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WMAS NEWS UPDATE
May 26, 2008
Meeting Notes
All you had to do at the May 18 WMAS meeting was close your eyes; the music transported you to 1930s-era Manhattan and a dancehall named Val-Taro Restaurant and Bar. Dominic Karcic and Ray Orteggia, down for the weekend from Long Island, specialize in Val-Taro musette music, brought to the United States by immigrants from the Taro River Valley region south of Parma, Italy. The duo played us a variety of dance melodies, beautiful all of them, that in their day had couples crowding the dance floor. In fact, Dominic said, people often would not even wait for a Val-Taro event to begin; they would start dancing as the musicians tuned up. At our event one couple danced to some of the tunes while the rest of us listened raptly. Maybe our club’s next mission, now that the accordion is heard regularly in the best venues around town, is to remind people how much fun it is to dance to the accordion. And it doesn’t always have to be the polka.
More information about Val-Taro music is on the WMAS Miscellany page.
Dominic and Ray sold out of the CDs they brought to the meeting, but you can always have them send you one. Contact Dominic at dkarcic10@optonline.net, or (631) 864-4428.
At our next meeting members will take the “stage.” Please sign up now (by replying to this email) to play at the Fathers’ Day concert, June 15, at 4 pm. As always, we urge you to invite your friends and family, and to please bring refreshments.
Announcements
New tunebook for all accordions and concertinas:
Easy Squeezy Tunes by Wendy Morrison is for beginning players of all squeezeboxes, in the keys of C and G. Melody notation and chord symbols. Thirty-six uncommon and original tunes from the folk dance tradition: polkas, schottishes, waltzes, etc. Great practice and teaching tunes. See full description at http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/books/sbx-bks/easysqueezy.html.
A couple of concerts coming up next week:
Beyond the Pale, part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival
Monday, June 2, 7:30 pm
Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater
Washington DC Jewish Community Center
16th and Q streets, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Eric Stein, mandolin; Bret Higgins, bass; Milos Popovic, accordion; Martin van de Ven, clarinet; Bogdan Djukic, violin and percussion; Aleksandar Gajic, violin and viola.
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Members, students, seniors get $5 off.
Critically acclaimed and award-winning, Toronto's Beyond the Pale is one of the most exciting ensembles in the Canadian folk, roots, and world music scenes. Their explosive acoustic sound is inspired by a wide range of cross-cultural influences, from European folk styles (klezmer, Balkan, Gypsy, Romanian) to contemporary and North American styles (bluegrass, jazz, reggae, funk, and more).
Accordion Concert featuring Accordions for Kids/U.S.A.
of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area
and Dale E. Wise, M.M.E.
Saturday, June 7, 2008, 7:00 pm
Oakton United Methodist Church
Rte. 123 & Hunter Mill Rd.
Oakton, VA 22124
sponsored by
Accordion Plus, LLC
POB 53 / Burr Hill, VA 22433
Accordionplus@aol.com / Accordionplus.com
540-854-5209