2014 News Archive
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
January 21, 2014
Happy Snow Day!
Our group held a fun and well-attended play-along session on January 12. Joan Grauman brought sheet music for a number of songs that were popular in the 1890s, while Joe Kulick offered Beatles sheet music, Jim Vandelly distributed music for a German song that was his mother’s favorite (“You Can’t Be True, Dear”), and the Juszczyks played and sang the Polish song that went over so well at our January 2013 meeting: “Gweboka Studzienka.” Hear it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yA-9QI9wjk
Thanks to all for the contributions, including Joan for leading us through much of the music and Halina Baras-Jones for taking over for the Beatles songs.
Thanks also to Peter DiGiovanni for being the first greeter of the new year!
February and March Meetings
Our February meeting is coming up quickly; it’s on the 9th. We’ll be celebrating our 11th year as a club and, as usual, it will be a dance party. Please sign up to play a dance tune (waltzes and polkas are the dances most people know) and please plan to bring snacks to share. We’ll order a birthday cake for the occasion.
On March 16 we will try something new: a mini International Festival featuring three cultures. Yimeng Huang will talk about and demonstrate Chinese music; Mike Rubin will do the same for Jewish music; and Joan Grauman and a couple of her former band mates will take on Bulgarian music. At least some of the presenters will wear traditional dress, and we will encourage everyone to bring ethnic snacks, as well as costumes and other items to display. Yimeng, Mike, and Joan will bring sheet music for a couple of easy ethnic songs so everyone can join in. Don’t forget your accordions!
We still need greeters for the February and March meetings, so if you’d like to do the honors, please reply to this message. The greeter plays from about 3:45 until about 4:05, and it’s a good opportunity to try out new songs or otherwise perform without the stress of a dead-silent audience staring at you.
Upcoming Events
The American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) will be honoring Jim Vandelly at its March 28-30, 2014, festival at the Marriott Hotel in Whippany, New Jersey. The tribute banquet will take place Saturday, March 29, at 6 pm, and the Potomac Ensemble will perform that evening, along with a number of other artists. Another not-to-be-missed event will take place Friday evening the 28th: Rik Kaplan will be organizing a “French Experience” concert featuring the Crawdaddies with accordionist Kraig Greff (who’s performed for our club), the Musette Project with Dallas Vietty (ditto), Dee Langley, and Joanna Darrow.
The festival schedule also includes lots of workshops, and the weekend is always packed with fun.
More information is at www.aamsaccordionfestival.com. Please register soon by mailing your registration form, menu choice for the banquet, and check to:
Joanna Arnold Darrow
322 Haddon Avenue
Westmont, NJ 08108
Questions to (856)854-6628 or
[email protected]
NOVA Community Chorus Concerts
Halina Banas-Jones will be singing in three upcoming choral concerts:
Tuesday, February 25, 7:30 pm
Black History Month Concert: Chorus and Jazz Band
Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center
Northern Virginia Community College
Alexandria Campus
3001 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22311-5097
The NOVA Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Reiss’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, in these two concerts:
Sunday, March 30, 3 pm at
TC Williams HS
3300 King Street
Alexandria, VA
Sunday, April 6, 3 pm
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G Street, NW
Washington DC
World Artists Experiences in partnership with the Embassy of Serbia
Proudly presents world-renowned accordionist Petar Maric
The program will consist of folk and classical music performed on both the acoustic and electronic accordion. A native of Belgrade in Serbia, Mr. Maric has been a student of the accordion since the age of five and has studied at music schools throughout Europe. He has also won international competitions for accordion players in countries from Norway to Italy.
Performances are at 7 pm as follows:
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Salisbury University, Holloway Hall
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Avalon Theatre
40 East Dover Street
Easton, MD 21601
Sunday, February 23, 2014
First Presbyterian Church of Cumberland
11 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Saturday, March 1, 7 pm
The Prince George County Historical Society Inc,
6406 Courthouse Road
Prince George, Virginia 23875
Sunday, March 2, 3 pm
Dinwiddie Courthouse
14008 Boydton Plank Road
Dinwiddie, VA
Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 7 pm
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tickets are not required; however seating is on a first-come basis.
***********************************************************************************************************************
January 21, 2014
Happy Snow Day!
Our group held a fun and well-attended play-along session on January 12. Joan Grauman brought sheet music for a number of songs that were popular in the 1890s, while Joe Kulick offered Beatles sheet music, Jim Vandelly distributed music for a German song that was his mother’s favorite (“You Can’t Be True, Dear”), and the Juszczyks played and sang the Polish song that went over so well at our January 2013 meeting: “Gweboka Studzienka.” Hear it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yA-9QI9wjk
Thanks to all for the contributions, including Joan for leading us through much of the music and Halina Baras-Jones for taking over for the Beatles songs.
Thanks also to Peter DiGiovanni for being the first greeter of the new year!
February and March Meetings
Our February meeting is coming up quickly; it’s on the 9th. We’ll be celebrating our 11th year as a club and, as usual, it will be a dance party. Please sign up to play a dance tune (waltzes and polkas are the dances most people know) and please plan to bring snacks to share. We’ll order a birthday cake for the occasion.
On March 16 we will try something new: a mini International Festival featuring three cultures. Yimeng Huang will talk about and demonstrate Chinese music; Mike Rubin will do the same for Jewish music; and Joan Grauman and a couple of her former band mates will take on Bulgarian music. At least some of the presenters will wear traditional dress, and we will encourage everyone to bring ethnic snacks, as well as costumes and other items to display. Yimeng, Mike, and Joan will bring sheet music for a couple of easy ethnic songs so everyone can join in. Don’t forget your accordions!
We still need greeters for the February and March meetings, so if you’d like to do the honors, please reply to this message. The greeter plays from about 3:45 until about 4:05, and it’s a good opportunity to try out new songs or otherwise perform without the stress of a dead-silent audience staring at you.
Upcoming Events
The American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) will be honoring Jim Vandelly at its March 28-30, 2014, festival at the Marriott Hotel in Whippany, New Jersey. The tribute banquet will take place Saturday, March 29, at 6 pm, and the Potomac Ensemble will perform that evening, along with a number of other artists. Another not-to-be-missed event will take place Friday evening the 28th: Rik Kaplan will be organizing a “French Experience” concert featuring the Crawdaddies with accordionist Kraig Greff (who’s performed for our club), the Musette Project with Dallas Vietty (ditto), Dee Langley, and Joanna Darrow.
The festival schedule also includes lots of workshops, and the weekend is always packed with fun.
More information is at www.aamsaccordionfestival.com. Please register soon by mailing your registration form, menu choice for the banquet, and check to:
Joanna Arnold Darrow
322 Haddon Avenue
Westmont, NJ 08108
Questions to (856)854-6628 or
[email protected]
NOVA Community Chorus Concerts
Halina Banas-Jones will be singing in three upcoming choral concerts:
Tuesday, February 25, 7:30 pm
Black History Month Concert: Chorus and Jazz Band
Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center
Northern Virginia Community College
Alexandria Campus
3001 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22311-5097
The NOVA Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Reiss’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, in these two concerts:
Sunday, March 30, 3 pm at
TC Williams HS
3300 King Street
Alexandria, VA
Sunday, April 6, 3 pm
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G Street, NW
Washington DC
World Artists Experiences in partnership with the Embassy of Serbia
Proudly presents world-renowned accordionist Petar Maric
The program will consist of folk and classical music performed on both the acoustic and electronic accordion. A native of Belgrade in Serbia, Mr. Maric has been a student of the accordion since the age of five and has studied at music schools throughout Europe. He has also won international competitions for accordion players in countries from Norway to Italy.
Performances are at 7 pm as follows:
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Salisbury University, Holloway Hall
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Avalon Theatre
40 East Dover Street
Easton, MD 21601
Sunday, February 23, 2014
First Presbyterian Church of Cumberland
11 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Saturday, March 1, 7 pm
The Prince George County Historical Society Inc,
6406 Courthouse Road
Prince George, Virginia 23875
Sunday, March 2, 3 pm
Dinwiddie Courthouse
14008 Boydton Plank Road
Dinwiddie, VA
Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 7 pm
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tickets are not required; however seating is on a first-come basis.
***********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
February 22, 2014
Meeting Notes
Another year, another anniversary! Our February 9 meeting started our 12th year as a club, and we celebrated with music, dancing, balloons, and birthday cake. Greeter Joan Grauman got the party rolling with some upbeat tunes. Lots of people performed, and lots of others filled the dance floor. Paul Aebersold and Jean Caswell taught a schottische and a circle dance involving waltzing (and a few collisions), as Joan pumped out melodies with the proper beat.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the celebration a big success: to Lee and Ron Paulson for decorating the room with a Valentine’s theme; to JoAnn and John Pankow for coordinating the refreshments; to Joan for organizing the entertainment; and to everybody who played, danced, brought snacks to share, and enjoyed the day. Thanks also to Valentine Zadnik and his granddaughter for letting us share your birthdays.
Next Month
We have lots to look forward to at our March 16 meeting. First, we will be only four days away from the first day of spring and a week into daylight savings time. Second, we will be trying something new. We will be holding a mini International Festival in which some of our members will discuss and demonstrate music from various cultures: Yimeng Huang, Chinese; Mike Rubin, Jewish; Robert Ford, Bolivian; Joan Grauman, Bulgarian; and Frank Vidergar, Slovenian. To carry the theme further, we encourage you all to bring snacks representative of your ethnic background and to wear folk costumes or bring costumes and other items to display. The presenters will choose sheet music for a play-along after the program, so don’t forget your accordions!
Steve Albertini has signed up as greeter for the March meeting, and we look forward to hearing him, too.
Upcoming Events
Alan Kelly Gang (Irish band) at Artisphere
Wednesday, March 5, 8 pm
1101 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington VA 22209
703-875-1100
Fronted by Ireland’s piano accordion maestro, The Alan Kelly Gang sits firmly at the cutting edge of the Traditional and World music scenes. Hailed by international critics for their consummate musicianship and powerful, emotive performance, they deliver a unique and diverse perspective to the Celtic repertoire, their musical dialogue finding influences that span the Celtic countries, but with Ireland always sternly at the helm.
Alan Kelly, the main driving force behind the Gang, has been a busy performer on the scene for 20 odd years working with many different projects and musicians, some of his own motivation and some as musical collaborations with other top musician friends. Over the years, Alan has toured and recorded with artists such as: Eddi Reader, Matt Molloy, Sean Keane, Cathy Ryan, Michael McGoldrick, Karen Casey, De Dannan, Lúnasa and Alison Brown. The band also includes acclaimed fiddle virtuoso Alasdair White of Battlefield Band.
Kelly’s critically acclaimed 1997 debut album Out of the Blue exploded onto the traditional scene with such impact that he is generally credited with ‘making the piano accordion hip again’. July 2000 saw the release of Kelly’s second solo album Mosaic, which was voted one of the ‘top ten trad albums’ by both the Irish Times and Hot Press Magazine. Irish Music Magazine also nominated Mosaic for ‘Best Crossover album’ of the year.
More information and tickets ($18) at http://www.artisphere.com/calendar/event-details/Music/ALAN-KELLY-GANG.aspx
AAMS Festival March 28-30, Whippany, NJ
The American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) will be honoring Jim Vandelly at its March 28-30, 2014, festival at the Marriott Hotel in Whippany, New Jersey. The tribute banquet will take place Saturday, March 29, at 6 pm, and the Potomac Ensemble will perform that evening, along with a number of other artists. Another not-to-be-missed event will take place Friday evening the 28th: Rik Kaplan will be organizing a “French Experience” concert featuring the Crawdaddies with accordionist Kraig Greff (who’s performed for our club), the Musette Project with Dallas Vietty (ditto), Dee Langley, and Joanna Darrow.
The festival schedule also includes lots of workshops, and the weekend is always packed with fun.
More information is attached and at www.aamsaccordionfestival.com. Please register soon by mailing your registration form, menu choice for the banquet, and check to:
Joanna Arnold Darrow
322 Haddon Avenue
Westmont, NJ 08108
Questions to (856)854-6628 or
[email protected]
NOVA Community Chorus Concerts
Halina Banas-Jones will be singing in three upcoming choral concerts:
Tuesday, February 25, 7:30 pm
Black History Month Concert: Chorus and Jazz Band
Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center
Northern Virginia Community College
Alexandria Campus
3001 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22311-5097
The NOVA Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Reiss’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, in these two concerts:
Sunday, March 30, 3 pm at
TC Williams HS
3300 King Street
Alexandria, VA
Sunday, April 6, 3 pm
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G Street, NW
Washington DC
World Artists Experiences in partnership with the Embassy of Serbia
Proudly presents world-renowned accordionist Petar Maric
The program will consist of folk and classical music performed on both the acoustic and electronic accordion. A native of Belgrade in Serbia, Mr. Maric has been a student of the accordion since the age of five and has studied at music schools throughout Europe. He has also won international competitions for accordion players in countries from Norway to Italy.
Performances are as follows:
Sunday, February 23, 3 pm
First Presbyterian Church of Cumberland
11 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Saturday, March 1, 7 pm
The Prince George County Historical Society Inc,
6406 Courthouse Road
Prince George, Virginia 23875
Sunday, March 2, 3 pm
Dinwiddie Courthouse
14008 Boydton Plank Road
Dinwiddie, VA
Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 7 pm
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tickets are not required; however seating is on a first-come basis. More info at http://www.worldartists.org/waehome/index.cfm
**********************************************************************************************************************
February 22, 2014
Meeting Notes
Another year, another anniversary! Our February 9 meeting started our 12th year as a club, and we celebrated with music, dancing, balloons, and birthday cake. Greeter Joan Grauman got the party rolling with some upbeat tunes. Lots of people performed, and lots of others filled the dance floor. Paul Aebersold and Jean Caswell taught a schottische and a circle dance involving waltzing (and a few collisions), as Joan pumped out melodies with the proper beat.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the celebration a big success: to Lee and Ron Paulson for decorating the room with a Valentine’s theme; to JoAnn and John Pankow for coordinating the refreshments; to Joan for organizing the entertainment; and to everybody who played, danced, brought snacks to share, and enjoyed the day. Thanks also to Valentine Zadnik and his granddaughter for letting us share your birthdays.
Next Month
We have lots to look forward to at our March 16 meeting. First, we will be only four days away from the first day of spring and a week into daylight savings time. Second, we will be trying something new. We will be holding a mini International Festival in which some of our members will discuss and demonstrate music from various cultures: Yimeng Huang, Chinese; Mike Rubin, Jewish; Robert Ford, Bolivian; Joan Grauman, Bulgarian; and Frank Vidergar, Slovenian. To carry the theme further, we encourage you all to bring snacks representative of your ethnic background and to wear folk costumes or bring costumes and other items to display. The presenters will choose sheet music for a play-along after the program, so don’t forget your accordions!
Steve Albertini has signed up as greeter for the March meeting, and we look forward to hearing him, too.
Upcoming Events
Alan Kelly Gang (Irish band) at Artisphere
Wednesday, March 5, 8 pm
1101 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington VA 22209
703-875-1100
Fronted by Ireland’s piano accordion maestro, The Alan Kelly Gang sits firmly at the cutting edge of the Traditional and World music scenes. Hailed by international critics for their consummate musicianship and powerful, emotive performance, they deliver a unique and diverse perspective to the Celtic repertoire, their musical dialogue finding influences that span the Celtic countries, but with Ireland always sternly at the helm.
Alan Kelly, the main driving force behind the Gang, has been a busy performer on the scene for 20 odd years working with many different projects and musicians, some of his own motivation and some as musical collaborations with other top musician friends. Over the years, Alan has toured and recorded with artists such as: Eddi Reader, Matt Molloy, Sean Keane, Cathy Ryan, Michael McGoldrick, Karen Casey, De Dannan, Lúnasa and Alison Brown. The band also includes acclaimed fiddle virtuoso Alasdair White of Battlefield Band.
Kelly’s critically acclaimed 1997 debut album Out of the Blue exploded onto the traditional scene with such impact that he is generally credited with ‘making the piano accordion hip again’. July 2000 saw the release of Kelly’s second solo album Mosaic, which was voted one of the ‘top ten trad albums’ by both the Irish Times and Hot Press Magazine. Irish Music Magazine also nominated Mosaic for ‘Best Crossover album’ of the year.
More information and tickets ($18) at http://www.artisphere.com/calendar/event-details/Music/ALAN-KELLY-GANG.aspx
AAMS Festival March 28-30, Whippany, NJ
The American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) will be honoring Jim Vandelly at its March 28-30, 2014, festival at the Marriott Hotel in Whippany, New Jersey. The tribute banquet will take place Saturday, March 29, at 6 pm, and the Potomac Ensemble will perform that evening, along with a number of other artists. Another not-to-be-missed event will take place Friday evening the 28th: Rik Kaplan will be organizing a “French Experience” concert featuring the Crawdaddies with accordionist Kraig Greff (who’s performed for our club), the Musette Project with Dallas Vietty (ditto), Dee Langley, and Joanna Darrow.
The festival schedule also includes lots of workshops, and the weekend is always packed with fun.
More information is attached and at www.aamsaccordionfestival.com. Please register soon by mailing your registration form, menu choice for the banquet, and check to:
Joanna Arnold Darrow
322 Haddon Avenue
Westmont, NJ 08108
Questions to (856)854-6628 or
[email protected]
NOVA Community Chorus Concerts
Halina Banas-Jones will be singing in three upcoming choral concerts:
Tuesday, February 25, 7:30 pm
Black History Month Concert: Chorus and Jazz Band
Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center
Northern Virginia Community College
Alexandria Campus
3001 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22311-5097
The NOVA Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Reiss’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, in these two concerts:
Sunday, March 30, 3 pm at
TC Williams HS
3300 King Street
Alexandria, VA
Sunday, April 6, 3 pm
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G Street, NW
Washington DC
World Artists Experiences in partnership with the Embassy of Serbia
Proudly presents world-renowned accordionist Petar Maric
The program will consist of folk and classical music performed on both the acoustic and electronic accordion. A native of Belgrade in Serbia, Mr. Maric has been a student of the accordion since the age of five and has studied at music schools throughout Europe. He has also won international competitions for accordion players in countries from Norway to Italy.
Performances are as follows:
Sunday, February 23, 3 pm
First Presbyterian Church of Cumberland
11 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Saturday, March 1, 7 pm
The Prince George County Historical Society Inc,
6406 Courthouse Road
Prince George, Virginia 23875
Sunday, March 2, 3 pm
Dinwiddie Courthouse
14008 Boydton Plank Road
Dinwiddie, VA
Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 7 pm
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tickets are not required; however seating is on a first-come basis. More info at http://www.worldartists.org/waehome/index.cfm
**********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
March 19, 2014
Meeting Notes
Sixty people turned out, despite dire weather forecasts, for WMAS’s international mini-festival last Sunday. The event was so successful, and such fun, that we are now calling it WMAS’s first international mini-festival. Because of time constraints, the presentations had to stay short and we had to turn down some people who offered to present, but we will remedy that situation with a second edition sometime in the near future.
Here’s a synopsis of our brief musical trip around the world.
Steve Albertini, our greeter, kicked off the meeting with a variety of pieces: “Canadian Sunset,” “Cumbia Cantina,” “Hesitation Blues,” and “Fan It.”
The formal program started with Mike Rubin who, dressed as a klezmer musician, presented a brief history of Jewish music. According to Mike, Jewish music can be organized into seven categories: Cantorial or Liturgical; Ladino; Klezmer; Yiddish; Israeli; Holiday; and American Jewish music. He played a selection or two in each category and distributed a handout that included the sheet music for those pieces.
Yimeng Huang played recordings of traditional Chinese music, showed pictures of traditional instruments, and explained the Chinese scale and notation system, both of which are completely different from their Western counterparts. She then introduced her friend Liping He, who sang a few Chinese folk songs to Yimeng’s accordion accompaniment. Yimeng had prepared some display boards showing more details about the instruments, notation, and other aspects of Chinese music, and she invited audience members to check them out after the program.
Robert Ford, who grew up in La Paz, Bolivia, and twice represented that country at the Coupe Mondiale accordion competition, played examples of Bolivian folk songs from various regions. He remembered that, in Bolivia, parties would start out with popular music (disco at the time), but as the evening progressed, people would sing, and they would always return to the old folk songs.
Joan Grauman, dressed in a traditional-style Bulgarian dress, played examples of the Bulgarian and Macedonian folk dances she and her Balkan/Gypsy band BAMCO performed together for 18 years, until 2001. Joan was accompanied by former bandmate Brad Sidwell on dumbek, the Middle Eastern drum that is also used in Balkan music. Joan had also brought items to display: mainly clothing and photographs.
The final presentation of the afternoon was by Frank Vidergar, who played examples of Slovenian and Slovenian-American pieces on the three-row diatonic accordion. Many people are familiar with Cleveland’s Frankie Yankovich, and when Frank played “Just Because,” the audience sang along. The music was irresistibly danceable, as Mike Rubin, Davita Hayes, and Joyce Day demonstrated.
Jim Vandelly, Valentine and Donna Zadnik, Paul Aebersold, Joyce Day, and Karen and Luis Uribe wore traditional dress from Russia, Slovenia, Bavaria, Austria, and Mexico, respectively, and Jim also brought a number of items to display, among them photographs, song books, a small bayan, and a balalaika. Jim demonstrated the balalaika after the formal program, and Frank Vidergar played duets with John Grahor, a new member who brought along his own three-row diatonic accordion.
We had planned to try out sheet music provided by each presenter but decided to postpone because it had started to snow.
Thanks to everyone who helped make Sunday such a success!
Next Month
On Sunday, April 13, at 4 pm, Pat Racciopa will lead a workshop on basic accordion repairs and then perform a concert for us. Please bring your accordions for a play-along afterwards. Please note that Pat will not be repairing accordions but rather teaching us how to make the repairs ourselves. Paul Aebersold will be the greeter for April.
Speaking of Paul …
Please hold the date for his annual Boat Party: June 14. An invitation is attached, and we’ll send a reminder closer to the date.
May 18 Meeting
On Sunday, May 18, at 4 pm, we will welcome guest artists Volodymyr and Natalia Marunych, from Kiev, playing the bayan and domra. The pair will be accompanied by the Washington Balalaika Society’s Russkiye Musikanti ensemble, which includes our own Peter DiGiovanni on accordion.
Following the concert we’ll distribute lead sheets and try playing some of this uplifting music ourselves, so please bring your accordions!
As usual for our guest-artist concerts, we will be asking nonmembers for an $8 donation at the door.
By the way, the Marunyches will be the guest soloists in the Washington Balalaika Society concerts on May 31 and June 1 (details below).
Also Coming Up …
Last Polka at Blob’s
Blob’s Park, a German biergarten operating in Jessup, Maryland, since the 1930s, will be closing its doors for good at end of this month – and this time it really is the end. Our friend Mike Surratt and his band The Continentals will be serenading Blob’s into the great beyond:
Sunday, March 30, 4:30-8:30 pm – The Last Polka Dance at BLOB’S PARK - Jessup, MD - 410-799-7130 - http://www.blobspark.net - $8.
WMAS member Halina Banas-Jones will be singing in two upcoming choral concerts:
The NOVA Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Reiss’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, in these two concerts:
Sunday, March 30, 3 pm at
TC Williams HS
3300 King Street
Alexandria, VA
Sunday, April 6, 3 pm
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G Street, NW
Washington DC
AAMS Festival March 28-30, Whippany, NJ
The American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) will be honoring Jim Vandelly at its March 28-30, 2014, festival at the Marriott Hotel in Whippany, New Jersey. The tribute banquet will take place Saturday, March 29, at 6 pm, and the Potomac Ensemble will perform that evening, along with a number of other artists. Another not-to-be-missed event will take place Friday evening the 28th: Rik Kaplan will be organizing a “French Experience” concert featuring the Crawdaddies with accordionist Kraig Greff (who’s performed for our club), the Musette Project with Dallas Vietty (ditto), Dee Langley, and Joanna Darrow.
The festival schedule also includes lots of workshops (Joan Grauman will lead one on playing Balkan folk music), and the weekend is always packed with fun.
More information is at www.aamsaccordionfestival.com. Please register ASAP by mailing your registration form, menu choice for the banquet, and check to:
Joanna Arnold Darrow
322 Haddon Avenue
Westmont, NJ 08108
Questions to 856-854-6628 or
[email protected]
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra
The 55-piece Washington Balalaika Society will be presenting its spring concerts on May 31 at 8 pm at the Fitzgerald Theater, 603 Edmonston Road, Rockville, and on June 1 at 3 pm at the Yorktown High School Theater, 5201 28th Street N., Arlington. Under the professional baton of conductor Svetlana Nikonova, this orchestra is the largest Russian folk orchestra outside of Russia. The music is a wonderful combination of the scintillating sound of the picked and strummed instruments, uplifting melodies, engaging rhythms, and satisfying harmonies. Peter DiGiovanni will have tickets for the Virginia concert; while the Fitzgerald handles its own tickets. More info will be available on our next update – meanwhile, this selection from a 2008 performance will whet your appetite!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczurziLPYI
*************************************************************************************************************************
March 19, 2014
Meeting Notes
Sixty people turned out, despite dire weather forecasts, for WMAS’s international mini-festival last Sunday. The event was so successful, and such fun, that we are now calling it WMAS’s first international mini-festival. Because of time constraints, the presentations had to stay short and we had to turn down some people who offered to present, but we will remedy that situation with a second edition sometime in the near future.
Here’s a synopsis of our brief musical trip around the world.
Steve Albertini, our greeter, kicked off the meeting with a variety of pieces: “Canadian Sunset,” “Cumbia Cantina,” “Hesitation Blues,” and “Fan It.”
The formal program started with Mike Rubin who, dressed as a klezmer musician, presented a brief history of Jewish music. According to Mike, Jewish music can be organized into seven categories: Cantorial or Liturgical; Ladino; Klezmer; Yiddish; Israeli; Holiday; and American Jewish music. He played a selection or two in each category and distributed a handout that included the sheet music for those pieces.
Yimeng Huang played recordings of traditional Chinese music, showed pictures of traditional instruments, and explained the Chinese scale and notation system, both of which are completely different from their Western counterparts. She then introduced her friend Liping He, who sang a few Chinese folk songs to Yimeng’s accordion accompaniment. Yimeng had prepared some display boards showing more details about the instruments, notation, and other aspects of Chinese music, and she invited audience members to check them out after the program.
Robert Ford, who grew up in La Paz, Bolivia, and twice represented that country at the Coupe Mondiale accordion competition, played examples of Bolivian folk songs from various regions. He remembered that, in Bolivia, parties would start out with popular music (disco at the time), but as the evening progressed, people would sing, and they would always return to the old folk songs.
Joan Grauman, dressed in a traditional-style Bulgarian dress, played examples of the Bulgarian and Macedonian folk dances she and her Balkan/Gypsy band BAMCO performed together for 18 years, until 2001. Joan was accompanied by former bandmate Brad Sidwell on dumbek, the Middle Eastern drum that is also used in Balkan music. Joan had also brought items to display: mainly clothing and photographs.
The final presentation of the afternoon was by Frank Vidergar, who played examples of Slovenian and Slovenian-American pieces on the three-row diatonic accordion. Many people are familiar with Cleveland’s Frankie Yankovich, and when Frank played “Just Because,” the audience sang along. The music was irresistibly danceable, as Mike Rubin, Davita Hayes, and Joyce Day demonstrated.
Jim Vandelly, Valentine and Donna Zadnik, Paul Aebersold, Joyce Day, and Karen and Luis Uribe wore traditional dress from Russia, Slovenia, Bavaria, Austria, and Mexico, respectively, and Jim also brought a number of items to display, among them photographs, song books, a small bayan, and a balalaika. Jim demonstrated the balalaika after the formal program, and Frank Vidergar played duets with John Grahor, a new member who brought along his own three-row diatonic accordion.
We had planned to try out sheet music provided by each presenter but decided to postpone because it had started to snow.
Thanks to everyone who helped make Sunday such a success!
Next Month
On Sunday, April 13, at 4 pm, Pat Racciopa will lead a workshop on basic accordion repairs and then perform a concert for us. Please bring your accordions for a play-along afterwards. Please note that Pat will not be repairing accordions but rather teaching us how to make the repairs ourselves. Paul Aebersold will be the greeter for April.
Speaking of Paul …
Please hold the date for his annual Boat Party: June 14. An invitation is attached, and we’ll send a reminder closer to the date.
May 18 Meeting
On Sunday, May 18, at 4 pm, we will welcome guest artists Volodymyr and Natalia Marunych, from Kiev, playing the bayan and domra. The pair will be accompanied by the Washington Balalaika Society’s Russkiye Musikanti ensemble, which includes our own Peter DiGiovanni on accordion.
Following the concert we’ll distribute lead sheets and try playing some of this uplifting music ourselves, so please bring your accordions!
As usual for our guest-artist concerts, we will be asking nonmembers for an $8 donation at the door.
By the way, the Marunyches will be the guest soloists in the Washington Balalaika Society concerts on May 31 and June 1 (details below).
Also Coming Up …
Last Polka at Blob’s
Blob’s Park, a German biergarten operating in Jessup, Maryland, since the 1930s, will be closing its doors for good at end of this month – and this time it really is the end. Our friend Mike Surratt and his band The Continentals will be serenading Blob’s into the great beyond:
Sunday, March 30, 4:30-8:30 pm – The Last Polka Dance at BLOB’S PARK - Jessup, MD - 410-799-7130 - http://www.blobspark.net - $8.
WMAS member Halina Banas-Jones will be singing in two upcoming choral concerts:
The NOVA Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Reiss’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, in these two concerts:
Sunday, March 30, 3 pm at
TC Williams HS
3300 King Street
Alexandria, VA
Sunday, April 6, 3 pm
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G Street, NW
Washington DC
AAMS Festival March 28-30, Whippany, NJ
The American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) will be honoring Jim Vandelly at its March 28-30, 2014, festival at the Marriott Hotel in Whippany, New Jersey. The tribute banquet will take place Saturday, March 29, at 6 pm, and the Potomac Ensemble will perform that evening, along with a number of other artists. Another not-to-be-missed event will take place Friday evening the 28th: Rik Kaplan will be organizing a “French Experience” concert featuring the Crawdaddies with accordionist Kraig Greff (who’s performed for our club), the Musette Project with Dallas Vietty (ditto), Dee Langley, and Joanna Darrow.
The festival schedule also includes lots of workshops (Joan Grauman will lead one on playing Balkan folk music), and the weekend is always packed with fun.
More information is at www.aamsaccordionfestival.com. Please register ASAP by mailing your registration form, menu choice for the banquet, and check to:
Joanna Arnold Darrow
322 Haddon Avenue
Westmont, NJ 08108
Questions to 856-854-6628 or
[email protected]
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra
The 55-piece Washington Balalaika Society will be presenting its spring concerts on May 31 at 8 pm at the Fitzgerald Theater, 603 Edmonston Road, Rockville, and on June 1 at 3 pm at the Yorktown High School Theater, 5201 28th Street N., Arlington. Under the professional baton of conductor Svetlana Nikonova, this orchestra is the largest Russian folk orchestra outside of Russia. The music is a wonderful combination of the scintillating sound of the picked and strummed instruments, uplifting melodies, engaging rhythms, and satisfying harmonies. Peter DiGiovanni will have tickets for the Virginia concert; while the Fitzgerald handles its own tickets. More info will be available on our next update – meanwhile, this selection from a 2008 performance will whet your appetite!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczurziLPYI
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WMAS NEWS UPDATE
April 30, 2014
Meeting Notes
Pat Racioppa, the headliner for our April meeting, is a man of many talents. He led us through a demonstration of quick fixes to the accordion, the type that you might need after arriving to play a gig and finding a key pulled out or a button fallen in or a reed dropped off. Many of us harbor a healthy fear of opening our instruments and tinkering with the insides, but Pat made us want to try, probably on an extra instrument, though.
When Pat travels he carries a bee's wax/linseed oil blend, screwdrivers, tacky glue (thicker and stronger than Elmer's), extra valves, scisssors and razor blades, a metal tube (or substitute a ball-point pen), pencils, soldering iron, guitar tuner, and small curved pliers.
Here are some of Pat's tips:
- Don't store your accordion anyplace you wouldn't feel comfortable staying.
- Replacement valves may be plastic or leather, but use leather on the lowest bassoon reeds.
- Block basses with a folded piece of cardboard before traveling or shipping.
- If the accordion will be checked in an airplane, or shipped by air, tape down two keys to prevent pressure from building up inside the instrument.
- When you remove the pins on a new accordion, be sure to put them back in the same holes. This is not an issue on older accordions, because the pins have most likely already been removed many times and not replaced in the same holes.
Following the presentation, Pat played a short but lovely set of songs:
My Funny Valentine
Lazy Mary (aka Butcher Boy)
Come Fly With Me
Sunny Gets Blue (with Connie Racioppa on vocals)
Cottage Cheese and Noodles
Memories
Dan Grauman video-recorded the workshop/concert, and maybe we can get him to post it on YouTube.
Thanks go also to Paul Aebersold, the April greeter.
Next Meeting
On Sunday, May 18, at 4 pm, we will welcome guest artists Volodymyr and Natalia Marunych, from Kiev, playing the bayan and domra. The pair will be accompanied by the Washington Balalaika Society’s Russkiye Musikanti ensemble, which includes our own Peter DiGiovanni on accordion.
Following the concert we’ll distribute lead sheets and try playing some of this uplifting music ourselves, so please bring your accordions!
As usual for our guest-artist concerts, we will be asking nonmembers for an $8 donation at the door.
By the way, the Marunyches will be the guest soloists in the Washington Balalaika Society concerts on May 31 and June 1.
Yimeng Huang and Mara Cherkasky will greet for the May concert.
Announcements
From Joan Grauman, AAA Historian:
Announcing the 2014 AAA Festival, which will be held in beautiful, historic Tarrytown, NY, July 9-13. Get your reservations now at the Doubletree Hotel (on the waterfront!) in Tarrytown (914-631-5700) for the AAA special group discount. Featured artists include Vladimir Mollov, who will perform and also lead the Youth Jazz Ensemble; Dallas Vietty; Guy Klucevsek accompanied by violinist Todd Reynolds; Steve Albini on Roland accordion & vocals; Mario Tacca and Friends; Dr. Robert McMahan; Frank Carozza and others. There will be exciting workshops, including one on Balkan ornamentation by Lauren Brody, and one on Chinese music and musical notation by Yimeng Huang. The festival orchestra will be conducted by our AAA President, Linda Soley Reed, and our youth orchestra will be conducted by Mary Tokarski. Registration forms and more info is now online at: www.ameraccord.com. Hope to see you there!
From Jim Vandelly:
If you go to JIM VANDELLY on YouTube, you will see a slideshow made by Dan and Joan Grauman and shown at my "honoree" presentation at the American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) banquet concert, March 28, 2014. The first B&W photo shows me playing for my father (the singer) at Oak Hill Country Club in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1962. He died in California in 1964.
I have sent this notice to many of the people who are pictured in the slide show.
The slide show includes many people who were and are part of my life's story. If you recognize anyone in the photos, please let them know they can see the slide show on YouTube.
There is also one video of my playing my "Variations on the Carnival of Venice," one variation of which I stole from my old friend Sasha Tsygankov. But he liked it when I played it in Sweden in 2000 or 2001. Can't remember which. We were both there for the Kazbek Orchestra events.
**********************************************************************************************************************
April 30, 2014
Meeting Notes
Pat Racioppa, the headliner for our April meeting, is a man of many talents. He led us through a demonstration of quick fixes to the accordion, the type that you might need after arriving to play a gig and finding a key pulled out or a button fallen in or a reed dropped off. Many of us harbor a healthy fear of opening our instruments and tinkering with the insides, but Pat made us want to try, probably on an extra instrument, though.
When Pat travels he carries a bee's wax/linseed oil blend, screwdrivers, tacky glue (thicker and stronger than Elmer's), extra valves, scisssors and razor blades, a metal tube (or substitute a ball-point pen), pencils, soldering iron, guitar tuner, and small curved pliers.
Here are some of Pat's tips:
- Don't store your accordion anyplace you wouldn't feel comfortable staying.
- Replacement valves may be plastic or leather, but use leather on the lowest bassoon reeds.
- Block basses with a folded piece of cardboard before traveling or shipping.
- If the accordion will be checked in an airplane, or shipped by air, tape down two keys to prevent pressure from building up inside the instrument.
- When you remove the pins on a new accordion, be sure to put them back in the same holes. This is not an issue on older accordions, because the pins have most likely already been removed many times and not replaced in the same holes.
Following the presentation, Pat played a short but lovely set of songs:
My Funny Valentine
Lazy Mary (aka Butcher Boy)
Come Fly With Me
Sunny Gets Blue (with Connie Racioppa on vocals)
Cottage Cheese and Noodles
Memories
Dan Grauman video-recorded the workshop/concert, and maybe we can get him to post it on YouTube.
Thanks go also to Paul Aebersold, the April greeter.
Next Meeting
On Sunday, May 18, at 4 pm, we will welcome guest artists Volodymyr and Natalia Marunych, from Kiev, playing the bayan and domra. The pair will be accompanied by the Washington Balalaika Society’s Russkiye Musikanti ensemble, which includes our own Peter DiGiovanni on accordion.
Following the concert we’ll distribute lead sheets and try playing some of this uplifting music ourselves, so please bring your accordions!
As usual for our guest-artist concerts, we will be asking nonmembers for an $8 donation at the door.
By the way, the Marunyches will be the guest soloists in the Washington Balalaika Society concerts on May 31 and June 1.
Yimeng Huang and Mara Cherkasky will greet for the May concert.
Announcements
From Joan Grauman, AAA Historian:
Announcing the 2014 AAA Festival, which will be held in beautiful, historic Tarrytown, NY, July 9-13. Get your reservations now at the Doubletree Hotel (on the waterfront!) in Tarrytown (914-631-5700) for the AAA special group discount. Featured artists include Vladimir Mollov, who will perform and also lead the Youth Jazz Ensemble; Dallas Vietty; Guy Klucevsek accompanied by violinist Todd Reynolds; Steve Albini on Roland accordion & vocals; Mario Tacca and Friends; Dr. Robert McMahan; Frank Carozza and others. There will be exciting workshops, including one on Balkan ornamentation by Lauren Brody, and one on Chinese music and musical notation by Yimeng Huang. The festival orchestra will be conducted by our AAA President, Linda Soley Reed, and our youth orchestra will be conducted by Mary Tokarski. Registration forms and more info is now online at: www.ameraccord.com. Hope to see you there!
From Jim Vandelly:
If you go to JIM VANDELLY on YouTube, you will see a slideshow made by Dan and Joan Grauman and shown at my "honoree" presentation at the American Accordion Musicological Society (AAMS) banquet concert, March 28, 2014. The first B&W photo shows me playing for my father (the singer) at Oak Hill Country Club in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1962. He died in California in 1964.
I have sent this notice to many of the people who are pictured in the slide show.
The slide show includes many people who were and are part of my life's story. If you recognize anyone in the photos, please let them know they can see the slide show on YouTube.
There is also one video of my playing my "Variations on the Carnival of Venice," one variation of which I stole from my old friend Sasha Tsygankov. But he liked it when I played it in Sweden in 2000 or 2001. Can't remember which. We were both there for the Kazbek Orchestra events.
**********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
May 26, 2014
Meeting Notes
May 18 was our club’s semi-annual guest-artist concert, and this time we hosted bayan player Volodymyr Marunych and domra player Natalia Marunych, from Kiev, Ukraine. For most of the concert the duo performed with the Washington Balalaika Society’s Russkiye Musikanti ensemble, which includes our president, Peter DiGiovanni, on accordion. In fact, Peter played a prominent part in the concert. He arranged or composed many of the group’s selections, and he sat in with the Marunyches when they performed three of his original compositions: “Accordion Merry-Go-Rondo,” “Childhood Reflections,” and “Sally Dee Polka.” In addition, the ensemble featured soprano Katia Bogdanov on a number of songs.
After the concert, Peter led a play-along of Russian music.
Thank you, Peter, for arranging such an outstanding afternoon of Russian and Ukrainian music. Thanks go also to Yimeng Huang and Mara Cherkasky for starting off the event with their duets.
Speaking of which, we are looking for greeters to play for upcoming meetings. If you would like to test out new material or to perform in a more relaxed situation (i.e, more or less in the background), this is the gig for you. Seasoned musicians are welcome, too, of course. Please sign up by replying to this message.
Next Month
On June 15, Fathers’ Day, we will hold our annual members’ concert. If you would like to perform, please let us know. As usual, we will allot each person 5 minutes.
Please put this concert on your calendar and invite your family and friends. It’s a great way to celebrate Fathers’ Day, and it’s free!
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra Concert May 31-June 1
The 55-piece Washington Balalaika Society will be presenting its spring concerts on May 31 at 8 pm at the Fitzgerald Theater, 603 Edmonston Road, Rockville, and on June 1 at 3 pm at the Yorktown High School Theater, 5201 28th Street N., Arlington. Under the professional baton of conductor Svetlana Nikonova, this orchestra is the largest Russian folk orchestra outside of Russia. The music is a wonderful combination of the scintillating sound of the picked and strummed instruments, uplifting melodies, engaging rhythms, and satisfying harmonies. Contact Peter DiGiovanni at [email protected] for tickets for the Virginia concert; the Fitzgerald handles its own tickets.
Boat Party!
Paul Aebersold’s annual boat party takes place Saturday evening, June 14. Please make sure you let Paul know if you plan to attend.
*********************************************************************************************************************
May 26, 2014
Meeting Notes
May 18 was our club’s semi-annual guest-artist concert, and this time we hosted bayan player Volodymyr Marunych and domra player Natalia Marunych, from Kiev, Ukraine. For most of the concert the duo performed with the Washington Balalaika Society’s Russkiye Musikanti ensemble, which includes our president, Peter DiGiovanni, on accordion. In fact, Peter played a prominent part in the concert. He arranged or composed many of the group’s selections, and he sat in with the Marunyches when they performed three of his original compositions: “Accordion Merry-Go-Rondo,” “Childhood Reflections,” and “Sally Dee Polka.” In addition, the ensemble featured soprano Katia Bogdanov on a number of songs.
After the concert, Peter led a play-along of Russian music.
Thank you, Peter, for arranging such an outstanding afternoon of Russian and Ukrainian music. Thanks go also to Yimeng Huang and Mara Cherkasky for starting off the event with their duets.
Speaking of which, we are looking for greeters to play for upcoming meetings. If you would like to test out new material or to perform in a more relaxed situation (i.e, more or less in the background), this is the gig for you. Seasoned musicians are welcome, too, of course. Please sign up by replying to this message.
Next Month
On June 15, Fathers’ Day, we will hold our annual members’ concert. If you would like to perform, please let us know. As usual, we will allot each person 5 minutes.
Please put this concert on your calendar and invite your family and friends. It’s a great way to celebrate Fathers’ Day, and it’s free!
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra Concert May 31-June 1
The 55-piece Washington Balalaika Society will be presenting its spring concerts on May 31 at 8 pm at the Fitzgerald Theater, 603 Edmonston Road, Rockville, and on June 1 at 3 pm at the Yorktown High School Theater, 5201 28th Street N., Arlington. Under the professional baton of conductor Svetlana Nikonova, this orchestra is the largest Russian folk orchestra outside of Russia. The music is a wonderful combination of the scintillating sound of the picked and strummed instruments, uplifting melodies, engaging rhythms, and satisfying harmonies. Contact Peter DiGiovanni at [email protected] for tickets for the Virginia concert; the Fitzgerald handles its own tickets.
Boat Party!
Paul Aebersold’s annual boat party takes place Saturday evening, June 14. Please make sure you let Paul know if you plan to attend.
*********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
July 1, 2014
Meeting Notes
June 15 was our club’s annual spring concert. Given that it was Fathers’ Day, the concert centerpiece had to be the father-daughter duo of Robert Ford on accordion and Rocio Ford on castanets. Both are awesome musicians! But that is not to say that we didn’t have many other marvelous performances by members who are fathers and members who did their fathers proud. The concert lineup also included Ken Kunec, master of ceremonies and performer; young Kerry Zhu in duet with his teacher, Mike Rubin; Yimin Zhuang; Suzanne Shayt; JoAnn Pankow; Lou Silvia, Meryl Benenati and Karen Uribe trio; Yimeng Huang; Bob Juszyzck; Pat Racioppa; Peter DiGiovanni; the Potomac Ensemble; and Karen and Luis Uribe.
Thanks to everyone who participated, brought snacks, managed the kitchen, helped set up and clean up, and sat and listened! We appreciate all of your contributions! Thanks also to greeter Joan Grauman for her cheery set of Italian pieces.
Speaking of greeters, we still need one for the July meeting. Here’s your chance to try out the new pieces you’ve been practicing, in a relaxed setting. (Old pieces are fine, too!) Please reply to this email if you would like to be the July greeter and play from 3:45 until about 4:05 pm. You won’t get another chance until November, as September and October are already spoken for.
AAA Festival
It’s not too late to register to attend the American Accordionists’ Association Festival, which will take place July 9 to 13 in Tarrytown, NY. You can register for the entire weekend or for just one event, at www.ameraccord.com.
Next Meetings
Don’t forget: we will not be meeting in August, but we have a great program planned for July.
Our July 20 meeting will feature a hands-on workshop by Yimeng Huang called “Tips for Becoming a Better Accordionist.”
Yimeng describes herself an intermediate-level accordionist. In her workshop, she will share some of the methods she has learned that helped improve her playing. The focus will be on the basics, such as timing, articulation, left-hand playing, bellows control, and dynamics.
It is Yimeng’s goal to show that the typical “minor flaws” many amateurs have might not be minor at all, and are fixable. She will demonstrate this with practical examples from her own experience and show the ways she practiced in an effort to correct the imperfections.
Although the target audience for this workshop will be beginner- and intermediate-level accordionists, Yimeng would like more advanced players to participate as well, and to share their experiences and views.
Yimeng played the accordion as a teenager in China, and was mostly self-taught. She arrived in the United States in 1985 as a graduate student, and now works in information management and training in a large international organization. She took up the accordion again several years ago and for the past few years has studied with Frank Busso, Jr., the accordionist with the Air Force Strings. Yimeng has won several awards in the AAA Festival Adult Solo competitions, including first place in Ethnic Solo (2010 and 2012) and first place in Open Solo (2013).
Bring your accordions! A jam session will follow the workshop.
*********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
August 6, 2014
Meeting Notes
Greetings from your friendly WMAS scribe! We will not be meeting this month―our next meeting is September 21―so please do not show up at the church on the third Sunday of August and wonder where everyone is.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the summer!
Our last meeting, on July 20, featured a workshop by longtime member Yimeng Huang: “Tips for Becoming a Better Accordionist.” Yimeng learned to play the accordion as a teenager in China, mostly on her own. In 1985 she moved to the United States to study, and then took a job in DC, at a large international organization. She had long since put away her instrument but, like many of our members, took it up again several years ago. She was happy to learn about WMAS, where she met Frank Busso, Jr., the accordionist with the Air Force Strings, and began studying with him. Under Frank’s tutelage, Yimeng has won several awards in the AAA Festival Adult Solo competitions, including first place in Ethnic Solo (2010 and 2012) and first place in Open Solo (2013).
Given her experience, Yimeng thought it would be helpful to our members if she shared some of what she’s learned from Frank, including some of his ideas that she had originally resisted.
The workshop focused on the basics: timing, articulation (separating notes), left-hand playing, bellows control, and dynamics. For example, in a demonstration on articulation, Yimeng set her metronome to slow and played a difficult phrase over and over until her fingers learned to separate the notes and keep them even. Gradually she speeded up the metronome and repeated the exercise until she could play the phrase perfectly and at the appropriate tempo. A good metronome can be pricey but Yimeng also uses an app she downloaded to her phone.
Our members are not shy and, at Yimeng’s invitation, many chipped in with their own tips for becoming a better accordionist. The group tried out some sheet music Yimeng had provided, and she ended the workshop by playing a duet with Mara Cherkasky. Afterwards, Joan Grauman passed out more sheet music and conducted a play-along.
Thank you, Yimeng, for all the good ideas! This was a workshop that all of us, from beginner to expert, could learn from. Thanks go also to Jim Vandelly, Lee Paulson, and Mara for serving as greeters. In case you didn’t notice, they had not practiced together ahead of time, so this was an experiment. We’re always saying that greeting is a time to try out new material, and we mean it!
We’re grateful to JoAnn Pankow for taking care of the kitchen/refreshment responsibilities and to everyone else who contributes to our meetings’ success. Thank you!
Next Meeting
On September 21 we will be hosting another guest-artist concert, this time featuring internationally recognized jazz accordionist Frank Petrilli. Frank’s warm style, skill, and wit will delight all, so please invite your friends and relatives for a wonderful afternoon of music. The attached flyer can be forwarded or printed out and mailed. Remember: because this is a guest artist we will be asking for an $8 donation from nonmembers.
Our greeter for the September meeting will be Pat Racioppa.
***********************************************************************************************************************
August 6, 2014
Meeting Notes
Greetings from your friendly WMAS scribe! We will not be meeting this month―our next meeting is September 21―so please do not show up at the church on the third Sunday of August and wonder where everyone is.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the summer!
Our last meeting, on July 20, featured a workshop by longtime member Yimeng Huang: “Tips for Becoming a Better Accordionist.” Yimeng learned to play the accordion as a teenager in China, mostly on her own. In 1985 she moved to the United States to study, and then took a job in DC, at a large international organization. She had long since put away her instrument but, like many of our members, took it up again several years ago. She was happy to learn about WMAS, where she met Frank Busso, Jr., the accordionist with the Air Force Strings, and began studying with him. Under Frank’s tutelage, Yimeng has won several awards in the AAA Festival Adult Solo competitions, including first place in Ethnic Solo (2010 and 2012) and first place in Open Solo (2013).
Given her experience, Yimeng thought it would be helpful to our members if she shared some of what she’s learned from Frank, including some of his ideas that she had originally resisted.
The workshop focused on the basics: timing, articulation (separating notes), left-hand playing, bellows control, and dynamics. For example, in a demonstration on articulation, Yimeng set her metronome to slow and played a difficult phrase over and over until her fingers learned to separate the notes and keep them even. Gradually she speeded up the metronome and repeated the exercise until she could play the phrase perfectly and at the appropriate tempo. A good metronome can be pricey but Yimeng also uses an app she downloaded to her phone.
Our members are not shy and, at Yimeng’s invitation, many chipped in with their own tips for becoming a better accordionist. The group tried out some sheet music Yimeng had provided, and she ended the workshop by playing a duet with Mara Cherkasky. Afterwards, Joan Grauman passed out more sheet music and conducted a play-along.
Thank you, Yimeng, for all the good ideas! This was a workshop that all of us, from beginner to expert, could learn from. Thanks go also to Jim Vandelly, Lee Paulson, and Mara for serving as greeters. In case you didn’t notice, they had not practiced together ahead of time, so this was an experiment. We’re always saying that greeting is a time to try out new material, and we mean it!
We’re grateful to JoAnn Pankow for taking care of the kitchen/refreshment responsibilities and to everyone else who contributes to our meetings’ success. Thank you!
Next Meeting
On September 21 we will be hosting another guest-artist concert, this time featuring internationally recognized jazz accordionist Frank Petrilli. Frank’s warm style, skill, and wit will delight all, so please invite your friends and relatives for a wonderful afternoon of music. The attached flyer can be forwarded or printed out and mailed. Remember: because this is a guest artist we will be asking for an $8 donation from nonmembers.
Our greeter for the September meeting will be Pat Racioppa.
***********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
September 27, 2014
Meeting Notes
We are thrilled to report that Sunday’s guest-artist concert featuring Frank Petrilli and Eddie Monteiro was a huge success! That we were able to bring these two together was in itself wonderful because Frank lives in Los Angeles and Eddie in New Jersey. Of course their collaboration was marvelous, and we had a roomful of people to enjoy it.
Pat Racioppa was our greeter, and he was great as usual.
Thanks go to everyone who helped make the day a success!
You can find links to videos of the concert on our Facebook page.
Upcoming Meetings
Our annual Oktoberfest will be Sunday, October 19, at 4 pm at the usual place: Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church.
Please sign up to play a dance tune (preferably waltzes and polkas) by replying to this email. Other ways you can help: bring German-style dishes to share, bring your accordion and your packet of Oktoberfest music from last year, dress in appropriate garb, and invite family, friends, and everyone you know who likes dancing to accordion music! Also, we can always use help in setting up beforehand and cleaning up afterwards.
The “Bayrisch and Steirisch” Dance group, under the direction of Herb Fredrickson, will be joining us again for the Oktoberfest, and we’re also excited to welcome 11-year-old virtuoso accordionist Cody McSherry.
Karen and Luis Uribe will be October’s greeters, so we look forward to that as well.
Holiday Concert Orchestra: a message from your conductor
It’s hard to believe that the year is passing so quickly and that the Christmas season is just around the corner! I will be handing out the music for the WMAS Holiday Orchestra at the October 19 meeting (Oktoberfest) along with MP3s that will include all of the music we will be playing at the WMAS Holiday Concert/Potluck Dinner on December 14. As always, I welcome and encourage everyone who can read music to join us! Do not worry if you have never played in an orchestra setting; the Holiday Orchestra is always a fun and rewarding experience. Please respond to this email to let us know if you will participate. If you cannot be at our Oktoberfest, let us know and we will make other arrangements for you to receive the music.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
-- Joan Grauman
Rehearsals
Our first rehearsal for the Holiday Concert will be at our November 16 meeting, following Jim Vandelly’s mini-concert. After that we will rehearse on Sunday, December 7, at 4 pm, at the church, and at 12:30 pm the day of the concert. It is important that you make all of these rehearsals! Simply learning the music is not enough. You also need to learn how Joan will be conducting the music and how to play with other musicians. (They can be distracting!!)
By the way, we need a greeter (or greeters) for November. Please sign up!
Other Oktoberfests in the Area
Michael Leggett Jr., on button box accordion, and Elisabeth Lloyd, on guitar, will be providing music every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 pm through December at the Old Europe Restaurant, 2434 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007, (202) 333-7600.
Silvia Eberly performs at Café Mozart on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. That’s at 1331 H St NW, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-5732.
Come out and enjoy some Oktoberfest music!
*********************************************************************************************************************
September 27, 2014
Meeting Notes
We are thrilled to report that Sunday’s guest-artist concert featuring Frank Petrilli and Eddie Monteiro was a huge success! That we were able to bring these two together was in itself wonderful because Frank lives in Los Angeles and Eddie in New Jersey. Of course their collaboration was marvelous, and we had a roomful of people to enjoy it.
Pat Racioppa was our greeter, and he was great as usual.
Thanks go to everyone who helped make the day a success!
You can find links to videos of the concert on our Facebook page.
Upcoming Meetings
Our annual Oktoberfest will be Sunday, October 19, at 4 pm at the usual place: Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church.
Please sign up to play a dance tune (preferably waltzes and polkas) by replying to this email. Other ways you can help: bring German-style dishes to share, bring your accordion and your packet of Oktoberfest music from last year, dress in appropriate garb, and invite family, friends, and everyone you know who likes dancing to accordion music! Also, we can always use help in setting up beforehand and cleaning up afterwards.
The “Bayrisch and Steirisch” Dance group, under the direction of Herb Fredrickson, will be joining us again for the Oktoberfest, and we’re also excited to welcome 11-year-old virtuoso accordionist Cody McSherry.
Karen and Luis Uribe will be October’s greeters, so we look forward to that as well.
Holiday Concert Orchestra: a message from your conductor
It’s hard to believe that the year is passing so quickly and that the Christmas season is just around the corner! I will be handing out the music for the WMAS Holiday Orchestra at the October 19 meeting (Oktoberfest) along with MP3s that will include all of the music we will be playing at the WMAS Holiday Concert/Potluck Dinner on December 14. As always, I welcome and encourage everyone who can read music to join us! Do not worry if you have never played in an orchestra setting; the Holiday Orchestra is always a fun and rewarding experience. Please respond to this email to let us know if you will participate. If you cannot be at our Oktoberfest, let us know and we will make other arrangements for you to receive the music.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
-- Joan Grauman
Rehearsals
Our first rehearsal for the Holiday Concert will be at our November 16 meeting, following Jim Vandelly’s mini-concert. After that we will rehearse on Sunday, December 7, at 4 pm, at the church, and at 12:30 pm the day of the concert. It is important that you make all of these rehearsals! Simply learning the music is not enough. You also need to learn how Joan will be conducting the music and how to play with other musicians. (They can be distracting!!)
By the way, we need a greeter (or greeters) for November. Please sign up!
Other Oktoberfests in the Area
Michael Leggett Jr., on button box accordion, and Elisabeth Lloyd, on guitar, will be providing music every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 pm through December at the Old Europe Restaurant, 2434 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007, (202) 333-7600.
Silvia Eberly performs at Café Mozart on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. That’s at 1331 H St NW, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-5732.
Come out and enjoy some Oktoberfest music!
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WMAS NEWS UPDATE
November 9, 2014
Meeting Notes
Fall is upon us! Our Oktoberfest on October 19 drew a record number of people and a fantastic lineup of performers, many in Bavarian garb. Greeters Karen and Luis Uribe launched the party, then handed the mic to Ken Kunec, our favorite master of ceremonies/standup comic. We were pleased to welcome two young musicians to the “stage”: eleven-year-old accordion and buttonbox (Steirische Harmonika) whiz Cody McSherry, from Pennsylvania, who with his family experienced his first WMAS meeting; and Michael Leggett, another wonderful young buttonbox player, who also attended with his family.
A range of other club members played waltzes and polkas, and ran through a set of traditional Oktoberfest songs toward the end of the event. Joan Grauman still has a few of the WMAS Oktoberfest books left and will bring them to the November meeting. We are asking $3 a piece for these books.
Thanks go to all of you, and to Herb Fredrickson and his “Bayrisch and Steirisch” dance group, for entertaining and teaching us.
By the way, you can catch Michael Leggett every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 pm through December at the Old Europe Restaurant, 2434 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007, (202) 333-7600, http://www.old-europe.com/.
Next Meeting
Our November meeting is only a week away, on the 16th, at 4 pm at Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church.
As is our tradition each November, Jim Vandelly will perform a short concert, after which the Holiday Orchestra will rehearse for the first time, under the direction of Joan Grauman. More information on the Holiday Concert and rehearsals is below.
Yimeng Huang will be the greeter, starting about 3:45.
Jim will be looking for volunteers to help him demonstrate variations of the piece, “Brightly Shines the Moon,” by the way.
Latest on the Holiday Concert
As you know, we will only have the use of the church until 6:30 on December 14, so we are moving the concert up and dropping the post-concert potluck in favor of desserts and snacks.
So … the concert will start at 2:30 pm, following a mandatory rehearsal at 12:30 pm. After the formal part of the concert we will ask everyone to move into the lobby for a short while so we can set up the room for refreshments. We’ll have live entertainment out there, so no one should mind. We will then invite everyone back into the hall for refreshments and more live music, and maybe dancing.
We will not charge for the concert this year but we will be asking for donations for the church. After all, it will be Christmastime, we are not asked to pay rent, and the church could use some help with its programs, including one for the homeless that same Sunday evening.
Please plan to bring desserts and other light refreshments that do not require the use of the oven or stoves, as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Our volunteers will still decorate the room and we will have beautiful centerpieces, created by Connie Racioppa, that we’ll auction off after the concert.
Rehearsal schedule for the Holiday Orchestra
November 16, during the WMAS meeting
December 7 at 4 pm (rehearsal only)
December 14, 12:30pm (mandatory), before the 2:30 concert
Music Flea Market
Joan Grauman will be bringing old sheet music, music books and other music-related items to the November WMAS meeting for the 4th annual Music Flea Market. Joan donates all the proceeds to youth-related music programs/funds.
**********************************************************************************************************************
November 9, 2014
Meeting Notes
Fall is upon us! Our Oktoberfest on October 19 drew a record number of people and a fantastic lineup of performers, many in Bavarian garb. Greeters Karen and Luis Uribe launched the party, then handed the mic to Ken Kunec, our favorite master of ceremonies/standup comic. We were pleased to welcome two young musicians to the “stage”: eleven-year-old accordion and buttonbox (Steirische Harmonika) whiz Cody McSherry, from Pennsylvania, who with his family experienced his first WMAS meeting; and Michael Leggett, another wonderful young buttonbox player, who also attended with his family.
A range of other club members played waltzes and polkas, and ran through a set of traditional Oktoberfest songs toward the end of the event. Joan Grauman still has a few of the WMAS Oktoberfest books left and will bring them to the November meeting. We are asking $3 a piece for these books.
Thanks go to all of you, and to Herb Fredrickson and his “Bayrisch and Steirisch” dance group, for entertaining and teaching us.
By the way, you can catch Michael Leggett every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 pm through December at the Old Europe Restaurant, 2434 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007, (202) 333-7600, http://www.old-europe.com/.
Next Meeting
Our November meeting is only a week away, on the 16th, at 4 pm at Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church.
As is our tradition each November, Jim Vandelly will perform a short concert, after which the Holiday Orchestra will rehearse for the first time, under the direction of Joan Grauman. More information on the Holiday Concert and rehearsals is below.
Yimeng Huang will be the greeter, starting about 3:45.
Jim will be looking for volunteers to help him demonstrate variations of the piece, “Brightly Shines the Moon,” by the way.
Latest on the Holiday Concert
As you know, we will only have the use of the church until 6:30 on December 14, so we are moving the concert up and dropping the post-concert potluck in favor of desserts and snacks.
So … the concert will start at 2:30 pm, following a mandatory rehearsal at 12:30 pm. After the formal part of the concert we will ask everyone to move into the lobby for a short while so we can set up the room for refreshments. We’ll have live entertainment out there, so no one should mind. We will then invite everyone back into the hall for refreshments and more live music, and maybe dancing.
We will not charge for the concert this year but we will be asking for donations for the church. After all, it will be Christmastime, we are not asked to pay rent, and the church could use some help with its programs, including one for the homeless that same Sunday evening.
Please plan to bring desserts and other light refreshments that do not require the use of the oven or stoves, as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Our volunteers will still decorate the room and we will have beautiful centerpieces, created by Connie Racioppa, that we’ll auction off after the concert.
Rehearsal schedule for the Holiday Orchestra
November 16, during the WMAS meeting
December 7 at 4 pm (rehearsal only)
December 14, 12:30pm (mandatory), before the 2:30 concert
Music Flea Market
Joan Grauman will be bringing old sheet music, music books and other music-related items to the November WMAS meeting for the 4th annual Music Flea Market. Joan donates all the proceeds to youth-related music programs/funds.
**********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
November 17, 2014
Meeting Notes
The day might have been dreary but the mood at our meeting on Sunday was cheery, thanks to Jim Vandelly’s annual mini-concert. Jim has a huge repertoire, but we always insist that he play our favorite Russian tunes, most with titles that require some reading between the lines, such as “The Birch Tree” and “Brightly Shines the Moon.”
This time Jim included a couple of audience-participation pieces in the concert, creating a surround-sound effect on the catchy “Il Sirio” and also the above-mentioned “Moon” song. Another highlight was Bob Juszczyk’s Polish-language vocals on “Gweboka Studzienka,” a song the Juszczyks taught us last January and Jim subsequently learned to play.
Late Sunday night Jim wrote: “I want to thank everyone for joining in during my mini-concert. I loved the group participation. It made my day!”
Thanks back, Jim! Kudos go also to Yimeng Huang, who played a series of musette pieces to open the meeting, and to JoAnn Pankow and Connie Racioppa for handling the kitchen and decorations, and all those who helped set up and clean up.
Joan and Dan Grauman appreciate everyone who purchased items during their 4th annual Music Flea Market, at yesterday’s meeting. All the proceeds of the flea market go to youth-related music programs/funds.
Next Month
As you are well aware, our annual Holiday Concert will be Sunday, December 14, at 2:30 pm.
Please let us know immediately if you would like to play a solo or small-ensemble piece, and please let us know the title of the piece so we can include it in the printed program.
The Holiday Orchestra rehearsed for the first time yesterday, after Jim’s mini-concert, and it sounded pretty good, thanks to the MP3s Joan gave everyone to practice with. The next rehearsal will be Sunday, December 7, at 4 pm at Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church, our usual location. Please make every effort to be there. Remember, no matter how good you sound at home when you practice on your own, playing with a group is something else entirely. Even expert musicians need a few rehearsals to get used to following the conductor and getting used to being surrounded by other loud, distracting accordionists.
The only other rehearsal will be at 12:30 pm on December 14, the day of the concert. That one is absolutely mandatory, and please plan to be in your seat by 12:30, because we won’t have time to spare.
The event will proceed as follows:
Pat Racioppa will serve as greeter, starting about 2:15 while guests are arriving. Our favorite emcee Ken Kunec will preside as usual, and Joan Grauman will conduct the orchestra and Potomac Ensemble. After the concert we will ask everyone to move into the lobby for a short while – during which we will provide live entertainment -- so we can set up the room for refreshments. When the hall is ready we will invite everyone back in for refreshments and more live music. If anyone is up for dancing, we’ll have that, too.
We will not charge for the concert this year but we will be asking for donations for the church. After all, it will be Christmastime, we are not asked to pay rent, and the church could use some help with its programs, including one for the homeless that same Sunday evening.
Please plan to bring desserts and other light refreshments that do not need to be heated up, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. We will still decorate the room and set up tables with Connie Racioppa’s beautiful centerpieces, which we’ll offer for sale at the end of the evening.
A flyer for the concert is attached. A second flyer, for the Potomac Ensemble’s annual Dublin Roasters gig in Frederick, is also attached. Please forward the flyers to your friends and family, and post them on public bulletin boards if you live close to the venues. Thanks!
Rehearsal schedule for the Holiday Orchestra:
December 7 at 4 pm (rehearsal only)
December 14, 12:30pm (mandatory), before the 2:30 concert
**********************************************************************************************************************
November 17, 2014
Meeting Notes
The day might have been dreary but the mood at our meeting on Sunday was cheery, thanks to Jim Vandelly’s annual mini-concert. Jim has a huge repertoire, but we always insist that he play our favorite Russian tunes, most with titles that require some reading between the lines, such as “The Birch Tree” and “Brightly Shines the Moon.”
This time Jim included a couple of audience-participation pieces in the concert, creating a surround-sound effect on the catchy “Il Sirio” and also the above-mentioned “Moon” song. Another highlight was Bob Juszczyk’s Polish-language vocals on “Gweboka Studzienka,” a song the Juszczyks taught us last January and Jim subsequently learned to play.
Late Sunday night Jim wrote: “I want to thank everyone for joining in during my mini-concert. I loved the group participation. It made my day!”
Thanks back, Jim! Kudos go also to Yimeng Huang, who played a series of musette pieces to open the meeting, and to JoAnn Pankow and Connie Racioppa for handling the kitchen and decorations, and all those who helped set up and clean up.
Joan and Dan Grauman appreciate everyone who purchased items during their 4th annual Music Flea Market, at yesterday’s meeting. All the proceeds of the flea market go to youth-related music programs/funds.
Next Month
As you are well aware, our annual Holiday Concert will be Sunday, December 14, at 2:30 pm.
Please let us know immediately if you would like to play a solo or small-ensemble piece, and please let us know the title of the piece so we can include it in the printed program.
The Holiday Orchestra rehearsed for the first time yesterday, after Jim’s mini-concert, and it sounded pretty good, thanks to the MP3s Joan gave everyone to practice with. The next rehearsal will be Sunday, December 7, at 4 pm at Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church, our usual location. Please make every effort to be there. Remember, no matter how good you sound at home when you practice on your own, playing with a group is something else entirely. Even expert musicians need a few rehearsals to get used to following the conductor and getting used to being surrounded by other loud, distracting accordionists.
The only other rehearsal will be at 12:30 pm on December 14, the day of the concert. That one is absolutely mandatory, and please plan to be in your seat by 12:30, because we won’t have time to spare.
The event will proceed as follows:
Pat Racioppa will serve as greeter, starting about 2:15 while guests are arriving. Our favorite emcee Ken Kunec will preside as usual, and Joan Grauman will conduct the orchestra and Potomac Ensemble. After the concert we will ask everyone to move into the lobby for a short while – during which we will provide live entertainment -- so we can set up the room for refreshments. When the hall is ready we will invite everyone back in for refreshments and more live music. If anyone is up for dancing, we’ll have that, too.
We will not charge for the concert this year but we will be asking for donations for the church. After all, it will be Christmastime, we are not asked to pay rent, and the church could use some help with its programs, including one for the homeless that same Sunday evening.
Please plan to bring desserts and other light refreshments that do not need to be heated up, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. We will still decorate the room and set up tables with Connie Racioppa’s beautiful centerpieces, which we’ll offer for sale at the end of the evening.
A flyer for the concert is attached. A second flyer, for the Potomac Ensemble’s annual Dublin Roasters gig in Frederick, is also attached. Please forward the flyers to your friends and family, and post them on public bulletin boards if you live close to the venues. Thanks!
Rehearsal schedule for the Holiday Orchestra:
December 7 at 4 pm (rehearsal only)
December 14, 12:30pm (mandatory), before the 2:30 concert
**********************************************************************************************************************
WMAS NEWS UPDATE
December 29, 2014
Holiday Concert
Our club finished the year on a high note. The 12th annual holiday concert on December 14—full of good music, fellowship, and cheer—drew a larger audience than ever before. So many people helped make the day a success, it would be impossible to name them all and not leave someone out. Members hand-made decorations; set up the room (twice) and cleaned up afterwards; brought refreshments; managing the kitchen; collected donations for the church; selected and arranged the music; conducted the orchestra; attended rehearsals and played in the concert; emceed the concert and filled in gaps with songs and jokes; entertained the crowd before and after the concert; and played Santa. Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church graciously provided us free use of their space, and our friends, neighbors, and family chose to spend their afternoon with us. Many thanks to everyone for your hard work, generosity, and dedication to our club.
Dan Grauman’s cousin took pictures of the event, and you can see them here.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is coming up in less than two weeks; it’s on Sunday, January 11 at 2:30 pm. Please note the earlier starting time, again due to the church’s participation in a county hypothermia shelter program. We plan to make the meeting a jam session, so please bring your accordion, music stand, and sheet music to share, and we will take turns leading songs.
Also, our annual election of officers will take place at the January meeting. Current officers—Peter DiGiovanni, president; Joan Grauman, vice president; and Mara Cherkasky, secretary/treasurer—are willing to continue, but if you would like to nominate yourself or someone else as a candidate, please let us know as soon as possible so we can get the word out.
Happy New Year! Enjoy the rest of the holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you on January 11.
December 29, 2014
Holiday Concert
Our club finished the year on a high note. The 12th annual holiday concert on December 14—full of good music, fellowship, and cheer—drew a larger audience than ever before. So many people helped make the day a success, it would be impossible to name them all and not leave someone out. Members hand-made decorations; set up the room (twice) and cleaned up afterwards; brought refreshments; managing the kitchen; collected donations for the church; selected and arranged the music; conducted the orchestra; attended rehearsals and played in the concert; emceed the concert and filled in gaps with songs and jokes; entertained the crowd before and after the concert; and played Santa. Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church graciously provided us free use of their space, and our friends, neighbors, and family chose to spend their afternoon with us. Many thanks to everyone for your hard work, generosity, and dedication to our club.
Dan Grauman’s cousin took pictures of the event, and you can see them here.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is coming up in less than two weeks; it’s on Sunday, January 11 at 2:30 pm. Please note the earlier starting time, again due to the church’s participation in a county hypothermia shelter program. We plan to make the meeting a jam session, so please bring your accordion, music stand, and sheet music to share, and we will take turns leading songs.
Also, our annual election of officers will take place at the January meeting. Current officers—Peter DiGiovanni, president; Joan Grauman, vice president; and Mara Cherkasky, secretary/treasurer—are willing to continue, but if you would like to nominate yourself or someone else as a candidate, please let us know as soon as possible so we can get the word out.
Happy New Year! Enjoy the rest of the holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you on January 11.