NORTHWEST ACCORDION NEWS · 4 Jolly Accordion Man Polka 8 10 Things I Learned from Cruise Ship Musicians 11 Alpenfest’s Ad Hoc Accordions 12 Eastside Musicfest 15 Divisions and

NORTHWEST ACCORDIONNEWS

Alpenfest Accordion on Broadway Jolly Accordion Man PolkaRemembering Marjorie Rombauer 10 Things I Learned from Cruise Ship Musicians

VOL. 26 NO. 4Northwest Accordion Society Winter Quarter 2016

Northwest Accordion News

Winter Quarter 2016 1

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

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

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY

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

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

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

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

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

To reprint articles or photographs from magazines and newspapers, written permission from the publisher is required. Please submit the necessary “permission to print” with material sent.

Views in the articles and information printed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Northwest Accordion Society or its advertisers.

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

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

NWAS News DeadlinesFebruary 1, May 1, August 1, November 1

Northwest Accordion News Staff Doris Osgood................................... (503) 357-0417 [email protected] Ames .................................... (360) 904-1524 [email protected] Halverson (Advertising) ..... (503) 649-0724 [email protected]

NW Accordion Society Offi cers Bonnie Birch, President/Treasurer ................................. (206) 622-4786Doris Osgood, Vice President/Communications ............. (503) 357-0417Judith Ames, Secretary/Technology ............................... (360) 904-1524

Advisory BoardJohn Giuliani, Jr. ............................................................. (425) 271-2239Dick Myking .................................................................... (253) 537-0136Birgit Ages ...................................................................... (206) 947-8393Cooksie (Kaserzon) Kramer ........................................... (425) 828-9104

Membership:Doris Osgood.................................................................. (503) 357-0417 [email protected] Ames ................................................................... (360) 904-1524 [email protected]

Mail letters & articles to:Northwest Accordion Society

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

Or e-mail to: [email protected]

ADVERTISINGFull page $120.00Half page $65.00Quarter $35.00Business card $15.00

Prices are PER ISSUE. US Funds

Photo-ready Advertising (with accompanying check) for this publication may be sent to:Northwest Accordion Society

PO Box 687, La Pine, OR 97739or e-mail [email protected]


Winter Quarter 20162

Letter from the Editors

Greetings!Christmas is almost here! The time is really fl ying

by. Due to some personal events, this issue is getting put together a little later than we have in past year. Yet it is PACKED!

We had a very WET October. The temperatures are still mild in comparison to “normal” (i.e. we haven’t had our fi rst frost yet.)

Are you participating in the many social events going on? We would love to hear from you. This time

Quarterly UpdateTable of Contents2 Letter from the Editors2 Quarterly Update3 Letters to the Editor4 Jolly Accordion Man Polka8 10 Things I Learned from Cruise Ship Musicians11 Alpenfest’s Ad Hoc Accordions 12 Eastside Musicfest15 Divisions and Requirements for Competition17 Music Styles for Leavenworth 201718 Chester Pietka Scholarship Recipients19 Accordion Autumnfest in Forest Grove21 An Accordion in the Airport23 Gem State Accordion Club24 Keeping Up With Gary Blair25 The Accordion Life of Spokane25 What’s Happening at Able To Play Music Studio?27 Accordion on Broadway!27 Who was Roberto Carreno?28 Accordionists in Northeast Brazil: A Report on IV Festival Internacional Da Sanfona29 Santiago Jimenez Jr. Honored at the White House30 By the Way – 31 Beer, Bratwurst, Yodeling and Accordions Attract Record Attendance for Oregon’s Alpenfest32 Coupe Mondiale 201632 69th Coupe Mondiale Competition Results34 Sequim Accordion Socials36 Tacoma Accordion Socials37 Ribbon Festival in Tri Cities Washington38 Remembering Marjorie Rombauer39 Accordion Events Calendar41 Entertainers in the Northwest42 Meet Ron Ostromecki43 Remembering Buckwheat Zydeco43 Welcome New Members

we have a report from Caldwell, Idaho! More to come in the future.Judith Ames ([email protected])

Dear Members,

The autumn has been busy. The transition from O’fest music to music for the holiday season seems abrupt. I’m preparing for Thanksgiving travel now. It will be the fi rst time in 19 years that both of my boys and their families will be together; I’m really looking forward to it. By the time you receive this issue, it will be nearly Christmas.

Life is all about change, but changes are painful. This year, we’ve lost some of our founding NWAS members. My friend, Marjorie Rombauer passed away without fanfare, which was her style. She was smarter than all of us put together; Marjorie was a petite woman with dancing eyes and a keen interest in many things along with her love for all kinds of music. We will miss her.

The Day of the Accordion is scheduled for the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, WA Feb. 25, 2017. The day has been a great outreach to people outside of the accordion community. Professional performers are featured on the Market Stage. Rising Star performers will play also. The staff at the mall has done great work the past couple of years with publicity on our behalf. Crossroads is a multicultural venue. Details will be posted at www.nwasnews.com after the fi rst of the year.

As you know, the Northwest Accordion Society puts on the Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration in Leavenworth, Washington June 15 – 18, 2017. Our LIAC Chairman, Bonnie Birch, is working on the details now. Note that the competition information is available in this issue. There are some adjustments. The professional performers and workshop classes are not settled as I write. As you know, the availability of performers determines what we can do. That, coupled with our budget makes Bonnie’s work challenging. Updates and more details will be found at www.accordioncelebration.org by the end of January. Time moves along quickly. LIAC will be here before you know it. Make plans today to join us in Leavenworth for the love of the accordion.

In this issue we have an original composition by Constantine Mantini. Connie has written several pieces and has shared them with the Northwest Accordion News. We thank him for his generosity.



Letters to the Editor

Dear NWAS,Thank you for your support. Douglas Maxwell, Mead, WA

Dear NWAS Staff ,Millions of thanks for the tireless eff ort of creating a

professional magazine time after time for all members information and enjoyment. The only thing that tends to sadden me is the passing of so many great players and promoters of our chosen instrument. Someone I knew personally, and others were just well known to all. We will miss these talented individuals.Thanks again,Randall A. Tron, Sumner, WA

Reminder!Membership rates increased to $20 for Student,

$25 for regular members and $40 for Patron (Canada add $10 and outside North America add

$15 - All US funds)

Are your membership dues due?Check our mailing label!

We appreciate those who renew without reminders.

Thanks also go to Toby Hanson for making a YouTube recording of this music. Many of our members have requested that; I’m grateful that Toby could fi t that into his very busy schedule.

As we close our 26th year of publication, we thank our faithful advertisers. Michael Arralde and Petosa Accordions have been with us since the beginning. We owe them much for their support. Judith, Colleen, and I are grateful for your patience and support of our publishing eff orts. Our “staff ” is a volunteer unit. Regrettably errors happen from time to time and we appreciate your for understanding. We strive to produce a quality magazine style newsletter for the members of the Northwest Accordion Society.

Have a joyful Christmas fi lled with music. We wish you good health for the New Year. To all, we wish peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

Doris Osgood

[email protected]

Dear Doris and NWAS.In the wake of my loss of Frank, I fi nd comfort in

knowing how many countless hours of hard work ev-eryone has done at the NWAS to keep the spirit of the accordion alive. He would be happy. In his memory, please accept my check with a grateful heart.With love,Anne Marocco, Lake Balboa, CA

Thank you for your great magazine! It truly is my favorite one.

Paula Wallenius, Woodinville, WA

Dear NWAS,Thank you for all you do for all of us.

Andy Mirkovich, Sammamish, WA

Keep up the good work! I always enjoy reading the Newsletter. Tom McGough, Columbus, IN

Sorry for the delay in renewing my membership. Thanks for the memories.Mary Cook, Gig Harbor, WA

Dear NWAS,WOW and awesome are the only two words that

can explain how much fun it was to read and IN COLOR this time. What a huge diff erence. Articles and updates on so many activities and accordionists, thoroughly made this extra long?? quarterly great. I think from now on I only need the online version and stop the hard copy. That will save pennies from the cost factor from your end and maybe a branch or two from a tree.

Never knew what color enhancement could do to the pictures.

Keep up the excellent publication.Take care and keep healthyKaren Halgren, Anacortes, WA

Editor - if you have not received a link to the online ver-sion and would like to, please email [email protected] for the quarterly link.

Day of the Accordion 2017

Saturday, February 25, 201711:30 AM - 9:00 PM

Crossroads Bellevue Food Court15600 NE 8th Bellevue, WA



F1 CF C F GAug

C6

11 G7

Am16 D7 G7

21 C

Jolly Accordion Man PolkaComposed and Arranged by Connie Mantini

©2014 Connie J. Mantini- All Rights Reserved

M 7M

7M 7

M

M 7

m7

7

M

Engraving by R.R. Ostromecki



A726 Dm B

FDim31 F C7

F1.36 GAug F2.

B40

45 F7

Jolly Accordion Man Polka pg 2

7 m M

d M7

M 7 M

Trio M

M7



F750 B

55

B 760 E

B Dim65 B

To Coda

G7 C7 F7

1.70 C7 2. B

Fine


7 M

M

7M

d M 77

7

7 M



F

Coda

74 C7

79 F F7

B84 B m F

D789 G7 C7 F F7

D.S. al Fine


M 7

7 M 7

M m M

77 7

M 7



10 Things I Learned from Cruise Ship MusiciansBy John Martin

know your audience.Introduce Your Songs: Many times when you

are interacting with the audience you can also in-troduce the song. “New York” and “San Francisco” are obvious examples. But sometimes it’s fun to tell something interesting about the song or its composer. Research some of your favorite songs on the Inter-net and fi nd some unusual or fun facts. Take what you have learned and turn it into a short, stimulating introduction.

Sing! If a song has words, then you can be sure that your audience is thinking the words as you play. Your playing should mimic a singer’s phrasing and dynamics. And when you sing, you remind them of the lyrics and help them identify the song. Now, I know what you are thinking: “I can’t sing!” or “I can’t sing and play.” Well, here is the good part; you don’t have to be that good or sing the whole thing. Just sing the fi rst line: “I left my heart in San Francisco.” By do-ing this you help them remember the song and given them permission to sing along.

Dress Appropriately: Cruise ship musicians have strict dress and behavior codes. They look pro-fessional and act appropriately. Accordionists should

It was my fi rst cruise. I was expecting the beauti-ful vistas as we sailed the Inland Passage to Alaska. (And, it was truly breath-taking!) What I wasn’t ex-pecting, however, was the great music from the many talented musicians performing on the ship. Watching these people perform, I was reminded what good mu-sicianship is all about.

So, here are 10 observations about my musical experience aboard ship. I hope you fi nd them helpful as you develop your accordion performance skills.

Entertainment: It’s all about entertainment! Sure, notes and technique are important, but fi rst and foremost it is about pleasing your audience and pro-viding them with an enjoyable musical experience.

Know Your Audience: If you are going to en-tertain an audience, you must know who they are. For example, how old are they? When were they in high school and college? Did they grow up with the Beatles or Beyoncé?

Getting to know your audience can be as simple as talking with them. Before playing “New York, New York” or “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” you can ask where people are from or if anyone is from New York or San Francisco. Do what you can to get to



also dress and act properly. Do you have some spe-cial performing clothes for diff erent venues? Stepping on stage with an Oktoberfest outfi t, a Chicken Dance hat, or some other appropriate costume makes an impression on the audience before you even play the fi rst note.

Create Well-Paced Programs: Cruise ship mu-sicians are skilled in pacing their musical programs. Upbeat, medium, and slow—the programs have vari-ety. They don’t wear you out or put you to sleep. Look at your performance sets and analyze them for tempo, mood, and pacing.

Develop Program Themes: Some of the most successful shipboard musicians use musical themes to organize their program. A Beatles program, for example, off ers the musician hundreds of songs to choose from. If you are playing to a Beatles genera-tion audience, they will probably want to sing along with every song. An audience quiz about Beatles’ songs and trivia can be a great way to connect. Broadway shows, movie songs, holidays, city songs—with a little thought you can develop some fun sets that will engage your audience.

Organize Your Playbook: Your playbook should be organized and easy to use. Finding the next song

in your set should be as easy as turning the page or reaching for a tab. It shouldn’t take more than 20 seconds. Many modern musicians are organizing and reading their music on iPads. If you can aff ord it, give an iPad serious consideration.

Create Audience Participation: Cruise ship musicians are good at getting the audience to become part of the musical experience. The Chicken Dance is an easy way for accordionists to get people up and moving. If you are playing for an Oktoberfest crowd, drinking songs usually get everyone singing along and lifting their steins. In more traditional audiences, there are lots of ways to get the audience to participate—everything from clapping to singing along. Find ways to get your audience involved.

Have Fun: Of course you want your audience to have fun, but how about you? You should look like you are enjoying yourself! Be passionate—move, dance, and smile!

Shipboard musicians on my cruise reminded me how important it is to connect with people, have fun and make it enjoyable for the audience. Let’s all per-form like cruise ship musicians—whether we are on the water or in our home ports!

Graphics printed with permission.



Seattle Monday Night Accordion Socials

Date/Time: 2nd Monday of the month Music: 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. - be there early

All Socials are held at the Senior Center of West Seattle (SC-WS)

4217 S.W. Oregon Street Seattle, WA 98116

Phone: (206) 932-4044Cost: $5

Contact: John Giuliani (425) 255-2121 Contact: Birgit Ages (206) 947-8393

Backup: Bonnie Birch (206) 622-4786

December 12Jim Tobler

Nordic SpiritHoliday Sing-a-long and Potluck

No Socials in July and August

Photo from Seattle Socials

September Social featured Lyle Schafer, Lenny Lucci, Dick Myking and Einar Tapio. October Social featured Dan Newton, Ted Lunka and Bonnie Birch.November Social featured Folk Voice Band, Toby Hanson, The Bavarian Beer Garden Band and Mike

Marinkovich.

Marjorie Rombauer was our faithful reporter. Her “retiring” from this role and then passing away, leaves a big HOLE in the reporting. We truly need a volunteer to report on these socials.

Bonnie Birch Trio

Dan Newton

John Giuliani, Andy Mirkovich and Ted Lunka



Alpenfest’s Ad Hoc Accordions By Katie Eberhart

I like playing music with a group. Call me an in-stigator, or an advocate for ensembles, my inclination goes back to alto saxophone in high school and, later, a ten-year stint in a community band. Now, I’m learn-ing accordion.

This year, three of us from the Central Oregon Accordion Club (Colleen Halverson, Linda Cloudas, and myself) planned to attend the late-September Al-penfest in Joseph, Oregon. We had each signed up to play at the Joseph Visitor Center or Farmers’ Market.

A week before Alpenfest, the accordion schedule still had blanks in it.

I emailed the Alpenmeister, Chuck Anderson, and volunteered a group to play for an hour the next Saturday. I hoped Colleen and Linda, and Caryl Dow-ell (who plays with the Clark Dance Band in Sequim, Washington and was camping in our area) would agree.

No one said no outright. We got together only once, just four days before

the event. The updated schedule showed “Accordion jam” for an hour on Saturday afternoon. I had neglect-ed to provide a name for our group.

Deciding what to play, we started with songs that we all knew like Edelweiss, Beer Barrel Polka, and Snow Waltz. We had three versions of Liechtensteiner Polka that, with some tweaking, meshed. We chose Saturday Waltz (Lordegs Valsen) rather than Saturday Night Waltz; decided between two German medleys; and found that we had all three parts of Janet’s Waltz covered. Our list grew. By the time Caryl left to pick up her husband who had been kayaking the Deschutes River, we had selected over a dozen pieces. I had four new ones to learn.

Three days later, Thursday September 22, my husband, Chuck Logsdon, and I drove seven hours to Joseph, a century-old town situated in farmland near forested slopes of the Wallowa Mountains. We motored along the wide Main Street and south a few more miles across the treeless slope above Wallowa Lake. Our destination was a vacation rental house in a forested fold of hills not far from the primary Alpen-fest venue, the historic Edelweiss Inn.

Rickety steps lead to the Inn’s broad porch and, during the Alpenfest’s featured afternoon and evening events, strands of tiny white lights festoon beams inside the hall. A dance fl oor is fl anked by long tables and a fi ve-piece band belts polkas from the stage while dancers decked in dirndls and lederhosen spin and stomp through choreographed routines.

On Friday night of the Alpenfest, inside the

Edelweiss Inn, Chuck and I bought plates of bratwurst and vinegary German salads. We ordered beer in glass steins and found the last two empty chairs. The music, dancing, yodeling and, later, an alpenhorn demonstration lent a reveling time- and place-hopping atmosphere as if we had just endured a ten-hour fl ight and plunked ourselves into a boisterous beer hall in Munich.

The next afternoon, Saturday, an hour before our ad hoc accordion ensemble was scheduled, I performed on the Visitor Center porch. In front of me, the sidewalk beside Main Street widened into a plaza with benches and a large bronze sculpture of Chief Joseph. I played music I had carefully practiced—like Clarinet Polka, Helena Polka, and Sharpshooters March. Some passersby stopped and listened; some-times they eased closer, leaning on the porch railing, or sidling next to me to watch the manipulations that coaxed melodies from the accordion. When I fi nished, they’d ask “is the accordion diffi cult?” or “how long have you been playing?”

“It takes practice. And patience,” I’d reply encour-agingly. “I started three years ago, and lessons help a lot.”

“Do you play accordion?” I asked. Some people did. Some nostalgically mentioned a family member who had played. Baffl ingly, one man said he had two accordions in his car but that he hadn’t known about the Alpenfest.

When Colleen, Linda and Caryl arrived, we ar-ranged music stands and chairs at the edge of the small plaza. Shrugging our arms through the ac-cordion straps, we settled the instruments onto our laps, and turned to the fi rst page of music. I counted us off into a beer-drinking song (ironically, a waltz), In Munchen Steht ein Hofbräuhaus followed by The Happy Wanderer, its four-beat rhythm and upbeat energy conjuring carefree mountain rambles. We con-tinued with waltzes, polkas, and a schottische. People



Deadline for submitting articles, pictures, advertisements, etc.

February 1 (Spring)May 1 (Summer)August 1 (Fall)

November 1 (Winter)

Accordion RepairLance Curkendall

St. Helens, OR503-267-4580

[email protected]

roamed past, an audience in motion, as if we were buskers and they had hardly any time to spare.

As we neared the end of our set, sun split the clouds and a breeze rattled leaves like a secret mes-sage from winter. Maybe we helped the season along with Snow Waltz, the lilting second part hinting at sparkling wintertime festivities. Two women partnered and gleefully waltzed around the plaza; and, for a few brief moments, we were all connected by the joyously schmaltzy music—exactly the delight that draws me to play music with a group.

Eastside MusicfestOctober 23rd 2016

This Concert was held at the newly opened beau-tiful “state of the art” Resonance Theatre in Bellevue WA, and was attended by a capacity crowd of enthu-siastic accordion lovers plus fi rst timers interested in our favorite instrument.

The Northwest Accordionaires unde r the direc-tion of Cooksie Kramer opened the concert playing a varied program including the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Bizet’s Carmen which was sung by Tova Dodge who has worked with the One World Sym-phony performing Amor in Orfeo, as well as Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, which toured in Leipzig Germany.

Next the David Lange Group with his fellow Pearl Django members Tim Lerch and Rick Leppanen delighted the audience with their varied selection of Gypsy Jazz tunes. As an added bonus Lionel Kramer joined them on drums for their last 2 numbers.

Murl Allen Sanders Trio featuring Clipper An-derson on Bass and Mark Ivester wowed the audi-ence with a varied program of pop, zydeco Brazilian and jazz standards. David Lange joined the trio with impromptu duets of the 2 accordions that were excep-tional.

Finally Jamie Maschler and En Canto performed a varied potpourri of Brazilian and Cuban music which had the audience dancing in the aisles. Another highlight was when Murl Sanders joined Jamie for a further impromptu duet of 2 fi ne musicians.

Here are some of the email feedbacks we re-ceived after the concert:

1. One of the happiest concerts ever.2. Terrifi c event with the musicians enjoying

each other’s music.3. The collaboration and cooperation of the

musicians was a joy to behold and really appreciated by the audience.

4. Never knew that the accordion could play such music!

For Sale

72 bass Zero SetteExcellent Condition

Soft case with wheelsWill sell for $2500 OBO.

(503) 649-0724



Photos from the Eastside MusicFest

Tova Dodge

NW Accordionaires

Cooksie Kramer and Mary Elworth

David Lange Group

David Lange

Jaime Maschler and En Canto

David Lange and Murl Sanders Trio

Murl Sanders and Jaime Maschler

Jaime Maschler





Divisions and Requirements for Competition2017 Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration

*Open Categories - Open to both Professionals and Amateurs*

Category Age Category Code Fee

Leavenworth Open All LV-O $35

Classical Open All CL-O $20

LIAC Old Time Open All OT-O $20

Accordion Duets Open All AD-1 $20 (per entrant)

Diatonic All DI-O $20

Bands All BA-1 $15 (per band mem-ber)

*Amateur Categories - Amateurs only*

Category Age Category Code Fee

Variety 1 46+ V-1 $20

Variety 2 19 - 45 V-2 $20

Variety 3 15 - 18 V-3 $15

Variety 4 11-14 V-4 $15

Variety 5 10 & under V-5 $15

Accordion Duets 17 & under AD-A $15 (per entrant)

Amateur Classical 17 & under AC-1 $20

Evaluation All Ages(non-competitive)

E-O(Held at

the GRANGE)$15

*SEE COMPETITION RULES FOR IMPORTANT EXPLANATIONS*

Leavenworth Open - 3 selections of diff erent genres - max time: 12 minutes Classical Open - 1 selection - max time: 8 minutes LIAC Old Time Open - 2 selections of diff erent styles (see #8 in Rules) - max time: 7 minutes Accordion Duets Open - 2 selections - 1 must be Old Time - max time: 8 minutesDiatonic - 2 selections - both must be Old Time - max time: 8 minutesBands - 2 selections any style - max time: 10 minutes Variety (1 - 5) - 2 selections – any style - max time: 8 minutes Amateur Classical - 17 & under - 1 selection - max time: 8 minutes Accordion Duets - 17 & under 2 selections – 1 must be Old Time – max time: 8 minutesEvaluation - non-competitive - 1 or 2 selections may be played - will take place at the Grange



Competition Rules: Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration

1. Contestants may enter as many categories as they qualify for – SEE DIVISIONS AND REQUIREMENTS 2. The contestant playing order is determined by a random drawing prior to beginning the competition. 3. Entry applications must be postmarked no later than May 27, 2017. The LIAC Committee reserves the right to

accept late entries at its discretion. Late entries, if allowed, will play first in any category. 4. For this competition, the term “PROFESSIONAL” is anyone who is currently active in a career playing the accordion;

i.e. Listed in Publications as a concert performer, promoting oneself as a professional, receiving money through contracts to perform, etc. Those considered Professional musicians may participate in the Leavenworth Open, Classical Open, LIAC Old Time Open, Accordion Duets Open, Diatonic and Bands only.

5. The LIAC Committee reserves the right to limit entries in any category. Categories with 3 entries or less are subject to review and could be cancelled.

6. Digital, electronic, amplified and MIDI accordions are not accepted in any division. If any of these systems are installed only the acoustic accordion will be allowed (see rule 13 for exception).

7. Competitors must provide proof of age upon request by the LIAC Committee. 8. For the purpose of this competition, “Old Time” refers to the manner and style in which the selection was written or is

being played, not to the selection’s age or ethnic origin. Old-time music is fittingly described as the style and tempo predominantly and successfully used for executing the polka, schottische, waltz throughout a broad cross-section of North American and European communities during the past few centuries. Also for the purpose of this competition, “LIAC Old Time Open” may include the march. All cultural styles are equally acceptable as long as theselection is played in the manner used by the culture of origin. With this as a guide, the decision of the adjudicators isfinal. Competitors must play two different music styles; selections will not have the same meter.

9. CLASSICAL describes the category of music which follows the original form and intent of the composer; repeats may be omitted. The printed sheet music is provided to the judges.

10. LIGHT CLASSICAL MUSIC is based on a classical piece or theme but is reinterpreted to have entertainment value; itdoes not have to follow the format of the original composition.

11. OPEN COMPETITIONS: If a person has won the same Open competition for two consecutive years, they must sit out one year before competing in that particular Open again.

12. DIATONIC DIVISION: Diatonic accordions of all types/styles are allowed but only “old-time” music selections are permitted.

13. BAND DIVISION: This must be a group of three or more musicians with a predominant acoustic accordion lead. Thelead accordion may be amplified but not electronic or virtual accordion and must lead at least 2/3 of the time. There are no age limits and professionals can participate. Support instruments will be judged on the quality of harmony with the lead instrument. Support instruments may be amplified to achieve a loudness level consistent with the lead accordion. Vocalists may be substituted for instruments.

14. Should a competitor wish to play 2 old time selections in the Variety category, the two pieces must be from different styles – See Rule #8.

15. Classical music can only be played in the Classical Open and Amateur Classical categories. 16. The Leavenworth Open will allow any music style other than classical; three different styles are required. 17. When competing in more than one category, the music selected must be different for each category. 18. Contestants may restart a selection within 15 measures of its start without penalty. If restarting, the full time limit is

allowed as if no playing had yet taken place. Only one restart allowed with no penalty. 19. The adjudication process begins with the on-stage presence of the contestant and is concluded with the preparation

of remarks and scores by the adjudicators. Adjudication for all categories will be based on the appropriateness of music, interpretation (appropriate style), tone projection and balance, stage presence and appearance, phrasing and articulation, dynamics and shading, technique and accuracy, tempos and rhythm, bellows technique and control and level of complexity.

20. Discussions with adjudicators about a contestant’s performance must be delayed until after the day's competition is completed to avoid interference with the adjudication process. Good Sportsmanship is expected. This courtesy to the adjudicators is essential and a contestant may be disqualified by the LIAC Committee for violation of this procedure. Score sheets and adjudicators remarks are available to contestants at the end of the Celebration after the awards ceremony. The decision of the judges is final.

21. The contestants must present a pleasing appearance. Good grooming and dress is expected. Tank tops, T-shirts, shorts and jeans are unacceptable attire unless part of the ethnic costume dress.

22. Any camera and video pictures taken must not interfere with competitors, adjudicators and audience. No flash photography of contestants when active playing is occurring.

23. Only a Page Turner is allowed on stage to assist the competitor during the performance. 24. The decision of the LIAC Committee shall be final regarding all of the above rules, except for scoring, which

shall be the responsibility of the adjudicators (judges).



Music Styles for Leavenworth 2017Any player, professional or amateur, is eligible to play in any “Open” category. In the “Variety” categories, only amateurs may play. Below is some clarifi cation about music styles and the competition categories.

Music Styles

For the purpose of this competition, “OLD TIME” refers to the manner and style in which the selection was written or is being played, not to the selection’s age or ethnic origin. Old-time music is fi ttingly described as the style and tempo predominantly and successfully used for executing the polka, schottische, and waltz throughout a broad cross-section of North American and European communities during the past few centuries. For the purposes of this competition, the march may be included.

CLASSICAL describes the category of music which follows the original form and intent of the composer; repeats may be omitted to fi t the time requirement. The printed sheet music is provided to the judges. The presentation is not to exceed 8 minutes.

LIG HT CLASSICAL MUSIC is based on a classical piece or theme but is reinterpreted to have entertainment value; it does not have to follow the format of the original composition.

Competition Categories

DIATONIC DIVISION: Diatonic accordions of all types/styles are allowed but only “old-time” music selections permitted. This category is open to amateur and professional accordionists.Digital, electronic, amplifi ed and MIDI accordions are not accepted in any division. If any of these systems are in-stalled only the acoustic accordion will be allowed.

The LEAVENWORTH OPEN requires the competitor to play three selections. The competitor will play 3 selections from genres such as jazz, popular, old time, and light classical. Classical music is not appropriate. The 3 pieces must be from diff erent music styles. If the competitor chooses to play more than one old time music selection for the category, the music must be selected from the remaining old time list as defi ned in rule #8. The competitor will confi ne the presentation to 12 minutes or less.

CLASSICAL MUSIC is played only in the Classical categories; LIGHT CLASSICAL music may be played in the Leavenworth Open, Duet, Band, and Varieties divisions.

LIAC OLD TIME OPEN part of the celebration for the 2nd year and is an old time competition unique to Leavenworth. The march may be included with the other 3 dance styles. All cultural styles are equally acceptable as long as the selection is played in the manner used by the culture of origin. Each competitor will select 2 pieces from the 4 listed; the presentation is not to exceed 7 minutes. With this as a guide, the decision of the adjudicators is fi nal.

The DUET category requires one Old Time selection plus another piece from any other music genre. See Rule #8. Competitors may choose to play old time music exclusively; in that event a diff erent style will be required for the 2nd piece. The presentation is not to exceed 8 minutes.

The BAND category is an open division. Note the regulations regarding this category. Two selections will be played from any style. The selections will not be of the same style. The presentation is not to ex-ceed 10 minutes.

The VARIETY category is for amateur players only. The competitor will play 2 selections from any genre: old time, popular, jazz, and light classical, ballad etc. Each selection must be diff erent. (A waltz and a fox trot for instance). Classical music is not accepted in this category. Should a player choose to play 2 old time selections, they must be of diff erent styles as listed in Rule #8. The presentation is not to exceed 8 minutes.

We also have a category called EVALUATION. This category will have a panel of qualifi ed accordionists reviewing the performance. The purpose is to give the player an opportunity to have their playing evalu-ated in a constructive and helpful manner without the pressure of competition. This category does not have monetary awards but the award is in the helpful com-ments obtained. Young players participating in the evaluation qualify for the LIAC bursary. All evalua-tions will be done at the Grange.Professional players are allowed in all Open cat-egories along with duets, bands, and diatonic cat-egories. They may also participate in the EVALU-ATION category.Competitors are not required to play for the entire time segment but must play the required music for each category.



Chester Pietka Scholarship Recipients

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

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



Accordion Autumnfest in Forest GroveOctober 23, 2016By Doris Osgood

Preparation for our autumnfest always starts long before. Free publicity is becoming limited. When a call came from the local NBC affi liate in Portland, I was surprised and excited. I didn’t realize that they were looking to have ME on air live to promote our event. TV segments are interesting and short! They asked me to play. When I wanted clarifi cation on what they wanted, I was told 8 seconds of music before the fi rst break and 10 seconds at the end to transition to commercial. Well, I did it! The hosts did a great job of promoting our featured player at the end of the seg-ment and provided all of the pertinent information on air for our event and as well as on their web site. As it happens, several people new to the accordion socials saw the TV segment and attended as a result. We’ve been meeting in Forest Grove for a very long time. Now a whole new generation of reporters and players have found us and we’re a novelty again!

Because nobody likes to play fi rst, I started the afternoon playing Emmanuel Gasser’s At the Gazebo and Besume Mucho. Our 91 year old friend from Pleasant Hill was up next. Ed Makovsky drove over 100 miles to be with us. He played a gospel tune and a polka. It’s always amazing to see Ed STAND and perform. He’s my hero.

Judith Ames regularly attends but was able to play for both spring and autumn events this year. She played Fairest Lord Je-sus and Folie Musette. Nine year old, Adam Fundak traveled from Richland, WA to play. His “peanut gallery” was full of supporters. Adam played Red Hot Rock and Wild Horses complete with percus-sion. He was inspired after hearing Sam Thomas and Barry Smith use the technique in Leavenworth.

After several years’ hiatus, Lauri Neu-mann-Grable was with us for the entire day. She played a complex piece entitled Toccata and also played with the TVA ensemble. Diane Young traveled down from Kennewick

to perform. She played El Choclo and Carousel Rag, beautifully I must add.

Leonard Kosatka was AWOL in the spring. He’s been a faithful participant for many years. His trips to Hawaii have confl icted with the accordion calendar… He returned in October to play Pigalle and a Swiss Waltz. Our next performers formed a long distance trio. Dick Carlson, his son Todd, and Colleen Hal-verson played Swiss Chocolate Polka and Steiner-

Chilbi Polka. Dick resides in Tillamook, Todd in Clack-amas, and Colleen now resides in La Pine. Todd’s a string bass player.

Geoff Levear delayed his travel to Arizona to play in Forest Grove. He played John Williams’ theme from Deer Hunter and Tijuana Taxi. Geoff and Joyce were packed and left for the desert on Monday after our Sunday event. Next we had twelve year old Anna Botocan with Joe Szabo. Together they played Beer Barrel Polka. Anna played Somewhere My Love solo and Joe played mu-sic from Dances with Wolves. We were so glad that Joe’s schedule al-lowed time for Forest Grove.

First time to Forest Grove, David Emter joined us. Dave is a wonderful button box player. He played two original compositions; one was called Polka Motion and then he played a lovely waltz. Ginger Steele, our nursery woman and artisan of the fi rst order,

played When the Saints Go Marching In and Ama-pola.



We never know what Gerson Robboy and Betty Booer are going to come up with. “Bellows and Squawk” brought some fun mu-sic from the 1920’s by Irving Berlin. They sang as Gerson played Play that Barbershop Chord and When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam. They are always light hearted and fun.

John Martin brought his midi set up to play during our refreshment break. Just before the intermission, John played a lovely, haunting piece from the Middle East. The har-mony and rhythm were distinctive. He admon-ished us to consider that not everything from

that part of the world is bad. His piece was beautiful. John continued playing during the break. His selec-tions are always just right.

Immediately after the intermission, the Tualatin Valley Accordions assembled to play The National Accordion Swing, Anema E Core, and El Relicario. Participating accordionists were:

Jon Dyk, Jack Jones, Helen Purkerson, Duane Navarra, Marjorie Curkendall, Geoff Levear, Con-nie Weimer, Ann Thompson, Colleen Halverson, Pamelajean Myers, Jeanne Olson, Dick Carlson, Lauri Neumann-Grable, Lonnie Lembke, and Doris Osgood.

Jonathan Dyk kept our music go-ing as the large group disassembled. He loves music from the 70’s and 80’s and played two of his favorites. He loves to channel Bob Dylan and Jimmy Buff et!

Another fi rst time player joined us in Forest Grove; Charlie Brown from Gig Harbor, WA played Poinciana and the Unknown Polka. Briana Hart followed with Mat-tinata and the theme song from the movie,” Up”. Our last performer before the featured player was our

faithful friend, John Giuliani from Renton, WA. He traveled with only about 4 hours’ sleep and beautifully played It Had To Be You and Never on Sunday.

Sergei Teleshev is an internationally known musician. He plays with several groups and accompanies vocalists. His summer was very busy with recording, editing, performing, and traveling. He was avail-able October 23 to be with us in Forest Grove and we were thrilled. Sergei plays a diff er-ent style of music than many of the players in our region. He’s a clas-

sically trained accordionist. He’s talented AND trained! He began his solo program with two French waltzes. He continued with Fugue in C Minor by Bach and a 2 part Russian Suite. Another Russian piece, translated Lonely Harmonika, included a tasteful bellows shake. Sergei continued with the more familiar Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. His bayan sounds like a huge pipe organ – awesome! The last piece in his solo program was Voronezh Cowboy. This is a light hearted, fun

Charlie Brown

Briana Hart



piece and one of my favorites.

Eight year old Masha Telesheva joined her dad to play 3 duets. I didn’t catch all of the titles; one was an original composition that she called Papa’s Polka. They played a Russian piece last and Masha sang. Sergei continued to accompany Masha as she sang and provided rhythm for two more pieces. One was a jazz style tune. Sergei’s had some tasty licks as Masha managed some amazing vocal intervals. She’s only eight! They concluded with a piece that has got-ten considerably publicity recently with the death of its composer. Masha sang as Sergei played Hallelujah. Sergei and Masha received a standing ovation from a grateful audience.

In recent years, one of the signature parts of the semi- annual socials is promoting the Chester Pietka Scholarship Fund. We had very generous contribu-tions from individuals and from the Pietka Family. Ginger Steele provided 4 fl ats of plants. The raffl e tickets went like hotcakes! To continue the raffl e, other gifts were provided. More sheet music was available and donations also added to the scholarship fund. We always have great stuff and the fund is now able to accommodate many more young players.

The socials in Forest Grove require consider-able volunteer labor to transform the senior dining room to a performance space and then to restore the room. Members of the Tualatin Valley Accordionists took the lead to move furniture, provide refreshments, sell raffl e tickets, and take admission monies. This year Bob English, a friend of the accordion in Forest Grove, photocopied, prepared envelopes, and stuff ed the envelopes for our mailing. Gary Osgood stamped and sealed the mail. Our snail mail has been cut in half, but it’s still substantial. Many thanks to Dick and Patty Carlson, Jon Dyk, Duane Navarra, Geoff and Joyce Levear, Jeanne Olson, and Sue Armentrout for the extra labor and shopping for the autumnfest.

We had a great time. It was especially gratify-ing to hear from fi rst time attending, non accordion people. They felt welcome right from the start as Dick and Jon took their admission and they said that they thoroughly enjoyed the day. The music throughout the

afternoon was top quality. All music styles were repre-sented and were very well done. With that, mark your calendars for the Spring Accordion Celebration in Forest Grove April 23, 2017. We’ll gather for great music again, just for the fun of it.

An Accordion in the AirportBy Rita Barnea

Accordionist Elizabeth Wisler entertains pas-sengers from all parts of the globe each week at the Portland International Airport as part of the Port of Portland Musical Entertainment group. Since 2009, Elizabeth has been performing her “Music Around the World” repertoire for travelers from all parts of the globe. Every Saturday, she volunteers and plays her accordion in the se-cured area of Concourse D and the ABC Lobby. People stop to listen, chat, and learn about the accordion.

Her repertoire includes “Music Around the World” with French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin, Bossa Nova, Jazz Standards, 50’s and 60’s Rock and Roll, light Classical, and Ethnic.

Elizabeth has been playing the accordion most of her life. She studied with Luigi Rangan for many years. For twenty years, she was an employee of the state of Oregon as an insurance claims adjustor. Her greatest joy, however, is playing the accordion for people.

Elizabeth says, “Long live the accordion! Keep practicing and don’t ever give up!”

For further information: [email protected]’ve been acquainted with Liz for many years. She and I are both breast cancer survivors AND accordion players. I’ve always admired mature people who retire and then take on a whole other career after that. Right on, Liz! – Doris O



Reasons to Attend – October 23-26, 2017 – The 18th Annual Event!

Autumn Serenade



Gem State Accordion ClubBy Dianne Lansing

The Gem State Accordion club had a Jam session under the trees on August 27, 2016. Ginger and Dick Purdy opened their home and back yard to the club. Music books were provided by “One More Time Band,” to share with 12 accordions and 1 bass guitar. Solos were volunteered throughout the afternoon by: Sharon and Don Murray who played a lovely German Waltz “Longing for the Mountains” and a rip-roaring “Orange Blossom Special.” Ginger Purdy played “Money Bags”. Jack Donohue played “Don’t Blame Me”. Dianne Lansing played “Stardust”. Ginger and Dianne played “Petite Boutique”. Frank La Grande played a couple of selections from Palmer Hughes, book 3. (Considering Frank has played about 3 1/2 years, starting when he was 78! He did great, in spite of his nerves!); Jack Fealko played several big band numbers; Mike Civiello played “Lucien Tango” and :”Never Forget.” Margean Passey played a fun “12 bass Boogie.” Other accordionists were; Helen Lammey, Julie Eggelstrom, Pat Mickelson and a bass guitarist, Bruce Eggelstrom. So much fun!!! So many beautiful diff erent accordions.

Everyone brought snacks to share, enough to ruin everyone’s dinner!

Several spouses came along with the accordion players and were a great audience. They are always a lot of encouragement. There was a table for music to share music books, original accordion sheet music, copies of songs. All were off ered for free, take your pick. What wasn’t taken was then given to the Idaho Youth Ranch.

There will be another jam session in December, probably on the 17th at Helen and Dennis Lammey’s home. They have held one in December for the last 3 years, except when the weather was impossible for travel.

For salePetosa midi S2000Complete w/all accessories

Including speaker and Ketron XD9-ZD3Exc condition. $20000 new $4000 now

Call 503-430-0307 or 503-432-6912



Keeping Up With Gary Blair

After Gary’s return from the U.S. last summer our favorite Scot plunged into his regular gigs. The Avant Garde in Glasgow is a regular perfor-mance place always ensured of large crowds; he had weddings, corporate parties and other private gigs too. His band performed at Carlowie Castle for a bride and groom plus their guests all of whom hailed from Hong Kong!

September 19, Gary and his friend, Robin, fl ew to Italy. They visited the Cooperfi sa accor-dion fac-tory in Vercelli. After spend-ing several days there getting one of his ac-cordions serviced, they headed to the “home of the ac-cordion” in Castelfi dardo. The annual accordion

competition is one which brings many competitors, musicians, and Trade people. Gary visited a number of factories and was a guest of

Beltuna Accordions for their Annual dinner.Upon his return to Scotland, Gary was back

into his busy schedule which included his other band, “Domino Gumbo” performing at Black Fri-ars in Glasgow. He performed at accordion clubs and met up with his old mate, Jock the Box. The Jimmy Blair Accordion Orchestra entertained at the Erskine Hospital and then performed in con-cert with a gospel choir and several acts at Wall-neuk Parish Church in Paisley. This program was to mark the bid for Paisley becoming “European City of Culture. An enthusiastic audience of 480

people turned out for a fantastic night of music. As autumn approached, Gary was off to Eu-

rope again. Additionally, he writes that his band is booked for all Saturdays at Avant Garde in 2017. That’s job security! The accordion’s role in Europe is much more prominent than in the U.S. The Scots love their ethnic music and the danc-ing that goes with it.



The Accordion Life of Spokane

In early September the team of AccordionLife.com welcomed Antonio Tanguma, Jr. to the stu-dio for a three-day, in-tensive fi lming. The goal was to fi lm at least the fi rst three levels of the diatonic curriculum. An-tonio is a world traveler, teacher, performer and a champion of the dia-tonic accordion. We fi rst met him when he com-peted in the Trophée Mondial world competi-tion that was held in Spokane, Washington in 2012. During the competition he competed with a song called El Circo, in which he actually took his diatonic accordion and swung it over his head like a lasso while still playing! During his stay with us in Septem-ber, we plowed our way through the material for the Diatonic Preliminary Course, Diatonic Level One and Diatonic Level Two! We are excited to be able to work with Antonio to bring a new curriculum for the Diatonic to AccordionLife.com. During his breaks, we took him on tour around Spokane which included a stop by the Bing Crosby Theater where the 2012 Trophée Mon-dial was held. He also had the opportunity to visit the Spokane Interstate Fair with his Spokane host family where he enjoyed watching the mutton busting. We look forward to future fi lming sessions with Antonio and the launch of the fi rst diatonic levels.

Patricia Bartell, owner of AccordionLife.com, is al-ways seeking to bring the best approaches and most modern materials in accordion education to the USA. Because of this, she reaches across cultural borders to connect with the world’s best teachers, composers, and performers. We are happy to share that she has linked arms with Renzo Ruggieri of Italy, Zoran Rakić of Serbia, and Gorka Hermosa of Spain, Jerome Rich-ard of France, Eric Bouvelle of France, Franck Angelis of France, Kazy Stankus of Lithuania, Xiaoqing Cao of China, and several others to bring their work, ex-pertise and resources to the USA.

Just to give you a little taste of what is already happening with some of these musicians: Renzo Ruggieri, a world-renown jazz artist and teacher, has contributed his compositions such as Carnivale, Variations on Sakkijarven Polkka, Aquarelli Italiani and his method book, Ten Approaches to Jazz Im-provisation to the AccordionLife.com shop. We are

pleased to share that Zoran Rakić has allowed Ac-cordion Life to carry his Russian method of learning to play accordion. Books 1-6 provide a comprehen-sive method for learning both Piano Accordion and C-System Chromatic Bayan as well as new books that arrived last weekend that focus on the Free Bass systems. Gorka Hermosa, known for his high-level, contemporary compositions, has provided us with his music to share for free! We a re also happy to wel-come Gary Dahl to the team of AccordionLife.com. Gary has literally hundreds of beautiful arrangements that he has contributed to the shop; including Come Back To Sorrento, Por Una Cabeza, Tango for Astor, Twilight Time, Under Paris Skies, and more! Gary has also contributed many of his e-books, including one packed with great Christmas arrangements in many levels. To learn more about these amazing teach-ers, composers and performers, check out their bios and contributions inside Accordion Life’s latest digital magazine: accordionlife.com/magazine.

What’s Happening at Able To Play Music Studio?

A New Mr. & Mrs.Wedding bells chimed this July for two of Able To Play Music Studio’s teachers. Yev Nosov and Corrie Sams tied the knot in a lovely, outdoor ceremony on July 30th. Held at Dish-man Hills Natural Area, the backdrop of forest and log cabin lodge were perfect for the event. The Bride and Groom couldn’t have been happier. After the ceremony and recep-tion, Yev and Corrie disappeared for a two week honeymoon wandering the Northwest. After they returned, they launched back into work.

Yev is busy fi lming single song tutorials for Accor-dionLife.com. The most recent tutorials include Never on Sunday, Happy Birthday, and Beer Barrel Polka. He is also the studio photographer for Able To Play Music. He does professional portraits of our teachers, students, and more for both the studio and Accordion Life. If we ever need a photograph taken, we call Yev.

The new Mrs. Nosov is the editor and designer of



Accordion Life Today, a publication of AccordionLife.com. Since her return in August, she has been work-ing on the fall issue of the publication, designing the graphics, layout, organization and more. She is also the repair tech for Able To Play Music and has re-paired many accordions, both those that are local and several that travel from out of state.

Where in the world is Patricia Bartell?Owner of Able To Play Music and Accordion Life, Pa-tricia Bartell is often asked to represent the USA as an

adjudicator at international competitions. In August, Patricia travelled across the Pacifi c Ocean to adjudi-cate for the Harbin International Accordion Festival in China. While she has traveled widely, this was Patri-cia’s fi rst trip to China -- and it was an adventure. The end of September once again saw Patricia headed to

the airport, but this time in a diff erent direction. Destination: Portu-gal. Event: Trophée Mondial. She enjoyed a week of adjudicat-ing, connecting with world-class performers, teachers, judging can-didates from all over the world, and enjoying the ocean. Now she is back home and, as usual, juggling many projects for both Able

To Play Music, Accordion Life, Hohner and Simply Music Accordion. All this in addition to all the projects

in her personal life - one of which includes training her beautiful King Charles Cavalier puppy who is now nearly 8 months old.

Hot PortatosThe Portatos | Modernized Accordion Band of Able To Play Music have been in hot demand this summer. Ever since their release of their YouTube video of Star Wars, they have been sought out to perform concerts. Spokane’s Pig Out In The Park director emailed them and asked, “Where in the world are you and how can we get you to play for Pig Out In The Park?” They also performed for the Oktoberfest at the River, and ValleyFest - all within a couple months. This month, they will be performing at the Spokane Fall Folk Festival, as well as giving a 2 hour concert in Kellogg, Idaho for the Shoshone Community Concert Associa-tion. They have switched their performance style up a bit, keeping the energy, but throwing in a few fun surprises. With 8 young accordionists, a violinist, a drummer, bassist, and some vocalists - they are rep-resenting the accordion in a cool & modern way! You can fi nd their latest video of Star Wars on YouTube.



Accordion on Broadway!

Famous singer Josh Groban learned to play the accordion for his new Broadway play “The Great Comet” The video is from CBS News Sunday Morn-ing which aired on October 30, 2016. In a studio on New York’s 42nd Street, the cast of the new musical adapted from Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” rehearses for opening night. Twenty-four members of this pro-duction will be making their Broadway debuts, includ-ing the leading man, Josh Groban. “I’m coming from another world,” the 35-year-old singer told Anthony Mason, “and I wanted to make sure that it was known, right off the bat, that I was coming to this world with the maximum amount of respect for it.”

In order to be in the show, Josh Groban had to learn the accordion. So he bought one. “I came into the store, like I had sucker written all over my face!” he laughed. “I’m just like, ‘Hi, listen. I know this is gonna be a real pain in the butt. But I have a lot of money and I’ve never played before. And I need and instrument ‘cause I’m in this Broadway show.’”

He named the accordion “Olga,” and took her on tour with him this summer to train. “The accordion that I walk out with at the top of the show, that I play throughout the show, that accordion has been to New Zealand, it has been to South Africa, it has been to Australia. That accordion has been on my back for the last year learning these songs.”

Mr. Groban, 34, will star in the Broadway pre-miere of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” a musical adaptation of a 70-page section of Tolstoy’s masterwork, “War and Peace.”

Excerpt from the show’s website: ”Mr. Groban, who has sold more than 30 million records and main-tains a busy touring schedule, is best known as a tra-ditionalist, whose success has been built around soar-ing interpretations of classics and love songs. “The Great Comet,” on the other hand, is an electro-pop opera born of the experimental theater movement; the initial production was a boisterously immersive gam-bol set in a makeshift supper club at which vodka and pierogi were served to the audience.”

Josh Groban is making his Broadway debut in this show. He will also be making his “accordion de-but”!! What a great combination!

For more information on the Broadway musical please visit www.greatcometbroadway.

Who was Roberto Carreno?Submitted by Karl Kment

Many of us played the various excellent arrange-ments credited to Roberto Carreno. But most of us have no idea of Mr. Carreno’s background or credits. What about a portrait?

F. Henri Klickmann, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1885, was an accomplished piano as well as violin virtuoso as a teenager. This was the start of an illus-trious career spanning the early part of the 20th cen-tury and until his death in 1966. His contributions to composition and arranging are more numerous than the highly publicized Gershwins , Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin. He was the “go to” individual when a composition or arrangement was needed by a sym-phony, small ensemble, or soloist. He was especially known for his innate ability in creating and arranging intricate syncopated themes. Mr. Klickmann was ac-tive throughout his life and his prolifi c output is without compare. His numerous arrangements for various instruments was beyond belief, and in his later years he concentrated on solo instruments, including the piano accordion.

Mr. Klickmann did so much work of these works that he adopted several pseudonyms, which included Bruno Comini, Henri Clique, and Roberro Carreno.

And now you know who Roberto Carreno really was, and that HE was a musician extraordinaire who provided accordionists some noteworthy adaptations of well-known compositions.Reference: Smiles and Chuckles: The Story of F. Henri Klickmann by Rick Benjamin

Many accordionists enjoyed a cruise with Stas Venglevski.



Accordionists in Northeast Brazil: A Report on IV Festival Internacional Da

SanfonaJuazeiro Da Bahia, Brasil July 2016

By Murl Allen Sanders

Mestrinho Chico Chagas Targino Gondim Oswaldinho Marquinhos Cafe Gabriel Merlino Renato Borghetti

Remember these names if you like Brazilian music. They were the headliners of the festival, all vir-tuosi of the accordion, and a good sample of Brazil’s fi nest accordion artists. It may be awhile before you see or hear any of these people, but it is important for me to make you aware of them. You can look any of them up on YouTube and hear samples of their music. Thank goodness for YouTube! It has opened the young people of the world to some of the greatest ac-cordionists from all around the world. The inspirational factor of this online resource cannot be measured, but I can say with confi dence that it has an impact on all of us as accordionists, teachers and appreciators of good music.

I had the great good fortune to play at this ac-cordion festival in July 2016 and it was a truly unfor-gettable experience. The festival was founded and organized by Targino Gondim, his family, and a team of devoted employees and volunteers with support from the Brazilian ministry of culture. Past performing musicians at this festival include Frank Marocco, Bra-zilian legend Dominguinhos and the great Brazilian pop star, Gilberto Gil, who hires the best accordionists in Brazil.

The festival included three evening concerts, the fi rst two in a lovely 400 seat theatre inside the Joao Gilberto Cultural Center that had excellent sound, stage and lighting. The fi nal concert was outdoors on a huge rock festival style stage, also with excel-lent sound and lighting. There were more than 5,000 people in attendance. The stage crew was technically excellent and personally responsive and attentive to all the artists’ needs. Everyone involved in the festival was invested in making it a positive experience. All the performers at the festival were interviewed nu-merous times for Brazilian TV and print media. There were TV satellite trucks and reporters present all four days of the festival.

The theatre concerts were standing room only and the festival was packed with fans of all ages and many additional fi ne accordionists. There were workshops and accordion lessons daily and accor-dion music could be heard throughout the day at the performance venues and at the hotel where most of the artists stayed.

A quick look at the performers mentioned above:Targino Gondim, the festival founder and music

director, is a superb singer, accordionist and com-poser in the Northeast “Forro” style. He is a big star in Brazil and won a Latin Grammy award in 2001. He has numerous recordings and DVD’s to his credit and many appearances on Brazilian TV. His popular-ity is undeniable and no accident! His easy charm on stage and off has won him acclaim all over Brazil and beyond. He is a truly talented human being.

Mestrinho is a colleague of Targino’s and cur-rently touring the world with Gilberto Gil while also maintaining a solo career. Mestrinho was described to me as “the best accordionist in Brazil” by numerous people and after hearing his concert it was easy to understand why people feel that way. His solo perfor-mance was a transformative experience for me. He played many of his own compositions, sang beautiful-ly and totally captured the audience with his charming personality, laughing and joking throughout his set. His playing is brilliant and he is a complete and utter master of the accordion.

Chico Chagas, my Brazilian friend and colleague, is an accordionist, educator, composer, recording artist and arranger who played an exciting set with his band during the fi nal concert. His band was red hot and played a mix of his high-energy originals, arrangements and traditional Brazilian music. He was also teaching workshops at the festival. Chico is equally comfortable in jazz and all the Brazilian styles. He is truly one of the best accordionists I have heard. How wonderful to hear him play again!

Renato Borghetti is the master of the “Gaita” a small button accordion popular in Southern Brazil. He tours regularly around the world. He is a true master and an energetic charming performer who plays intri-cate and exhilarating Southern Brazilian folk music.

If he comes to your town, don’t miss him!Oswaldinho is a living legend and elder states-

man of Brazilian accordion music. He has played with many of the greatest Brazilian stars as well as hav-ing a decades-long solo career with many CD’s to his credit. Along with Sivuca, he pioneered the fusion of rock, jazz and Brazilian choro styles. Everyone ad-dressed him as Maestro and treated him with great



respect. His concert with the band was an exciting retrospective of his long career. Gabriel Merlino is an Argentine bandoneonist of the highest order. His per-formance of Tango music along with his wife, Varvina Tagini a marvelous tango singer, was truly beautiful and fully engaging. They charmed the audience with classic and modern tango. They are currently touring in Europe and around the world. If you like tango, they are the real thing.

Marquinhos Cafe is a young colleague and protégé of Targino Gondim and fabulous accordionist and singer in the modern Forro style. At this festival, he played as part of “Quinteto Sanfonico da Bahia” that included Targino and three other truly marvelous accordionists and a rhythm section. It was a real treat to hear him play. If you can get your hands on a copy of his DVD “Live in Salvador” you’ll see a real young Brazilian master with his fabulous band.

There was so much great music at this festival, about 90% of which I had never heard before, and I’m a longtime Brazilian music fan! Accordion is a huge part of Brazilian popular and historical culture. Chil-dren there aspire to become accordionists and play in bands. Accordionists are seen on television and heard on the radio. Jan and I even went to a museum in Recife, Brazil dedicated to the late, great Brazilian accordionist and composer, Luis Gonzaga. His music was performed frequently at the festival.

My performances went very well. The audiences were incredibly receptive and responsive to what I played. They sang along and clapped along when they recognized a tune! I played my mixture of blues, rock, zydeco, Americana and jazz and they accepted it all and made me feel right at home. Here’s the best part: after I played, they gave me my own personal “accordion valet” and I didn’t have to carry my own accordion! Wow! I’m not sure I’ll ever have that luxury again.

Another wonderful aspect for me was having a terrifi c backup band. Targino provided me his per-sonal music director/guitarist, Tadeu Gouveia, and a great bassist and drummer. When I came to the fi rst rehearsal, they all had my music memorized! Not only that, they had all learned it by ear (they were not readers).

In general, the Northeast Brazilian people were so friendly and gracious to me and my wife, Jan. They went out of their way to make sure we were comfort-able and happy.

Santiago Jimenez Jr. Honored at the White House

At the White House, a golden moment for a great American artist, conjunto musician / diatonic accordion player Santiago Jimenez Jr.

Santiago Jimenez Jr. is one of 4 recipients (and only accordionist) of the 2015 National Med-als of Arts. The other three recipients were author Sandra Cisneros, fi lm director, actor and civil rights activist Luis Valdez and playwright Moisés Kaufman.

The medal was presented to Santiago Jimenez Jr. for expanding the horizon of Ameri-can music. The medals, awarded annually by the National Endowment for the Arts, are the highest honor given to artists and art patrons by the U.S. government.

The presentation was on the 22nd September in Washington, D.C. and made by US President Barack Obama.

Santiago Jimenez Jr. has helped spread tra-ditional conjunto music, blending the sounds and cultures of south Texas and Mexico. His lively melodies performed on the button diatonic accor-dion have captivated audiences for decades.

Congratulations, Santiago Jimenez Jr.

Cooksie Kramer

Now accepting new students for 2017!Piano and Accordion

Call 425-828-9104Or email [email protected]



By the Way – We are so grateful for the Toby Hanson’s contribution to our magazine. Toby provided a YouTube recording of our original composition by Constantine Mantini. Connie resides in West Virginia and has written several pieces for the accordion; we thank him for allowing us to publish his Jolly Accordion Man Polka. https://youtu.be/94wSf3k5SsY

The Day of the Accordion is coming soon. February 25, 2017, accordion music will return to the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, WA. Details will be available at www.nwasnews.com in January.

I knew that Marjorie Rombauer she was a “mature” woman, but she seemed ageless. She was an accomplished scholar and had accolades for which most of us were unaware. As was typical of her effi ciency, she wrote a formal resignation of her responsibility as a reporter of the Seattle Socials sighting health reasons. None of us had any idea that she was seriously ill. She passed away shortly after she wrote her note. Her expertise in legal matters has been invaluable. She helped us navigate the copyright maze. Marjorie will be missed.

Accordion Club of Central Oregon, Bend, OR Starting in 2017, we’ll be meeting the 2nd Saturday of each month at 10 AM, Aspen Ridge Retirement Home, 1010 NW Purcell Blvd (near Costco). Accordion concerts monthly, on the 3rd Sunday at 2:30 at Aspen Ridge. Contact: Katie Eberhart (541) 647-1502 [email protected]

Jim and Shirley O’Brien took a European cruise in November. Their itinerary was exciting. Their cruise

went from Naples around the boot of Italy to the Adriatic. Jim commented on the crazed drivers in Italy. The weather didn’t allow some ports, but the O’Briens did visit some cities in Croatia.

In Zadar, they found a lone accordionist performing music on the street with his Hohner accordion. Jim said that he was pretty good!

October 30, 2016, the CBS News Sunday Morning aired a video of Gosh Groban’s preparation for a new musical adapted from Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”.

Groban prepared for one year for opening night where he would fi rst play the accordion.

I’ve heard from a reliable source that a documentary is being fi lmed about Petosa Accordions. Hopefully we’ll hear details soon. This is exciting!

We received news that a beloved Portland restaurant is closing after the fi rst of the year. Der Rheinlander has been an east Portland fi xture since the ‘60’s. It was the place where many young accordion players performed and earned their way through college. That was in the days when you could “work your way” through school. When Horst Maeger left the business several years ago, his long time accordionist retired also. Accordion music has been a signature element of the popular restaurant. Now, another place with live music will be no more. It makes me sad.

We encourage you all to consider participating at the Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration in June. There will be performance opportunities and competitions. The Variety categories 1 and 2 have been adjusted and Junior Duets have been reinstated to the roster. Start planning today and participate at the accordion celebration June 15 – 18, 2017 in Leavenworth, WA. All forms will be available at the web site: www.accordioncelebration.org in the spring. Also in the spring, Eileen Webber will be sending informational post cards and contact information for those without internet access.

The Rose City Accordion Club Camp at Silver Falls is set! Camp will be June 4 – 9, 2017. Murl Allen Sanders will return as director along with Beverley Fess and Mary Tokarski. Jim Bianchi will be joining them for workshops. Contact RCAC President, Wayne Tiusanen for details: [email protected] (Stas Venglevski cannot participate this year.)

“My parting advice to ambitious accordionists is that nothing can be accomplished without hard work. Even geniuses must study and work, so if you ever expect to attain heights, remember that we only get out of a study what we put into it, so work hard. I did.” -Pietro Frosini. Colleen Halverson, our advertising editor, resides in La Pine, Oregon. Her email address is: [email protected]

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

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



Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration

June 15 - 18, 2017www.accordioncelebration.org

Beer, Bratwurst, Yodeling and Accordions Attract Record Attendance

for Oregon’s Alpenfest

“I ordered 700 glass beer mugs to give away, thinking I’d have maybe 150 left over for next year. What I had left over was 45 mugs. It was a close call.”

Chuck Anderson, Alpenmeister of Oregon’s Alpenfest, said he was “amazed” at attendance at this year’s edition of the traditional Swiss-Bavarian festival in Wallowa County in September.

For the fi rst time, every adult attending the festival was given a beer mug at admission. That and a format change accounted for the increased attendance and a boost in food and beverage sales, Anderson said.

Attendees this year were given a ticket that permitted them to enjoy entertainment all afternoon and evening, with the ability to come and go. It amounted to as many as 10 hours of entertainment for $15.

Anderson, an NWAS member himself, said there also were more accordions than ever at this year’s festival. Visiting accordionists Colleen Halverson, Linda Cloudas, Katie Eberhart, Caryl Dowell and Jenny Ryan played on Thursday at Terminal Gravity Brewery in Enterprise, on Friday and Saturday in downtown Joseph and Saturday and Sunday at the outdoor Alpine Breakfast at Wallowa Lake.

In addition, leader Hans Rainer Jr. and Kory Tideman of the Happy Hans band each played button accordion, as did the festival’s offi cial Swiss yodeler, Art Brogli. Afternoon music was provided by Jim and Shirley O’Brien with their Roland digital accordions.

A bit of comedy relief was provided by Eric Rudd of the Tyrolean Dancers when, to everyone’s

astonishment, he roller-skated onto the dance fl oor playing an accordion.

“For the fi rst time since we revived Alpenfest in 2012, I can honestly said it was a breakthrough,” Anderson said. Attendance exceeded 650 adults, he said. Last year’s fi gure was 544.

“This is ‘Oregon’s Alpenfest,’” Anderson noted. “An earlier version, known simply as “Alpenfest,” began in 1975 and was discontinued after 33 years. Business owners in Joseph organized to revive the festival in 2011 and produced the 2012 event with activities in Joseph and Enterprise as well as Wallowa Lake.”

Based on studies from Travel Oregon, Oregon’s Alpenfest generates a $150,000 boost to the county economy late in the tourist season, when there would be little else to attract visitors, Anderson said.

Art Brogli, one of the players at Alpenfest



69th Coupe Mondiale Competition Results

69th Coupe Mondiale1st Aleksandr Komelkov (Russia) - RUB 450,000 (approx. US$ 7,000)2nd Nikita Vlasov (Russia) - RUB 350,000 (approx. US$ 5,500)3rd Pavel Masyuk (Russia) - RUB 250,000 (approx. US$ 3,900)Masters Coupe Mondiale1st Rodion Shirokov (Russia) - RUB 300,000 (approx. US$ 4,700)2nd Alexey Murza (Ukraine) - RUB 200,000 (approx. US$ 3,125)3rd Ksenia Yakovleva (Russia) - RUB 150,000 (approx. US$ 2,350)

Coupe Mondiale 2016A student of Mary Tokarski for seven years, Na-

than Chapeton is a young accordionist that performs and competes locally. He was chosen to represent the United States {AAA} this September 2016 in Rostov-Don, Russia, competing with the best players around the world in the Coupe Mondiale. Nathan has won the Virtuoso Championship at the Mid-Atlantic Music Teachers Guild for the third time.

Nathan Chapeton was inspired to play music at the age of eight after hearing his teacher, AAA Presi-dent Mary Tokarski, play the accordion. Currently he performs with the jazz ensemble at Middletown High School in Connecticut. In addition to the accordion he plays the electric bass, piano, and now is studying the upright bass.

He has attended many music festivals such as MAMTG where he won fi rst place in the virtuoso solo division. Not only does he perform as a soloist but he also collaborates with other young musicians and plays contemporary music, tangos and concert com-positions.

Recently, Nathan performed for the show “Around the World” with his longtime duet partner, Tor Stumo. He has performed at the AAA with other accordionists and musicians during which his interest in jazz was sparked.

Along with his teacher, Mary Tokarski, Nathan has been a guest performer at many concerts includ-ing performances in Long Island, New York, and Con-necticut. He has represented the USA in the Coupe Mondiale in Salzburg Austria and regularly competes.

Nathan plans to major in music in college. His plans for the future include introducing the accordion to young people around the United States through performances and workshops on the qualities of the accordion and its music.

Nathan shares his thoughts: “The 69th Coupe Mondiale was a great experience for me. I got to meet amazing musicians around the world, hear them play, and had a wonderful time getting to know a diff erent culture.

The Russian committee organized this event very well and was almost fl awless. The concerts that took place every night were absolutely wonderful, with diff erent kinds of music and other weird stuff ... even metal bending.

One of the perks of the trip was the food, es-pecially the local restaurants. In one of them, they served pizza and sushi at the same time! I’ve never been to a place that does that.

Every day, I would go to the Youth Theatre and listen to other contestants. Hearing other styles of mu-

sic and diff erent techniques of playing was amazingly educational. However, by far the best part of the trip were the local volunteers. They helped us with trans-lating and organizing the delegates and jury to where they needed to be. This was the fi rst time the Coupe had volunteers to help out. Whoever that came up with that idea is the best and I give them my thanks.

The only way this trip could have been any better is if it was free. I hope to return to the Coupe Mon-diale next year in Italy and see more of our fellow AAA members! If you’ve never been to the Coupe, please do yourself a favor and go. No questions asked, just do it! “ Sincerely, Nathan A. Chapeton

Mary Tokarski, Nathan’ s teacher said, “Nathan is a pleasure to work with. He’s a truly gifted young man who is totally consumed in everything musical. His abilities are quite “special”, and his goal in life is to bring the accordion to young people, and become a driving force behind the accordion movement in the United States.”

AWW extends our sincerest congratulations to Nathan on his excellent performance, representing not only the USA with pride, but also serving as a wonderful ambassador for young accordionists from around the world. We hope that this will be the begin-ning of a long and illustrious career both in music and with the accordion, and that he is able to continue his competition work on an international level.

You can view videos of all the competitors in this category at: h p://www.coupemondiale.org/2016/video-14jnv.htm

2016 Coupe Mondiale Daily Reports (pictures and information) and a Video Center with videos of all the Coupe Mondiale competitors is online at: h p://www.coupemondiale.org/2016/ru_coupemain.htm



Junior Coupe Mondiale1st Radu Ratoi (Moldova) - RUB 200,000 (approx. US$ 3,125 )2nd Timur Galinurov (Russia) - RUB 150,000 (approx. US$ 2,350)3rd Viljko Milojkovic (Serbia) - RUB 100,000 (approx. US$ 1,560)Intl. Comp. for Virtuoso Entertainment Music1st Daniele Carabetta (Italy) RUB 300,000 (approx. US$ 4,700)2nd Lorenzo Bosica (Italy) - RUB 200,000 (approx. US$ 3,125)3rd Andrea Di Giacomo (Italy) - RUB 150,000 (approx. US$ 2,350)Junior Intl. Comp. for Virtuoso Entertainment Music1st t Gustavo Aliandre De Almeida (Brazil) - RUB 200,000 (approx. US$ 3,125)2nd Alexander Bodell (United Kingdom) - RUB 150,000 (ap-prox. US$ 2,350)3rd Radu Ratoi (Moldova) - RUB 100,000 (approx. US$ 1,560)Intl. Comp. for Chamber Music, Classical1st Masters Duo (Russia) - RUB 300,000 (approx. US$ 4,700) Mihail Naumov (accordion) Aleksandr Komelkov (accordion)2nd Serotyuk and Gitin Duo (Ukraine) - RUB 200,000 (approx. US$ 3,125)

Irina Serotyuk (accordion) Volodymyr Gitin (clarinet)3rd Veni Dita (Russia) - RUB 150,000 (approx. US$ 2,350) Ksenia Yakovleva (accordion) Alexey Ivanov (accordion)Intl. Comp. for Chamber Music, World Music 1st Russian Renaissanse (Russia) - RUB 300,000 (approx. US$ 4,700.00) Alexey Mykitenko (accordion) Ivan Kuznetsov (balalaika) Ivan Vinogradov (balalaika contrabass) Anastasiia Zakharova (domra)2nd Masters Duo (Russia) - RUB 200,000 (approx. US$ 3,125.00) Mihail Naumov (accordion) Aleksandr Komelkov (accordion)3rd The Pillers (Austria) - RUB 150,000 (approx. US$ 2,350.00) Daniel Piller (accordion) Darko Piller (violin) Nenad Jovanovic (piano) Branko Jovanovic (tambura)Intl. Comp. for Digital Accordion1st Maria Kushnikova (Russia) - RUB 150,000 (ap-prox. US$ 2,350.00)2nd Valerio Russo (Italy) - RUB 120,000 (approx. US$ 1,900.00)3rd Konstantin Ryabin (Russia) - RUB 90,000 (approx. US$ 1,400.00)



Sequim Accordion SocialsSubmitted by Ilse Osier

September 11, 2016This accordion social was a cross-border aff air,

as our featured player was Rod Miller who lives in British Columbia. He was hosted for his stay in Se-quim by Caryl and Tom Dowell.

Our fi rst player for the afternoon was Ken Lil-lagore and he chose a medley from Fiddler on the Roof “Sunrise, Sunset” and “If I were a Rich Man”. Ken is a wonderful player and enjoys show tunes.

Next performer was Ilse Osier and I played “Feuerwerk Polka” by Strauss and a Landler “Komm’ Madel, tanz”.

Caryl Dowel and Ilse Osier then played the duet “Fuer die Loni” also a Landler.

Our next performers, a trio consisting of Caryl Dowell, Cathy Cowley and Frank Bruckner played the Schottische “Balen in Karlstadt”. Cathy has a new Petosa accordion and she enjoys playing it.

Paul LaMarche was next and he played “Misty”, “Marina Elena” and “Remembering Michael”.

Now it was time for the audience to participate by singing along with Helen Bucher playing the following songs. “School Days”, “In the good of Summer Time” and “Shine on Harvest Moon”. Our audience singers get better and better.

Elsy Laresser came up with another hit “Poet and Peasant” by F. von Suppe. Oh, how she can play this, absolutely wonderful. Her next choice was a medley from the operetta “Der Vogelhandler”, ‘Schen-kt man sich Rosen in Tirol” and” Wie mein Ahnl 20 Jahr”. I am very fond of this operetta having seen it in the theater in Germany as a child.

Another visi-tor from a diff erent state this time, Paul Bria played the “Oktoberfest Polka” and “La Pine Polka”. Paul wrote these lovely pieces while visiting in La Pine.

Ralph Klein another frequent visitor from Bremer-ton played “Let’s

Have a Polka” and “Little Red Valley”.Caryl Dowell was back with another piece

“Rauschende Birken” a lovely alpine waltz. One of her favorites she said.

John Giuliani started with two Italian pieces “Ar-rivederci Roma” and “Return to me”. Dancers came out in force to the dance fl oor but where was Dean Martin? Then John played “Al’s Boogie” and “Satur-day Night Waltz”, a Swedish waltz he said.

Hermann Laresser and Rod MillerThe duo Elsy and Hermann Laresser played

“Wien bleibt Wien”, Hermann accompanied on the guitar. “Einmal noch einen Walzer tanzen”, Hermann singing the words to this lovely song.

Break with refreshments and then our featured player was up and what a treat that was.

Rod Miller had a full program and here are some of the pieces he played for a rapt audience “Clarinet Polka”, “Life in the Finland woods”. He then changed over to his Zupan in-strument for an “Alpine Waltz” and a “Polka”. Next came “Beer Bar-rel Polka”, “Katerina a Boarischer”, “Who stole the Kishka” and “Kufs-tein Lied”. Back on the Petosa accordion he continued with “Dizzy Fingers” (made me dizzy just watching his fi ngers fl itting over the keyboard.) Paul Bria joined in and the two of them played “El Rio Drive”, “Alexis Lullaby” (composed by Paul for his grand daughter’s birth), and a “Polka Medley”.

Rod Miller, Paul Bria, John Giuliani and Ca-



ryl Dowell (do we here have a new quartet?) played “Father’s waltz” by Avsenik.

And the fi nish was a rousing “Liechtensteiner Polka” performed by John Giuliani and Rod Miller.

What a wonderful accordion afternoon with great music, great players and a great audience who stayed on till the end.

November 13, 2016Because of Veterans Day our emcee Tom Dowell

started this social out with a greeting and acknowl-edgement of our diff erent US services veterans. We even had one merchant marine veteran.

To start out with the music Caryl Dowell, Alice Dunkin and Ilse Osier played a lovely waltz by Avse-nik “Father’s waltz” in three voices. This was Alice’s fi rst time performing for our socials.

Two more duets followed, fi rst with Alice and Ilse playing “Domino”, a French musette and then Ilse and Caryl performed “Papillon de Nuit”, also a French musette.

Our next player was Ralph Klein. I have a hard time pinning Ralph down to give me the titles of his music because he plays by ear only and sometimes just plays pieces that he makes up. But today he did play “Blue Eyes crying in the Rain” and then a waltz and a polka.

Cami Apfelbeck, a student of Elsy Laresser for 7 months, played “Country Garden” and then Elsy joined her in “12 bass polka” by Franky Yankovic.

Helen Bucher who usually leads our sing-along session was not able to play this time but did pick out the songs with Ken Lillagore playing along on the accordion. We sang along to the songs of the armed services and fi nished with “God Bless America”.

Then Ken played a lovely medley “On Christmas Eve”.

One of our visitors, Sue McCauley from Ed-monds entertained us with a tango “Mexican Siesta”, a waltz “Bella Mia” and she fi nished with “Come back to Sorrento”. Sue told me that she really loves Italian music.

Next up was Ruby Wiggins. Ruby is so viva-cious and the audience loves it. She plays by ear only and her performance included “It’s no Secret”, “The wayward Wind” and “Four Walls”.

It now was Elsy Laresser’s turn and she beau-tifully performed “Jolly Caballero”. That is a crowd pleaser.

Elsy and John Giuliani then played as duet “Sentimental Journey” and “Play Me an Old Melody”.

The last solo performer before our break was John Giuliani and he chose a “Waltz Medley” and “That’s Amore”. Everyone loves to listen when John

plays.After the break we always have a featured player

and this time it was Dick Myking. Dick introduced himself and told a bit about his life and love of the ac-cordion. His fi rst piece was “Janet’s Waltz” and Caryl Dowell joined him playing the obbligato. The next solo piece was “A Norwegian in Vienna”, and “Mehr wie ein Kuss”. “Domowina” with Elsy Laresser join-ing in. “Tinker Polka”, “Scandinavian Waltz”, “Bride’s Waltz”, “Rose Room”, “Kristiania Waltz”, “Engelberger Landler”, “Silk Umbrella”, “Kentucky Waltz”. There were more pieces but I did not get all the names.

Another wonderful and successful accordion so-cial afternoon in Sequim with 68 people in attendance.



Tacoma Accordion SocialsSubmitted by Eloise Adair

AugustOur Tacoma Accordion Social met on 11 August,

a very sunny day. We had 35 in attendance. Silas Sherbourne played “Hallelujah”, “Charlette Mittnacht”, “La Valse de Amelie” and 2 Russian pieces. Dennis Perry was up next. He played “Golden Pheasant”, “Tony’s Polka”, “Olympic Fan Fare”, “When I am 64”, “I’ve Got a Wife” and “Shenandoah Waltz”.

Dick Myking played “Janet’s Waltz”, “Mountain Excursion Polka”, “It is no Secret”. “Livet I Finnskogan”, and “Balen I Karistad”. Tony Fohn played three unnamed numbers. Then Cathy Cowley and Dennis Perry played “Bill Bailey” and “Sue City Sue”.

Lyle Schaefer was our last performer. He played “Girl from Ipanema”, “Third Man Theme”, “Something City Polka”, “Who’s Sorry Now”, “Side by Side”, “New York, New York”, “Tick Tock Polka”, “Ridin’ Down the Canyon” and “Hurry Up We Got To Go Waltz”.

SeptemberOur September meeting was on Thursday the

8th. We only had 24 in attendance but we had a good program. Judy Gardner was our fi rst accordionist and she was joined by two ukulele players, Sherry Stinson and Regina Mansfi eld. They also sang and played “Deep Water”, “All Hat and No Cattle”, “When it’s Night Time in Nevada”, “Arms of My Love”, “Side by Side” and “Don’t Fence Me In”. Wilber Wybenga was up next playing “Das Kufstainar Liad”, “My Father”, “Whispering Hope”, “Centralia Waltz”, “Oregon Waltz” and “Edelweiss”.

Dennis Perry hadn’t played for us for a while. He played “September In The Rain”, “Meirzy Deats”. “Sakijarven”, “Village Tavern Polka” and “Johan Pa Snippen”, Cathy Cowley and Lyle Schaefer played two duets, “Beer Barrel Polka” and “Balen I Karlstad”. Then Lyle played “La Paloma”, “September Song”, “You do Something to Me”, “Pretend”, “The Last Time I Saw Henri’ and “Clarinet Polka”. Tony Fohn was last to play. He played a Swiss number and then it was time to close.

OctoberThursday 13 October was a very rainy day

for our social but there were 27 in attendance. We had a lot of players, several from Sequim. Our fi rst performer was from Sequim, Caryl Dowell played “A German Medley”, “Berg Vogabunden” and “Primrose Waltz”. Next Caryl joined a trio with Cathy Cowley

and Dick Myking. They played “Janet’s Waltz” and “Silk Umbrella”. Then we had a soloist Phil Cappetto playing “Ah Marie”, “La Vie En Rose” and “0 Solo Mio”. Dick Myking played next. He played “Fruelich Apanzeller”, “Engleberger Landler”, “Domowina” and “Spormin”.

Randall Tron played some German Music. His fi rst piece was “Liechtensteiner Polka”, “Wooden Heart”, “Just Because” and “Sailor”. Diane Crews was up next singing “Just in Time”. Tony Fohn then played two Swiss numbers but I didn’t get the names. Regina Mansfi eld then played “Nessum Dorma”, “Maria Elena” and “Mantinada”. Lyle Schaefer was our last performer. He played “You Can’t Be True, Dear”. “Trink, Trink, Trink”, “Morgan, Lili Marlene” and “Wien Bleibt Wien!”

NovemberOur November meeting was on Thursday the

10th, we had 26 in attendance. Our fi rst performer was Dick Myking playing

“Herregards Polka”, “Pa Steinkjertur Rheinlaender”, “Dog Gone Accordion Polka”, “Asjo Waltz” and “Roslegsvinter”. Our next player was Dennis Perry. He played “Resurrection Polka”, “Kinne Kille Schottis” and “Shenandoah Waltz”. Then Dick Vanderfl ute on piano and Lyle Schaefer on accordion joined him for a trio playing “Five Foot Two”, “Ain’t She Sweet”, “The River Seine” and “Meditation”.

Our next accordionist was Randall Tron playing “Melody of Love”, “Lemon Tree”, “Music, Music, Music”, and “Side by Side”. Eloise Adair didn’t bring her accordion but hers is like Dick Myking’s so she played his. Dennis Perry brought a Scandinavian music book like the one she has so she used it and played “Balen I Karlstad” and “Lokkeren Vals”.

Diane Crews was up next singing “Blue Skies”. Our last accordionist was Lyle Schaefer. He played “Blue Skies”, 2 Scandinavian Waltzes, “Memories of Frogan”, “Swiss Waltz”, “Cabaret”, “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, “Go West”, “It’s a Grand Old Flag”, “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “Edelweiss”.

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!



Ribbon Festival in Tri Cities Washington

Saturday, November 5, 2016 was a very special day for accordion students, Sam, Aleek, Adam, and Levi (students of Diane Young, Accordion Music Tri Cities.) There was a total of 282 young musicians (harp, violin, piano ,other instruments and the ac-cordion) who participated in the 36th Annual Ribbon Festival held in Richland, Washington. Thirty-three music teachers from the Tri City Chapter of WSMTA participated in this years’ festival.

Can a “Participation Event” be successful? Where did the idea for this event come from? Over thirty-fi ve years ago, several teachers in the Tri City Chapter of the Washington State Music Teachers Associa-tion came up with the brilliant idea of having a non-evaluation, totally fun experience with music for young students. It would be the teacher’s responsibility to prepare the students for a positive musical experience with an award and recognition of pretty ribbons. Their goal was not to have any blue, red & white 1st, 2nd or 3rd places.

The fi rst fi ve years were so successful that two of the teachers who came upon the idea, did a presenta-tion about the event at the WSMTA conference. Other chapters in the state adapted this idea to their chap-ter. In the beginning, some of the events were sched-uled at a “set” time. Now all the events in our chapter are “unscheduled” to help parents with their Saturday schedule. The hours are 8-2 and 5-6:30. Older stu-dents have an opportunity to perform in the Sonatina Festival, off ered the same day.

The Ribbon Festival has eleven categories: Solo, duet, spiritual/patriotic, original composition, scales, chords, arpeggios, theory, listening, an art project and a “special time period” ribbon. This year’s special rib-bon category was “Baroque.”

Part of Diane’s mission statement is to promote the accordion. She felt it important that each of her accordion students play a Baroque piece. There is a possibility to earn 11 ribbons. Just like all the partici-pating Tri City Chapter teachers, Diane set expecta-tions with each student months ago, 1:1, and fi lled out a “participation sheet.” This paper includes each category and the teacher and student make the deci-sion on what categories will be participated in to earn a ribbon. On Festival Day all participants wear their dress clothes and use performance etiquette. Each student is expected to bring their participation sheet, their instrument and art project. A teacher or parent volunteer monitors every event in each room. The room etiquette includes “No entry” while a student is

performing. Applause is generous for the young musi-cians!

Diane was again invited to play in the lobby as parents, friends and grandparents entered the build-ing. This year several of her students also played a few pieces, softly, in the lobby. Piano and violin students and their siblings were happy to have the op-portunity to try out a 12-bass accordion. Diane chose French, Italian, Celtic and Spiritual songs to showcase her new Petosa AM 1000 Leggera. The magnifi cent tonal quality was complimented by many attendees.

Diane is so very proud of each accordion student in the photo. (left to right: Adam, Aleek, Sam & Levi) She feels the accordion’s future is in “good hands” with the talent and hard-work ethic of her students. Di-ane congratulates all music students who participated in the 2016 Ribbon Festival. She also appreciates the Tri City Chapter teachers’ enthusiasm for the accor-dion students participating in the Festival.



Remembering Marjorie RombauerMay 11, 1927 – September 23, 2016

Marjorie Dick RombauerMarjorie Dick Rombauer was born May 11,

1927 to Jasper and Ellen (Kline) Dick. She gradu-ated from Langdon High School in 1945. In her mid-20’s, Marjorie left North Dakota and began golfi ng her way across the United States with an end goal of California but “ran out of money in Seattle.”

In Seattle, Marjorie met and married her husband Edgar, an accomplished attorney, com-pleted her BA in 1958 and her JD in 1960. After graduating #1 in her class from the University of Washington Law School, Marjorie was off ered a position as an instructor at her alma mater. Marjorie continued at the UW Law School as an Assistant Professor, an Associate Professor, a Professor and fi nally as Acting Dean. She was the fi rst female tenured professor. In 1993, Marjo-rie retired as Emeritus Professor.

Marjorie authored a number of law school textbooks and is widely considered the founding mother of the fi eld of legal writing. In 1994, the National Association of Legal Writing Directors established an award in her name to honor con-tributions to the legal writing fi eld. She received numerous awards and honors over the years, including the 2011 Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing Education, the Washington State Bar Association’s Award of Honor and Merit for her work in drafting and securing enactment of the 1987 Enforcement of Judgments Act and an award for Distinguished Service to the Profession

from the Association of American Law Schools. In 2000, alumni voted her one of the ten outstanding teachers in the law school’s fi rst 100 years.

Marjorie was also an accomplished musician playing the trumpet, piano and accordion. Over the last several years she enjoyed playing in an accordion quartet and wrote reviews for the Northwest Accordion News.

Marjorie passed away at her home in West Seattle on Friday, September 23, 2016 at the age of 89. She is survived by step-children Ed (Claudia) Rombauer, Rod (Susan) Rombauer and Jeff (Loretta) Rombauer and their families, nieces & nephews and their spouses Harriet Smith, Glenn Wageman, Richard Dick, Jennifer Dick, Charles Dick, Jasper Dick and Linda Bras-galla (Daniel) and their families. She is survived by several great, great-great, and great-great-great step-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. (Marjorie made a comment that she was trying to see how many “greats” she could collect in front of her name.) Marjorie was preceded in death by her husband, Edgar R. Rombauer, Jr., parents Jack and Ellen Dick, step-daughter, Judy Rooks, brothers Gerald Dick and Kenneth Dick, nephew Roger Dick, niece Penelope Wageman and others. Inter-ment will be at the Malung Cemetery (in Roseau, MN) by her brother, Kenneth Dick.

As stated by a colleague, “She succeeded by being, very simply, the best at whatever she did.”



Accordion Events CalendarBy Doris Osgood

[email protected]

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY SOCIALS SEATTLE, WA2nd Monday monthly: West Seattle Senior Center Dec. 12, Jan.9, Feb.13, Mar.13 Contact: John Giuliani 425-255-2121 or Birgit Ages 206-947-8393 Back up contact: Bonnie Birch 206-622-4786. Music 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM.

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY SOCIALSTACOMA, WA2nd Thursday monthly: Dec.8, Jan. 12, Feb. 9, Mar 9 Lutheran Church 121st & Park Ave. across from PLU Library 7:00 – 9:30 PMcontact: Dick Myking 253-537-0136

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY SOCIALSFOREST GROVE, OR4th Sundays April and October. Forest Grove Community Center, 2037 Douglas St. Forest Grove, OR. 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM. Contact: Doris Osgood 503-357-0417.April 23, 2017 and October 22, 2017

ACCORDION CLUB OF CENTRAL OREGONBEND, OR2nd Saturday Monthly, 10 AM Aspen Ridge Retirement Home 1010 NW Purcell Blvd, Bend Members provide monthly concerts 3rd Sunday 2:30 PM at Aspen Ridge also. Contacts: Katie Eberhard 541-647-1502 [email protected] or Karl Kment, 541-548-0495 [email protected]

ACCORDION CLUB OF ROSEBURGROSEBURG, OR3rd Monday monthly 6:30, 553 Little Valley Rd. RoseburgPres. Karen Cordell 553 Little Valley Rd. Roseburg, OR 97471 541-784-1911 [email protected]

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

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

EASTSIDE JAZZ Bellevue, WA3rd Tuesday monthly, Courtyard Marriott Hotel, 7:30 PM. Contact: Cooksie Kramer 425-828-9104

EMERALD VALLEY ACCORDION CLUBEUGENE, ORThis group has disbanded until further notice.

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

FIVE VALLEY ACCORDION ASSOCIATION MONTANA 5VAA Jams: MST 1 – 4 PM, DST 1- 5 PMPres. Helen Brady 406-370-8452Dec. 11 Rustic Hut, FlorenceDec. 25 no dance – ChristmasJan. 8 Lolo Community Center dinner/dance/electionJan. 22 Rustic Hut, FlorenceFeb. 12 Sunrise Saloon, MissoulaFeb. 26 Rustic Hut, FlorenceMarch 12 Rustic Hut, FlorenceMarch 26 Rustic Hut, FlorenceApril 9 Rustic Hut, FlorenceApril 23 Rustic Hut, [email protected]

Montana – NW Accordion AssociationDec. 18 Eagles, KalispellJanuary 15 Eagles, KalispellFebruary 19 Eagles, KalispellMarch 19 Eagles, KalispellApril 2 Elks, PolsonApril 23 Eagles, KalispellContact: Ken Kenmille 406-407-3514 all NWAA Jams 2 – 5:30 PM

Montana – Great Falls Accordion PlayersDec. 11 MooseJan 15, 2017 Black Eagle Community Center

Contact: Doris Seaton 406-727-2493Jams are 1 PM – 5 PMGEM STATE ACCORDION CLUBIDAHO3rd Saturday monthly 1 – 4 PM*Location varies. for information contact: Dianne Lansing [email protected]



Continued on page 43

HUGO’S ACCORDION BANDMT. VERNON, WA2nd and 4th Monday monthly 2:00 - 4:00 PM Director,Leif Holmes. President: Ron Zentner, 4100 S. Wilkes Gary Hts., Camano Island, WA 98282 (360)387-8143 [email protected]

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

MEDFORD ACCORDION CLUBMEDFORD, ORThe group has disbanded until further notice.

OKANAGAN ACCORDION CLUBKELOWNA, BCTuesdays weekly Sept. – May, Senior Center on RichterInfo contact: Lela Bourne [email protected]

ROGUE RIVER ACCORDION CLUBROGUE RIVER, OR2nd Friday monthly. 4 – 6 PM Council Chambers Rogue River City Hall, 133 Broadway St. Rogue River, OR. Pres. Margot Turrell 206 Creekside Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-479-9409 [email protected]

ROSE CITY ACCORDION CLUBPORTLAND, OR3rd Saturday monthly. 1 – 5 PM Milwaukie Public Safety Bldg, SE 32nd & Harrison, Milwaukie, OR.Pres. Wayne Tiusanen [email protected]

SEQUIM ACCORDION SOCIALSEQUIM, WA2nd Sunday, Odd numbered months, 1:00 – 4:00 PM(*3rd Sunday May only) Sequim Senior Center 921 E. Hammond StContact: Frank Bruckner: [email protected] 208-290-4037 or Caryl Dowell: [email protected] 520-369-2550

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

SPOKANE ACCORDION ENSEMBLESPOKANE, WA weekly rehearsals 6- 9 PM Eileen Webber, Pres. 509-290-6858 [email protected]

TUALATIN VALLEY ACCORDIONISTS FOREST GROVE, OR1st Sat. monthly 10 AM – 1 PM Forest Grove Library Pacifi c Ave. Contact: Paul and Judy Bria 971-205-4594 [email protected] or Doris Osgood 503-357-0417 [email protected]

YUMA ACCORDION CLUBYuma, AZevery Tuesday, November - March at the Yuma Food Bank at 2404 E 24th Street, Yuma, AZPresident, Coreen Bergholm, [email protected] or Ginger Purdy, [email protected]

VICTORIA ACCORDION CLUBVICTORIA, B.C. CANADA1st Sunday Monthly 2:30 PM, Victoria Edelweiss Club108 Niagra St., James Bay District Victoria, BCContact: John 250-386-7282 or 250-477-3098

BUTTON BOX CAMPS JULY AND SEPTfor information contact: Joseph Smiell Jr. 812 Bantry Way Benica, CA 94510, 707-751-0525 - camps held at Heildman Lodge, Norden, CA near Donner Pass DAY OF THE ACCORDIONFebruary 25, 2017 Crossroads Mall Bellevue, WA

RCAC ACCORDION CAMP- SILVER FALLS CONFERENCE CENTER June 4 – 9, 2017 near Sublimity, OR. Contact: Wayne Tiusanen, 503-919-2962 [email protected]

LEAVENWORTH INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION CELEBRATION June 15 - 18, 2017 Leavenworth, WA. www.accordioncelebration.org www.nwasnews.com

VICTORIA ACCORDION FESTIVALVictoria, British Columbia July, 2017www.bcaccordion.ca 1-778-433-8700ACCORDION CELEBRATION – Historic Wallace Wallace, ID August 2017 new administration and contact: Jamie Baker [email protected]

COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVALCotati, CA August , 2017 www.cotatifest.com 707-664-0444

ACCORDON EXTRAVAGANZAEDMONTON, ALBERTA September, 2017www.edmontonaccordion.com



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

Forest Grove, OR 97116 [email protected]

Alpiners USA www.alpinerusa.com with Joe Domitrowich

AlpenFolkBavarian and Austrian Folk MusicContact: [email protected] accordionist, Thomas Tilton, currently performing weekly at Andreas Keller Restaurant in Leavenworth. Please check website or email Thomas (above) for schedule.

Juan Barco – BandContact: 23091 23rd Ave. W. Brier, WA 98036425-775-8150; cell 206-356-1878

Corky BennettWednesdays at Polo Lounge, Fridays w/ 9th St. Band Reno Senior Center, Saturdays at Bavarian Worldwebsite: www.corkybennett.comemail: [email protected] Productions3983 S. McCarran Blvd #226Reno, NV 89502offi ce: 775-870-1509 cell: 775-287-2050

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

Chuck BergerAccordion Repair and Public PerformanceFor information call: [email protected]

Michael Bridgewww.michaelbridgemusic.com/[email protected]

Charlie BrownCharlie’s schedule is much too long to print. He has performances nearly every day of the year. This is only an excerpt. Check with him for the complete schedule. Charlie’s 2017 schedule wasn’t confi rmed at the time of this printing.Dec. 16 Clearbrook Inn Silverdale, WADec. 22 Claremont Senior Living Bremerton, WADec. 26 Narrows Glen Tacoma, WADec. 28 Olympic Azheimers Gig Harbor, WADec. 31 Mallards Landing Gig Harbor and the Willows Bremerton, WAContact: [email protected] hm 253-857-6557 cell 253-376-5487

Frank CalapristiWinter schedule at King Ludwig’s, Wed, Thurs. Sun.

nights; tour groups as needed For scheduling information write PO Box 1057 Leavenworth, WA 98826 [email protected]

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

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

Folk Voice BandFor scheduling: Birgit Ages 206-947-8393 [email protected] http://folkvoiceband.com

Laura Gardner/Phoenix Undergroundcontact: [email protected]

Happy Hans’ Music Hans Rainer, Jr.Dec. 17 Berliner Pub Renton 6 – 10 PMDec. 31 German House Seattle 8 PM – 12:30 AMFor scheduling information write Hans Rainer Jr 24613 231st Ave. SE Maple Valley, WA 98038 425-413-6562 [email protected] WWW.HAPPYHANSMUSIC.COM

Lynn HaldemanLeader of Haldeman’s OOM-PAH Boys(accordion, clarinet, tuba)Der Rheinlander Restaurant Portland, ORFri, Sat, Sun. 5 PM – 9 PM through DecemberContact: Lynn Haldeman 1200 NE 199th Ave. Portland, OR 97230 503-328-6099 [email protected]

David LockeFridays 9 – 11 AM Useless Bay Coff ee Company Langley, [email protected] 360-321-6011

Gary MalnerAccordion, piano, keyboard3010 3rd St Union Gap,WA 98903 509-952-3913

Jamie MaschlerApril 23, 2017 Spring Accordion Celebration Forest Grove, OR Contact info: 719-459-1983 www.jamiemaschler.com www.encantobrazil.com

Rod MillerDec. 31 German Club KelownaContact: [email protected]

Andy MirkovichDec. 10 and Dec. 18 Andy Mirkovich Trio Bellevue Square 1 – 5 PMFull schedule private engagementsMaster Classes by appointment: 425-451-1256



Murl Allen SandersDec. 11 Pacifi c Place Shopping Center Downtown Seattle 600 Pine St. solo performance noon – 2 PMJune 4 – 8, 2017 RCAC Accordion Camp at the Silver Falls Conference Center near Sublimity, OR Full schedule private engagements, regular performances in synagogue and church, composing, and teaching.www.murlallensanders.com For scheduling information write: [email protected] PO Box 30553 Seattle, WA 98113, 206-781-8196

Lyle Schaefer For scheduling information write: 9028-60th Ave East, Puyallup, WA 98371-6299 [email protected].

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

Smilin’ ScandinaviansDec. 4 Swedish Club Breakfast Seattle 11:45 AM – 1:15 PMDec. 16 Third Place Books Lake Forest Park 7:30 – 9:30 PMDec. 20 – 23 Lights of Christmas Tinhorn Town Stage Stanwood, WA 5:15 PM – 9:45 PMFeb. 7 – 9 SW Polka Party Orleans Hotel/Casino Las Vegas, NV 1 – 8 PM Tues., 3 – 10 PM Wed., 1:30 – 7 Thurs.April 2 Swedish Club Seattle 11:45 AM – 1:30 PMFor scheduling information contact: Toby Hanson11123 216th St. E Graham, WA 98338 253-875-8580 [email protected]://smilinscandivanians.com

Joe SzaboFri – Sat. 6:30 – 9:30 PM Nonna Emilia’s RistoranteAloha, ORFor scheduling information: 13484 SW Devonshire Dr. Beaverton, OR 97005 [email protected]

Sylvia Storaasli-JorgensenSylvia’s Arizona Dance Band (Southwest)Sylvia’s Ya Sure Ya Betcha Band (Northwest) Sylvia and Fjordsong (Scandinavian Band) Sylvias Oktoberfest Band (Bavarian/German) www.fjordsong.com www.facebook.com/sylviasbandsDec 6 & 13 Country n’ Old time Dance Greenfi eld Village Mesa 1-4 pmDec 10 Springhaven Resort (AZTEC) Country/RR Mesa 7-11 pmDec 31 New Year’s Eve Sun Valley Resort Apache Junction 8 pm to 12:15 amFor scheduling: Sylvia Jorgensen, 749 22nd St. SW Puyallup, WA 98371 , cell 253-678-7682 [email protected]

Sergei TeleshevExtensive touring and recording. Contact: [email protected]://triovoronezh.com/TrioVoronezh/Concerts.html

Diane Youngwww.accordionmusictricities.comFor scheduling information: [email protected]

NW AccordionairesFebruary 25 DOTA Crossroads Mall Bellevue, WAJune – LIAC Leavenworth, WAContact: Cooksie Kramer 425-828-9104

It’s holiday time. Our professional musicians have some public performances but most are booked for private entertainment. Contact the accordionists directly if you are planning a special trip to ensure their schedules. Support them when you can.

Meet Ron Ostromecki(Reprinted from NWAS Spring 2005)

You may have noticed the name Ron Ostromecki on many current accordion music publications. He has done some really wonderful work and has shared some of it with us. We asked to write a little something about himself for our members. Let’s become better acquainted with him. In Ron’s own words he writes:

I started taking lessons when I was 12 years old in the early 50’s. I studied for about four years with the Ronzitti School of Music in Erie, PA. Mose Ronzitti was the foremost accordion teacher in the city at that time. I played solos on the radio while in my teens and, of course, had a small band for a while. After graduating from college, I spent four years in the U.S. Army and participated as the accordionist in an Offi cers’ Orchestra on the base to which I was assigned.

I put away the accordion for about 25 years and then renewed my interest in 1990 after having the good fortune of meeting Mr. Eddie Chavez. Together we traveled to Seattle for the Accordion Day festivities in 1991. There I met Leo Aquino and the Petosa family. Eventually I became the proud owner of a Petosa AM1100 which I consider to be the Stradivarius of accordions. I currently only play for my personal enjoyment.

About fi ve years ago I became interested in the restoration of old accordion publications when I found that the acid papers of the 30’s and 40’ resulted in a steady deterioration of my music collection. My engraving hobby ultimately led to contacts with many prominent accordionists and I currently have the privilege of engraving the works of many great players, teachers, arrangers and composers, including Frank Marocco, Tony Dannon, Joe Morelli, Ralph Stricker and others.



Calendar Continued from page 40

Welcome New Members

Holly Barlow, Sammamish, WAYvonne Braune, Lacey, WAMatt Cooper, La Grande, OR Joy Heinz, Lacey, WASylvia Jorgensen, Puyallup, WADonna Madsen, Junction City, ORBill & Sharon Ostheimer, Renton, WADavid Raab, Fairfax, WAVera Rakovskaya, Issaquah, WA

Remember, you are welcome to give gift memberships! (Not too late to order for Christmas!)

The membership form is on the last page of this publication.

You may request hard copy, PDF (electronic), or both. You may also pay for more than one year at a time, if you like.

OREGON’S ALPENFESTSeptember 2017Wallowa County, OregonThe only Swiss-Bavarian festival in the West – events in Enterprise, Joseph and Wallowa Lake. Details: oregonalpenfest.com or 541-426-ALPS (2577). Chuck AndersonAlpenmeister/PresidentOregon’s AlpenfestP.O. Box 327Joseph, OR 97846541-426-ALPS (2577)541-398-1096

INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION CONVENTIONLas Vegas, NV, October 23 – 26, 2017 at the Gold Coast Hotel, Las Vegas, 17th annual conventionUSA: 1-800-472-1695 outside USA: [email protected]

Remembering Buckwheat Zydeco

Buckwheat Zydeco (Stanley Dural Jr), the ac-cordionist, organist, singer and songwriter, achieved fame as the man who introduced the Zydeco dance music of Louisiana to the world stage. Stanley Dural died on September 24th from lung cancer at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette. He was 68.

Stanley Dural Jr was born in rural Lafayette, Loui-siana, in 1947, one of 13 children. His parents were farmers. He worked on the farm as a boy, spending much time picking cotton, later commenting, “I did a lot of hard stuff coming up. I’m glad I did, ‘cause this stuff – making music – is easy.”

His father, Stanley Dural Sr., was an amateur ac-cordionist who played traditional Creole songs around the house. In his youth, Buckwheat – the nickname referred to his braided hair, which was reminiscent of the ‘Buckwheat’ character in the old ‘Our Gang’/‘The Little Rascals’ comedy series – rebelled against his father’s music. He took up the accordion, piano, key-boards and the Hammond B3 organ and gravitated toward funk and rhythm & blues, joined bands before forming his own and eventually fi nding commercial success.

His international performances include the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, which was broadcast to a huge TV audience worldwide, and both of President Bill Clinton’s inauguration celebrations.

Dural broke new ground for Zydeco, both stylisti-cally and commercially. In 1987, Island Records re-leased Buckwheat Zydeco’s Grammy-nominated ‘On a Night Like This’, the fi rst Zydeco album on a major label. More recently, the world-travelled Dural was the fi rst Zydeco bandleader with his own YouTube chan-nel, ‘Buckwheat’s World’.

He was a “cultural ambassador in the truest sense,” said Michael Tisserand, author of the 1998 book ‘The Kingdom of Zydeco’, which will soon be reissued with a new foreword by Dural. “He brought this traditional music to the biggest stage it ever en-joyed. It took someone with his talent, range, sense of showmanship and charisma to take it that far. He’d play songs by Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, and stretch the music beyond its original shape”, Tisser-and said, “but always with the sense of celebration, excitement and cultural pride at the heart of zydeco”.



Membership ApplicationAll funds in U.S. Currency

Membership Type:

Regular MembershipNorth America U.S. - $25.00Canada - $35 (U.S. Funds)Outside North America$45 (U.S. Funds)

New Membership

Student MembershipAge 18 and UnderU.S. $20/yearCanada $30/year (US funds)

Renewal

Patron Membership$40/year U.S. funds

Gift Membership from:

Name: (Please Print)Street Address:City:State: Zip: Country:Telephone: ( )E-mail Address: (This will be used for INTERNAL to NWAS only and will not be sold or distributed elsewhere)

I would like to receive the _____Electronic version (PDF) _____Hard copy ____Both typesPlease mail to: Northwest Accordion Society, 5102 NE 121st Ave. Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98682. Include SASE (Self Addressed STAMPED Envelope) for membership card

All funds in U.S. Currency

Northwest Accordion Society

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

www.nwasnews.com

Northwest Accordion Society5102 NE 121st Ave., Unit 12Vancouver, WA 98682-6164

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Current MembersYour membership renewal date is specifi ed on the mailing label. Please assist our volunteer staff by sending in your renewal form before that date.

Change of AddressTo avoid delay and extra cost, send address changes to the above address, or email as soon as possible. There is a $8 charge to resend undeliverable issues.

New MembersWe encourage all individuals interested in supporting, playing, and/or promoting the accordion to become members.

Membership forms are inside the back cover.

NORTHWEST ACCORDION SOCIETY Membership

5102 NE 121st Ave., Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98682-6164www.nwasnews.com

Documents

NORTHWEST ACCORDION NEWS · 4 Jolly Accordion Man Polka 8 10 Things I Learned from Cruise Ship Musicians 11 Alpenfest’s Ad Hoc Accordions 12 Eastside Musicfest 15 Divisions and