WMAS NEWS UPDATE
April 18, 2019
(Visit the NEWS ARCHIVE for past announcements)
(To post a news item, e-mail mcherkasky@verizon.net)
MEETING NOTES
April 14 was International Day, a chance for some of our members to introduce – or re-introduce – us to musical genres we may be less familiar with. Some presenters grew up with them; others learned them later. Regardless, it was a fun and music-filled meeting, and an opportunity to learn something new. Our greeter, Silvia Eberly, warmed up the room, and then Val and Donna Zadnik started off the program with a Slovenian duet that warmed our hearts.
Mike Rubin ran through various types of Jewish music, including sacred, Sephardic, Klezmer, Yiddish, Israeli, holiday, and show tunes. He demonstrated an example of each.
Yimeng Huang demonstrated the Chinese major (1 2 3 5 6) and minor (6 1 2 3 5) scales and played three songs: the first two were more minor, and the third was more major. She also distributed sheet music showing the same song arranged in Chinese and western notation.
Robert Ford learned the accordion in Bolivia, although he did not learn the folk music he performed on Sunday until more recently. Bolivian music varies from region to region, and Robert played some of each, including some cuecas that had some people up and dancing.
Jim Vandelly played Russian folk tunes on his bayan. Although he studied the piano accordion as a child and can read music, he plays the bayan by ear. In Russia, folk music is losing popularity, he said – so we’re lucky he’s keeping it alive for us.
Silvia showed off her Strasser-brand Steirischer harmonika. This instrument was invented in 1875 and has never changed, she said. It’s played in the Alps for folk dances, and can have three, four, or five rows of buttons plus Helikon (tuba) bass reeds. For a small box, it can put out a lot of sound, as Silvia demonstrated. She also had us yodeling – sort of.
Rounding out the program was Ken Kunec, who played a couple of Greek songs and sang them in Greek – which he doesn’t actually speak. His wife Teddy wrote the lyrics out phonetically for him, and as far as we were concerned, he did a great job.
April News
Sadly, this was Lee and Ron Paulson’s last WMAS meeting. In a few weeks they’ll be moving a few hours away to Salisbury, Maryland, where they’ll be closer to one of their daughters. The Paulsons have been a part of the club since the very beginning, and have contributed in too many ways to count. We’ll stay in touch, of course, but will sorely miss seeing them every month. ☹
On the brighter side, the Executive Committee continues to make changes. We’ve switched to MailChimp for meeting reminders and updates, and the new website is now up. Thanks go to Peter DiGiovanni for the tremendous amount of work he put into it!!! Next we’ll be working on updating the bylaws to reflect some of the changes going on around us (i.e. to ensure we stay focused on what brings us together: music).
We are also grateful to JoAnn Pankow (and also her husband John, but he didn't attend this month) for schlepping several gigantic boxes of supplies to each month's meeting, and for then so ably managing the snacks and kitchen. It's time (past time), too, to mention Teddy Kunec's great work handling the name tags! Our club functions as well as it does because so many people chip in their time and expertise, and that's wonderful.
Check out the NEW WMAS website: www.washingtonaccordions.org
MAY MEETING
Please put May 19 (not 17) on your calendar! This will be a guest-artist concert featuring Cody McSherry, our young friend from Pennsylvania. As Peter noted at the April meeting, “If you haven’t seen Cody perform in the past year, you haven’t seen Cody!” Remember, paid-up members enter free; all others pay $8. You can download a flyer to send to your family and friends at https://www.washingtonaccordions.org/uploads/1/2/4/8/124892684/2019_5-19_cody_mcsherry.pdf. And you can pay your dues at the door.
ALSO COMING UP ...
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra Concert
June 1 and 2, 2019
The Washington Balalaika Society will be presenting its spring concert at 3 pm on Sunday, June 2, 2019, at the Wakefield High School Theater, 1325 South Dinwiddie Street, Arlington VA. The same program will be presented at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater, 603 Edmonston Road, Rockville MD on Saturday, June 1 at 8:00pm. This is our 30th anniversary concert and features several world-class soloists. The 60-member WBS Orchestra is the largest orchestra of its kind in the U.S. You can find more info at www.balalaika.org.
For $18 group-rate tickets for the Virginia concert, contact Peter DiGiovanni at 703-919-5701 or peter@musicisforever.com.
Check out the WMAS website: www.washingtonaccordions.org
Our mailing address is:
accordionsociety@verizon.net or peter@musicisforever.com
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
April 14 was International Day, a chance for some of our members to introduce – or re-introduce – us to musical genres we may be less familiar with. Some presenters grew up with them; others learned them later. Regardless, it was a fun and music-filled meeting, and an opportunity to learn something new. Our greeter, Silvia Eberly, warmed up the room, and then Val and Donna Zadnik started off the program with a Slovenian duet that warmed our hearts.
Mike Rubin ran through various types of Jewish music, including sacred, Sephardic, Klezmer, Yiddish, Israeli, holiday, and show tunes. He demonstrated an example of each.
Yimeng Huang demonstrated the Chinese major (1 2 3 5 6) and minor (6 1 2 3 5) scales and played three songs: the first two were more minor, and the third was more major. She also distributed sheet music showing the same song arranged in Chinese and western notation.
Robert Ford learned the accordion in Bolivia, although he did not learn the folk music he performed on Sunday until more recently. Bolivian music varies from region to region, and Robert played some of each, including some cuecas that had some people up and dancing.
Jim Vandelly played Russian folk tunes on his bayan. Although he studied the piano accordion as a child and can read music, he plays the bayan by ear. In Russia, folk music is losing popularity, he said – so we’re lucky he’s keeping it alive for us.
Silvia showed off her Strasser-brand Steirischer harmonika. This instrument was invented in 1875 and has never changed, she said. It’s played in the Alps for folk dances, and can have three, four, or five rows of buttons plus Helikon (tuba) bass reeds. For a small box, it can put out a lot of sound, as Silvia demonstrated. She also had us yodeling – sort of.
Rounding out the program was Ken Kunec, who played a couple of Greek songs and sang them in Greek – which he doesn’t actually speak. His wife Teddy wrote the lyrics out phonetically for him, and as far as we were concerned, he did a great job.
April News
Sadly, this was Lee and Ron Paulson’s last WMAS meeting. In a few weeks they’ll be moving a few hours away to Salisbury, Maryland, where they’ll be closer to one of their daughters. The Paulsons have been a part of the club since the very beginning, and have contributed in too many ways to count. We’ll stay in touch, of course, but will sorely miss seeing them every month. ☹
On the brighter side, the Executive Committee continues to make changes. We’ve switched to MailChimp for meeting reminders and updates, and the new website is now up. Thanks go to Peter DiGiovanni for the tremendous amount of work he put into it!!! Next we’ll be working on updating the bylaws to reflect some of the changes going on around us (i.e. to ensure we stay focused on what brings us together: music).
We are also grateful to JoAnn Pankow (and also her husband John, but he didn't attend this month) for schlepping several gigantic boxes of supplies to each month's meeting, and for then so ably managing the snacks and kitchen. It's time (past time), too, to mention Teddy Kunec's great work handling the name tags! Our club functions as well as it does because so many people chip in their time and expertise, and that's wonderful.
Check out the NEW WMAS website: www.washingtonaccordions.org
MAY MEETING
Please put May 19 (not 17) on your calendar! This will be a guest-artist concert featuring Cody McSherry, our young friend from Pennsylvania. As Peter noted at the April meeting, “If you haven’t seen Cody perform in the past year, you haven’t seen Cody!” Remember, paid-up members enter free; all others pay $8. You can download a flyer to send to your family and friends at https://www.washingtonaccordions.org/uploads/1/2/4/8/124892684/2019_5-19_cody_mcsherry.pdf. And you can pay your dues at the door.
ALSO COMING UP ...
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra Concert
June 1 and 2, 2019
The Washington Balalaika Society will be presenting its spring concert at 3 pm on Sunday, June 2, 2019, at the Wakefield High School Theater, 1325 South Dinwiddie Street, Arlington VA. The same program will be presented at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater, 603 Edmonston Road, Rockville MD on Saturday, June 1 at 8:00pm. This is our 30th anniversary concert and features several world-class soloists. The 60-member WBS Orchestra is the largest orchestra of its kind in the U.S. You can find more info at www.balalaika.org.
For $18 group-rate tickets for the Virginia concert, contact Peter DiGiovanni at 703-919-5701 or peter@musicisforever.com.
Check out the WMAS website: www.washingtonaccordions.org
Our mailing address is:
accordionsociety@verizon.net or peter@musicisforever.com
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.