubmit your public performance schedules to Doris Osgood 3224 B St

Forest Grove, OR 97116 [email protected] Barco – Band

Contact: 23091 23rd Ave. W. Brier, WA 98036425-775-8150; cell 206-356-1878

Corky BennettGreat American Squeeze Off Accordion Festival Detroit, MI July 27-28, 2011 website: www.corkybennett.comemail: [email protected]

Bonnie Birchwebsite: bonniebirch.com For scheduling information: write 1107 1st Ave. #1003 Seattle, WA 98101. 206-622-4786, email: [email protected]

Chuck Berger5 Concert tour – Chicago and sites in WI May 7 - 29Accordion Repair and Public PerformanceFor information call: [email protected]

Frank CalapristiWinter schedule at King Ludwig’s, Wed, Thurs. Sun. nights; tour groups as needed For scheduling information write PO Box 1057 Leavenworth, WA 98826 [email protected]

Gary DahlFor scheduling information write 509 Valley Ave. NE #5 Puyallup, WA 98372Phone/fax [email protected]; www.accordions.com/garydahl; www.beltuna.com

Tom Demski (Mr. Flash)For scheduling information write: 518 9th St. SW Puyallup, WA 98371 [email protected]

Folk Voice BandFor scheduling: Birgit Ages 206-368-9720 [email protected]; http://folkvoiceband.com

Happy Hans’ Music Hans Rainer, Jr. July 9 – 10 Gazebo Leavenworth, WAAug. 6 Benson Barn, North Bend, WA 1 – 5 PMSept. 10 Lakewood Moose/German Lodge 7PM – 11 PMSept. 17 Austrian Club Alki Masonic Temple – W. Seattle 7:30 PM – 11:30 PMSept. 23 – 24 Spokane OktoberfestSept 30, Oct. 1,7,14,15 Leavenworth OktoberfestFor scheduling information write Hans Rainer, JR 24613 231st Ave. SE Maple Valley, WA 98038 425-413-6562 [email protected] WWW.HAPPYHANSMUSIC.COM

Little Bohemian BandMay 19 – Aug. 6, 2011 Great Plains Tour Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota Check web site for details.For scheduling contact: Gene Sadowsky 541-990-3109 email:[email protected] www.littlebohemianband.com 802 NW Quarry Rd. Albany, OR 97321

Greg MeierJuly 1 – 11, 5 PM – 10 PM Bauern Haus Kimberley, BC (closed Tues – Wed)Aug. 11 Polk Co Fair 11:30 – 12:30 PMSept 15 – 18 Mt. Angel OktoberfestSept 23 – 25 Oaks Park OktoberfestSept 30 – Oct. 2 Prost Oktoberfest Oct. 6 – 10 Gordon Biersch Brewery Oktoberfest Honolulu, HawaiiOct.14 – 16 Leavenworth OktoberfestFor scheduling information write: 38572 Park Ave. Sandy, OR 97055 503-668-7002. Fax 503-668-1058 [email protected]

Andy MirkovichAugust 13, 2011 Historic Wallace, Idaho Accordion Celebration Full schedule private engagementsMaster Classes by appointment: 425-451-1256

Ken OlendorfBallard Elks weekly, Sundays 7 – 10 PMWeekly “casuals”For scheduling information write 532 - 28th Ave. Seattle, WA 98122 206-325-9245

Murl Allen SandersMay 21, 2011 7 and 9:30 PM – solo performance – Lakeside Bistro 11425 Rainer Ave. S. Seattle, WA 206-772-6891 ww.LakesideBistroSeattle.comJune 2 7PM – 11 PM John Howie Steak at the Braven Center, Bellevue, WA between 110th Ave. NE and 112th Ave NE on S. side of NE 8th – duo performance with bassist Chuck Kistler as part of the Bellevue Jazz FestivalJune 5 – 9 Accordion Camp, Silver Falls Conference Center, Silver Falls State Park, ORAugust 21 Cotati Accordion Festival solo performance Cotati, CAFull schedule private engagements; new music projectsFor scheduling information write: [email protected] PO Box 30553 Seattle, WA 98113, 206-781-8196

Lyle SchaeferFor scheduling information write: 11704 15th Ave. E Edgefi eld, WA 98372 253-927-7760

Sam’s Variety GemsSam Pecorilla: home 541-847-2282, cell 541-321-9088



Smilin’ Scandinavians For scheduling information contact: Toby Hanson11123 216th St. E Graham, WA 98338 253-875-8580 [email protected]://smilinscandivanians.com

Dennis SchadduckChina Jade Restaurant 87th & Greenwood Ave. NSeattle Sunday nights.

Joe SzaboFri – Sat. 6:30 – 9:30 PM Nonna Emilia’s RistoranteAloha, ORFor scheduling information: 13484 SW Devonshire Dr. Beaverton, OR 97005 503-641-2313

Syl’s Ya Sure Ya Betcha Band (WA)Syl’s Arizona Dance Band and Polka BandJune 19 Midsummer Dance Bellevue, WA 4 – 9 PMJuly 9 Dakota Club Renton 7 – 11 PMSept. 17 Sons of Norway Bothel 8 – 11:30 PMOct. 1 Sons of Norway Bothel 8 – 11:30 PMOct. 7 – 8 Oktoberfest- Deming Logging ShowOct. 25 – Nov 29 Arizona Schedule (Jan.- April, Nov. Arizona Schedule, 480-357-2585)For scheduling: Sylvia Jorgensen, WA contact: 253-845-9321, cell [email protected], www.fjordsong.com

SVEA TrioSvea Trio with the accordions. Richard Svensson and Bjarne Jacobsen206-523-3245, [email protected] www.winwins.com/sveatrio/

NW AccordionairesContact: Cooksie Kramer 425-828-9104

Most of our professional players keep their current and updated performance schedules on their web sites. Advance scheduling is diffi cult and often fl uid. Consult the contact information and web addresses for up to date information. Support them when you can.

Accordion Events CalendarBy Doris Osgood

[email protected]

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY SOCIALS SEATTLE, WA2nd Monday monthly: May 9 Gypsy Café June 13 Senior Center *note changing sites. No meeting July – August. Resume Sept. 12 at the West Seattle Senior Center. Contact: Bonnie Birch 206-622-4786. Social hour 6:30 PM. Music 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM.

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY SOCIALS TACOMA, WA2nd Thursday monthly: June 9, July 14, Aug. 11, Sept. 8 Lutheran Church 121st & Park Ave. across from PLU Library 7:00 – 9:30 PM contact: Dick Myking 253-537-0136

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY SOCIALS FOREST GROVE, OR4th Sundays April and October. Forest Grove Commu-nity Center, 2037 Douglas St. Forest Grove, OR. 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM. Contact: Doris Osgood 503-357-0417. [email protected] October 23, 2011.

ACCORDION CLUB OF CENTRAL OREGONBEND, OR2ND Saturday Monthly, 1:30 PM Cougar Springs Senior Living Facility Redmond, OR Contacts: Lillian Jones, 541-536-1531 [email protected] or Karl Kment, 541-548-0495 [email protected]

ACCORDION JAM IN SANDYSANDY, OR4th Saturday monthly noon – 4 PM meet at Shorty’s Corner Café 2 miles East of Sandy, OR on Hwy 26. Bring accordion, music, stand, and snack to share. Coffee provided. All players welcome. Contact Andy Jorgensen 503-668-3917 or 503-975-2380.

ACCORDION CLUB OF ROSEBURGROSEBURG, OR3rd Monday monthly 6:30 PM Green Community Church3777 Carnes Rd. Roseburg, OR 97470Pres. Karen Cordell 553 Little Valley Rd. Roseburg, OR 97471 541-784-1911 [email protected]

ACCORDION CLUB OF VANCOUVERVANCOUVER, B.C.www.meetup.com/Accordion-Club-of-Vancouvercontact: Haike Kingma, [email protected]

Looking for accordionist to play with a few times a month

Playing easier / intermediate music German / Scandinavian old time

dance music + standards Meet once to check compatibility

Terry George Rudd 503 235 [email protected]

Member Rose City Accordion Club, NWAS



ACCORDION INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SOCIETYSANTA BARBARA, CA2nd Sunday monthly 1 – 3 PM Vale Verde Retirement Theatre 900 Calle de los Amigos, Santa Barbara, CAAIMS P.O. Box 4511 Santa Barbara, CA 93140Info: Heinz Trick 805-685-2260www.santabarbaraaccordions.com

BROOKINGS ACCORDION CLUBBROOKINGS, OR4th Sat. monthly 2-4 PM, Evergreen Federal S&L, 850 Chetco Ave. Brookings, OR, Pres. Cami Meccia 541-469-8079

EMERALD VALLEY ACCORDION CLUBEUGENE, OR1st Monday monthly: 7:00 – 9:30 PM Veterans’ Memo-rial Bldg. 1626 Willamette St. Secretary Linda Gunn 541-726-6330 [email protected] V.P. Lou Mar-zano Social time 6 PM, business 6:45 PM

FAIRBANKS ACCORDION CLUBFAIRBANKS, AKMondays weekly 6 – 8 PM Pioneers Home, open to all free reed instruments. Contact: Christine Upton 907-457-3392

FIVE VALLEY ACCORDION ASSOCIATION MONTANA 5VAA Jams are 1- 5 Pm Pres. Helen Brady [email protected] 22 High Spirits Florence MTMay 27-29 Lone Pine campout with NWJune 12 Eagles Hamilton, MTJune 26 Sunrise Saloon Missoula, MTJuly 22-24 Picnic Stevensville, MT

Montana – NW Accordion AssociationContact Ralph Salomon 406- 675-0178 all NWAA Jams 2 – 6 PMMay 27 – 29 Lone Pine campout with 5VAAJune 5 Polson ElksJune 19 Kalispell Eagles

Montana – Great Falls Accordion PlayersJams are 1 PM – 5 PMJune 12 ElksJuly 10 MooseAug. 14 EaglesContact Pat Sharp for info: 406-452-4546

HUGO’S ACCORDION BANDMT. VERNON, WA2nd and 4th Monday monthly 6:00- 9:00 PMPres. Lois Yale 360-766-8713 lobo@fi dalgo.net9247 Marshall Rd. Bow, WA 98232

HOUSTON BAY AREA ACCORDION CLUBHOUSTON, TX2ND Wednesday monthly 5 – 9 PM Joe Brikha, Pres [email protected] www.bayareaaccordionclub.com

MEDFORD ACCORDION CLUBMEDFORD, OR4th Monday monthly 7 - 9 PM: Central Point Senior Center 123 N. 2nd St, Central Point, OR Jeannette Dewey, Pres. 1029 SE Rogue Dr. Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-471-7455

OKANAGAN ACCORDION CLUBKELOWNA, BCTuesdays weekly Sept. – May, Senior Center on RichterInfo contact: Rod Miller 250-317-9088

ROGUE RIVER ACCORDION CLUBROGUE RIVER, OR1st and 3rd Wednesdays monthly. 7 PM Council Chambers Rogue River City Hall, 133 Broadway St. Rogue River, OR. Pres. Margot Turrell 206 Creekside Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-479-9409 [email protected]

ROSE CITY ACCORDION CLUBPORTLAND, OR3rd Saturday monthly. 1 – 5 PM Milwaukie Public Safety Bldg, SE 32nd & Harrison, Milwaukie, OR.* meeting in September 4th Sat. Pres Steve Knapke 503-521-9140 email: [email protected] www.rcac.us

SEQUIM ACCORDION SOCIALSEQUIM, WA2nd Sunday, Odd numbered months, 1 PM Sequim Senior Center contact: Jeannie Berg- [email protected]

SIERRA NEVADA ACCORDIONSRENO, NVJohn Covarelli, Pres. 775-848-3777, [email protected]

SPOKANE ACCORDION ENSEMBLESPOKANE, WA weekly rehearsals 6- 9 PM Eileen Webber, Pres. [email protected], Patricia Bartell, director 509-998-5422



[email protected]

SPOKANE AND INLAND NORTHWEST ACC. CLUBSPOKANE, WA4th Monday monthly, 1520 W. 3rd and Maple in Spokane, at the Global Credit Union Bldg. Exit #280 off I-90. 6 – 9 PM, $3. at the door. Contact: Griff Bryan Ziegler, [email protected] , *208-651-2536 new contact number

TUALATIN VALLEY ACCORDIONISTS FOREST GROVE, OR1st Sat. monthly 10 AM – 1 PM Forest Grove Library Pacifi c Ave. Contact: Paul and Judy Bria 503-591-0504 [email protected]

VICTORIA ACCORDION CLUBVICTORIA, B.C. CANADA1st Sunday Monthly 2:30 PM, Victoria Edelweiss Club108 Niagra St., James Bay District Victoria, BCContact: John 250-386-7282 or 250-477-3098BUTTON BOX CAMPS JULY AND SEPTcontact Joe Smiell, 863 Portal Ave., Oakland, CA 94610510-832-6938

RCAC ACCORDION CAMP- SILVER FALLS CON-FERENCE CENTER June 5 - 10, 2011 near Sublim-ity, OR. Camp treasurer: Marlene Meissner 503-463-9909 [email protected]

LEAVENWORTH INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION CELEBRATION June 16 - 19, 2011 Leavenworth, WA. www.accordioncelebration.org www.nwasnews.com

KIMBERLEY OLD TIME ACCORDION COMPETI-TION KIMBERLEY, BCJuly 4- 9 , 2011, [email protected], 1-888-4KIOTAC or 250-427-7318VICTORIA ACCORDION FESTIVALVictoria, British Columbia July 14 - 17, 2011Featured performers: Frank Marocco and Jelena MilojevicCompetition, Concerts, Workshops, Open Stage, Trade Showwww.bcaccordion.ca 1-778-433-8700FAIRBANKS SUMMER ARTS FESTIVALJuly 17- 31, 2011 on the campus of U. of Alaska Fairbanks. www.fsaf.org contact 907-474-8869GREAT AMERICAN SQUEEZE OFFJuly 27 – 28, 2011 Detroit, MI Featured performers: Dick Contino, Cory Pesaturo, and

Corky Bennett contact: 775-351-7019

71st ANNUAL ATG FESTIVALGalla Rini CompetitionJuly 19 – 23, 2011 Orlando, FLdetails available soon @ www.accordions.com/atg

ACCORDION CELEBRATION – Historic Wallace Wallace, ID August 11 - 14, 2011 Aug. 12: Big Lou and Bruce Gassman in concertAug. 13 Andy Mirkovich, Cory Pesaturo, Bruce Gassman in concertwww.wallaceIdahoChamber.com

COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVALCotati, CA August 20 - 21, 2011www.cotatifest.comACCORDION EXTRAVAGANZA FESTIVALEDMONTON, ALBERTA September 23 – 25, 2011Featured performers: Anthony Rolando, Valerie Vaccio, Len Gedicainfo: 780-929-8836 [email protected] COUPE MONDIALEOctober 2 – 6, 2011 Shanghai, China

INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION CONVENTIONLas Vegas, NV, Oct. 31 – Nov. 3, 2011 Gold Coast Hotel and Casino http://accordioninfo.com/convention/ 1-800-472-1695 [email protected]

CongratulationsTerry Ranstad!

Terry entered the Central Oregon Talent contest this winter. It’s the fi rst time an accordionist has participat-ed in the event. Terry placed 2nd in the event out of a fi eld of 25. Way to go!



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