December 2 0 1 3 NEWSLETTER San Francisco Accordion Club Join us on December 15, 2013 At 2 p.m. This is your final opportunity in 2013 to hear and enjoy this unique accordion ensemble. They have a fantastic new program that includes pieces such as The Magnificent Seven, a Musical Medley with excerpts from “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Oklahoma”, the vibrant Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona, and a beautifully scored holiday tune specifically dedicated to SVAC and SFAC. Back Row, left to right : Randy Hicks, Norma Zonay Parsons, Marian Kelly, Lynn Ewing, Joe Simoni Front row: Richard Yaus, Dave Perry. Be sure to join us at our December meeting as AbsolutAccord performs a selection of universally loved songs, delivered with a classical and elegant touch. We promise a wide spectrum of exciting accordion ensemble music delivered to you by some of the Bay Area’s finest accordionists. In the words of one fan, “ I loved the repertoire you chose and appreciated your ability to share your musical gift and expressively connect with the audience!”
Transcript
December 2 0 1 3
NEWSLETTER
San Francisco Accordion Club
Join us onDecember 15, 2013
At 2 p.m.
This is your final opportunity in 2013 to hearand enjoy this unique accordion ensemble.They have a fantastic new program thatincludes pieces such as The MagnificentSeven, a Musical Medley with excerpts from“Annie Get Your Gun” and “Oklahoma”, thevibrant Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona, anda beautifully scored holiday tune specificallydedicated to SVAC and SFAC.
Back Row, left to right :Randy Hicks, Norma Zonay Parsons, Marian Kelly, Lynn Ewing, Joe Simoni
Front row: Richard Yaus, Dave Perry.
Be sure to join us at our December meeting asAbsolutAccord performs a selection ofuniversally loved songs, delivered with aclassical and elegant touch. We promise awide spectrum of exciting accordion ensemblemusic delivered to you by some of the BayArea’s finest accordionists.
In the words of one fan, “ I loved the repertoireyou chose and appreciated your ability to shareyour musical gift and expressively connectwith the audience!”
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TATIANA SEMICHASTNAYAAND STEVE ALBINI
We are pleased to have DUCKMANDU alsoplaying for this month's meeting. AaronSeeman's onslaught of solo accordion and vocalshas astounded audiences of all shapes and sizes.His repertoire includes, but is not limited to, 70'srock, Broadway, klezmer, classical, country,Sousa marches, punk rock, and even a polka ortwo.
In addition to his accordionizationizing, AaronSeeman is a founding member, arranger, andvocalist with San Francisco's Punk RockOrchestra, which performs full scale orchestralversions of classic punk songs. He also playsaccordion in Shamalamacord, Polkacide, and RedHot Chachkas. He is the composer of a modern
classical opera "Opium: Diary of a Cure”. In hisCD "Quack Rock: Five Duckades of AccordionMega-Hits!", rather than play hokey accordionversions of these songs, Aaron seeks todemonstrate that accordion and vocals alone canevoke the spirit of the song, whether the harddriving rock of AC/DC, the wide vocal range andsonic landscape of Boston, or the grunge pioneersNirvana.
We are so lucky to also have TatianaSemichastnaya and Steve Albini who will beplaying their “passion and fire” Italian musicfused with jazz and world rhythms.
They have enchanted audiences throughout theUnited States, Italy and the world with a blend ofmusical virtuosity and artistic passion.Steve is a multi-instrumentalist and singer.
Tatiana, originally from Russia, has performed asan accordionist in the Las Vegas Cirque De Soleilshow.
In addition to Steve and Tatiana, Steve’s cousinAmanda Albini will be playing drums. She is ahigh school senior and fantastic drummer. She iscurrently auditioning for USC and UCLA andplans to major in music.
Also Playing: Scott Anderson
New member Scott Anderson will performseveral pieces for us as well. Scott was exposedto accordion music while living in Paris as achild, and later in San Antonio, Texas. He beganstudying with Lou Jacklich 15 years, and says "Imay be Lou's slowest learning student, but theaccordion rounds out my life and has introducedme to many friends". Scott also participated inRichard Yaus' "Orchestra Project" over thesummer.
3NOVEMBER MEETING
The November meeting opened early with the JamBand. Nine players joined in, including Frank
Montoro and Skyler'sstudent, Joy, who wasattending for the firsttime. Don Savant’sgranddaughterFernanda played herK-saxophone. Themusic was a mixtureof Christmas andBand favorites,
finishing with a rousing Beer Barrel polka.
Skyler Fell was next. She played her beautiful1920 Dallape accordion and jokingly remarked –“They call me Yellow Bellow”, referring to theunique color of her bellows. She started theafternoon with 3 piecesin minor key- almostmedieval music theme.The Chocolate Shopwas composed bySkyler’s friend Catewho passed away veryrecently. Skyler thenplayed a Balkan piecebased on Bubamara(lady bug) by GoranBregovic, then a Frenchchanson Mon Amant de Saint-Jean (My lover ofSt Jean). She finished with quite a change of pace:Bella Ciao. This was actually an antifascist songfrom the 30s, but it has evolved into a generalprotest song. It was good, with quite ironic words.
Then it was Reno Di Bono’s turn. Reno too had aninteresting accordion – a brand new Victoria. Theexterior is all wood. Reno started with two Frosinipieces: Olive Blossom, followed by SerenataPrimavera. The latter was a waltz, but Renomorphed it into a bossa nova. Then he played PorUna Cabeza, from the movie Scent of a Woman. Itis a haunting tango. He followed this with a jazzversion of These Foolish Things. Then Reno saidthat he would play something Italian. In fact, heplayed a succession of Italian favorites, and sang
using words in the local dialects, includingPiemontese, Calabrese, Napolitano, and Siciliano!
BeginningwithCiribiribin,thenReginellaCampagnola(better knownin the US astheWoodpeckersong), Reno
sang Calabrese and Neopolitan love songs, andfinished with the tarantella: C'e la luna mezz'omare.
Now it was the birthday boy’s turn. FrankMontoro played 6 pieces, and wowed theaudience. He first mentioned his appreciation ofReno’s playing. Then he started with Here’s thatRainy Day, and swung into Roman Guitar. At onepoint, Frank mentioned that he felt like an Italiansalami sandwich, playing after Reno Di Bono andbefore Peter DiBono. Frankcontinued with PielCanela (lit.Cinnamon Skin),and Cry Me a River.He stopped tointroduce La Virgende la Macarenawith some ironicwords about the“sport” of bullfighting, and the fact that the song title is “THE”Virgin of Macarena – was there only one? Frankfinished with Under Paris Skies. He played it in awonderful lilting waltz rhythm . There was astanding ovation. Skyler then led everyone in achorus of Happy Birthday, while Lynnaccompanied on accordion.
After that, it was break time, and we proceeded todemolish a huge birthday cake celebrating Frank’s90th birthday.
Cont’d
4NOVEMBER MEETING, Cont’d
More Pictures fromNovember’s Meeting
The Peter Di Bono Trio played for the second halfof this program. Depending on how one counts, theyplayed some 40 tunes. Many pieces were medleys of3 or more tunes. They wove tunes from differentmusicals and various movies into their medleys. TheTrio includes Peter, Harriet Newhart playing violinand Steve Hanson on double bass.
They started with Mio Carino as a single , followedby Mattinata. Peter called both of these “beautifullittle Italian songs.” Quite an understatement. Theymoved on to Minute Waltz, and the well-knowntango El Choclo (lit. the Corn Cob, but its mostfamous lyrics are about tango as a way of life!).
There was a waltz medley based on Always. Peterdedicated this to his mother. Then Peter introducedan old friend, Jeremy Consolo, from Triesteoriginally, then Israel and now the US. Hededicated the next tune to him: Jerusalem of Gold.Harriet’s violin carried the Klezmer passages. Theyfollowed this with a rousing version of Brahm’s
Hungarian Dance No 5. Then the trio started amedley including I’m in the Mood for Love, Puttin’on the Ritz and Dancing Cheek to Cheek.
They carried on with I Got Rhythm combined withFascination, which it certainly was. The next themeincluded Bésame Mucho, Maria My Own (story ofMaria von Trapp) and You Belong to Me,Moonlight in Vermont. These were all dancefavorites in the big band era, and nowadays atevents and in dance clubs.
They played selections from Singin’ in the Rain.Peter mentioned that this was composed by Xavierde la Prade’s father: Nacio Herb Brown. Xavierwas in the audience – and drew a round of applause.The Trio then played selections from Sound ofMusic. This included Sound of Music, Edelweiss,Doe a deer … and Climb Ev’ry Mountain beforereturning to Sound of Music. It was a wonderfultreat to listen to great music played with a perfectrhythm, beautiful arrangements that featured theviolin and accordion swapping theme and harmony.
In the same way, the trio played a combo ofselections from Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady.These included On the Street Where You Live,With a Little Bit of Luck, The Rain in Spain,Wouldn’t It be Loverly, and of course, I CouldHave Danced All Night.
This writer (Scotty Williamson) at least feels thatyou could not listen to a better performanceanywhere.
5Las Vegas InternationalAccordion Convention
By Paul PasqualiWhat an amazing week at the Las VegasInternational Accordion Convention! First itwas great seeing our host hotel lookingbeautifully refreshed and clean. But the magicstarted on Monday with Gina Brannelliplaying for our welcome registration andcontinued until the last note rang outThursday night from the Las VegasInternational Accordion Orchestra under thedirection of the esteemed Joan CochranSommers.Monday evening at our welcome concert weenjoyed a wonderful dinner while we listenedto the music of il maestro, Mario Pedone.Following this was our welcome concert withDick Contino backed by his wonderfulmusical director Corky Bennett on keyboard,Pete Contino (Dick’s son) on drums, andBob Sachs on bass.Tuesday morning we enjoyed classes with fullrooms and lots of happy faces followed bylunch with the sounds of Gordon Kohl on hisConcerto accordion. We were thoroughlyentertained with a wonderful jazz set by JerryCigler and Paul Betken accompanied by KenSeifert on bass and Rich De Labio on drums.Thanks so much Jerry and Paul – you areamazing musicians!Magic seemed to be in the air and it reallycame shining through that evening with adelicious meal which was enhanced by thestrolling accordionist, Nancy Leonard. OurTuesday evening Concert began with anexciting performance by Il Sole featuringTatiana & Steve for a fun filled set.Then our 2013 Honorary Director took thestage. Yes, Joey Miskulin transported usaround the world and thoroughly entertained& mesmerized the entire audience. What agreat performance Joey gave along withJulian Tanaka on clarinet, Ken Seifert onbass and Rich De Labio on drums– WOW!
The Wednesday evening Concert was a fun andexciting costumed event with dance music byGordon Kohl and Chuck Henry. We enjoyed agreat musical performance by Peter and Madywho concluded their set accompanied by friendsMary Tokarski and Stas Venglevski. Closingthe evening out was Jeff Lisenby who took thestage with a vocalist, bass and drums to bring usa Broadway musical review, among otherexciting sounds.Thursday there was magic yet a bit of sadness -only because this was the last day of the event!Lunch was filled with the sounds of SteveAlbini on his Concerto accordion. Then it wastime for some fun laughs as Pete Barbutti hadeveryone in stitches. There followed a surpriseperformance by father and son duo, Bob andBeau Mansfield – discoveries from ClubConcerto!Thursday evening was our crowning event – ourgala finale with awards for best dressed and afantastic dinner prepared by the Gold CoastExecutive Chef! We heard from MaryTokarski, who was absolutely astounding in hermusical presentation, followed by StasVenglevski with a special duet with JoanCochran Sommers – what FUN! Then came thegrand finale as 32 accordion players took to thestage along with a full symphony percussionsection and again we heard the glorious soundcreated by Joan Cochran Sommers conductingthe Las Vegas International AccordionOrchestra!It was truly a fitting grand finale to what wasdescribed by many returning attendees as thevery best year yet!
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Accordion Exchange
If you are seeking an accordion, or have one tosell, you are now welcome to submit the detailsto the newsletter. This is strictly a service to ourmembers, and SFAC cannot take responsibilityfor the condition of any accordion advertised.
1980’s Iorio Syntara120bass 4/5 with LMMM configuration wettuned. Second owner. Appears and plays virtual-ly as new. Hasn’t had much play time. Just usedfor a few gigs in the 1990’s. Acoustical part ofthe accordion works perfectly. Electronics werealso working fine the last time I used them a fewyears ago. This is a good value even if you neveruse the electronics. Asking $750. Call MikeZampiceni at 408-734-1565, or send email [email protected]
Past Time to Renewyour MEMBERSHIP
Thanks to those of you who have renewed yourmembership for 2014. Your support is muchappreciated. This is the last newsletter forthose of you who have not yet renewed, so ifyou've forgotten - please send your check for$30 to: Treasurer Elaine Cooperstein, 539Elsie Ave, San Leandro, CA 94577
SCHOLARSHIPS are awarded twicea year, in April and October. The Scholarshipprogram is funded with proceeds from the50/50 raffle we have each month. The onlyrequirement is that the recipient be studyingwith a teacher who is a member of SFAC,and that there is a financial need. Scholarshipguidelines are available at the monthly meet-ings, or contact Secretary Mike Zampiceni,[email protected], 1220 Tasman Dr#106. Sunnyvale. CA. 94089.
Accordion BabesCalendar for SALEIt is that time again when the newest, coolestand most awesome calendar is for sale!Purchase yours at the upcoming meeting andhelp spread the word. Many of the BABES inthis calendar are members of our club and mostall have played for us at one time or another.
PLEASE BRING COOKIES ANDHOLIDAY TREATS TO SHARE
FOR OUR DECEMBER HOLIDAYPARTY
Lynn Ewing will be playing at FiloliGardens Holiday Traditions Event on Friday,Dec 6, from 4 PM. This lovely occasion istheir biggest fundraiser of the year, and theturnout is terrific, so it is recommended to gettickets in advance. You can find moreinformation online at:http://www.filoli.org/ or call 650) 364-8300.
Our February meeting will heldon the 4th Sunday, Feb 23, toavoid President's Day Weekend
May I wish you all Happy Holidays, and a seasonfilled with music, laughter, and friendship. It isThanksgiving as I write, and my heart is filledwith thankfulness over the richness that theaccordion has brought to my life.
I started playing at age 7, and played seriously for12 years, before putting the accordion aside forabout 25 years while I moved from my San Diegohometown to Minnesota to be a flight attendant,and then to the SF Area to raise my family. In theearly 90's, I met Frank Montoro, and he invitedme to the SF Accordion Club, which at the timewas known as the Bay Area Accordion Club(BAAC) and was the only club in the area.
Through my association with the club, my life hasbeen transformed. It was through my friendshipsin the club that I started playing with the ACEensemble, directed by my mentor, Joe Smiell Sr,and AbsolutAccord, directed by Richard Yaus.I began attending various accordion events such asGalla-Rini camp, Silver Falls, Las Vegas, CoupeMondiale, Blakely Island gathering of friends, theAAA festival, the ATG festival, the FrankMarocco Accordion event, and even went toCastelfidardo for the European Marocco Event.I have been fortunate to play under the baton ofmany conductors in orchestras and ensembles,attending workshops put on by experts, andmeeting other accordionists that have becomesome of my closest friends.
I want to give particular thanks to MaryTokarski, who has given some workshops thathave been especially useful. While in Las Vegas,I attended Mary's workshop on memorizing, and Iwill share just one tip from that might be helpfulto all of us. Mary started by giving us a list ofabout 12 random words, and gave us 3 minutes totry to memorize it IN THE ORDER listed. Noneof us could do it.
Then she said, "Ok, I'm going to give you 30seconds to memorize these same 12 words in adifferent order". She put them in a sentence, andof course, we were able to easily remember them.The point is, that if you can think of your music interms of musical phrases and paragraphs, it will beso much easier than trying to remember individualnotes or measures.
Also at the Las Vegas Convention, I had theopportunity to co-present a workshop with StasVenglevski on playing duets. I love Stas'compositions, and it was such a treat to share hismusic with the many attendees of the workshop.Stas will be playing for us as the featuredperformer at our July meeting, which will be justbefore the Accordionists and Teacher's GuildFestival (ATG) being held near the airport areahere in San Francisco. I hope you will all makeplans to attend this wonderful event, which willgive you all the opportunity to participate inworkshops and even the orchestra without havingto haul yourself and/or your accordion on anairplane!
We are looking forward to seeing all of you at ourDecember meeting, where we invite you to bringalong holiday treats to share during our break.Again, Happy Holidays, and StupendousSqueezin' to all!
Gloria Piatanesi recently passed away. Shewas the wife of Gordon Piatanesi whosegrandfather, Colombo Piatanesi, ownedColombo Accordions in San Francisco formany years. Many accordionists stillremember Gloria assisting Gordon with thedetails of running an accordion shop. Gordonhimself is now living in a retirement home inFairfax.
You can find her obituary at:http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/marinij/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=167550677
Please Remember!To leave our meeting hall at the OysterPoint Yacht Club clean! Clean up food
or drink spills and recycle all trash.
PLAY FOR US!
Playing warm up or during the break is a great,casual way to share your talent and hone yourperformance skills. Although our featuredperformers are scheduled almost all the waythrough May we have lots of opportunities duringthe first part of the meeting for people who wouldlike to play a short 10 or 15 minute set, or even justa couple of songs. Contact Dominic Palmisano at415-587-4423 or email [email protected], orLynn Ewing, 650- 453-3391, [email protected]
Members may place one small ad (business-card-size) for one month free of charge in agiven year; after that the charge is $10 perissue or $100 per year.
Monthly ad prices for members: quarter-page ad $25.00; halfpage ad$50, and a full-page ad $100. Non-memberrates are double the member rates.
A flyer (no larger than 5” x 8”) advertisingan event may be included in one issue for$50 for members, $65 for non-members.
Start planning for the Accordionists andTeachers Guild (ATG) National Festival,this summer. You might want to considerpreparing a piece for evaluation or evencompetition, or consider playing in theFestival Orchestra. Or just come to hearsome amazing accordionists in our ownbackyard, or educate yourself attendingworkshops. Betty Jo Simon, the presidentof ATG, offers the following information:
There will be sessions for Evaluation onlyfor both solo and ensembles. There will bean Entertainment Showcase for ensembleswith accordion and any instrumentation.
Competitions for all age and ability levelswill be offered in categories of Solo, Duet,Chamber Ensembles, Orchestras includingElectronic Accordion, Adult Hobby,Ethnic, Polka, Jazz, and Original musiccategories. Some of them offer cashprizes.
Then there is the US Championship andCoupe Mondiale qualifying categories forthe most advanced players. Thesecompetitions are open for attendance byfestival goers.
Last year we offered 2 special categories;"All American Salute" Solo Competitionwith a $200 prize for 1st place whichspecifies any two original solos by anytwo American accordionist composers and" Tango Times Two" Solo Competitionwith a $200 prize for 1st place which callsfor any two original or arranged Tangosolos by Piazzolla, Galliano, or traditionalcomposers of tango music.
Hope to see you all there!
More information:http://www. accordions.com/atg
There are events happening all over theUS. Check out AccordionUSA.com for allkinds of cool festivals and performances.
Be sure to Save the Date for the 2014National Accordion AssociationConvention: March 5-9, 2014! As always,it promises to be packed withinformative workshops, exciting concertswith extraordinary musicians, reunionswith friends and new friends to meet,and just plain fun. It will be held again inPlano, Texas, this time at the SouthforkHotel.
Thank you so very much for your continuedsupport of this wonderful organization, whichsupports the instrument which so enriches ourlives.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciationto those people who have made donations to theSan Francisco Accordion Club during the pastyear. SFAC is a 501(c)3 charitable organization,and as such your donations are fully deductible.You will be receiving a thank you andconfirmation of your donation for IRS purposesin early January.
Our membership dues cover only a small portionof the revenue needed to provide qualityentertainment and promote and stimulate anappreciation of the accordion to the generalpublic. An end of the year gift to SFAC in anyamount would be greatly appreciated. You maymake donations at any meeting, or mail totreasurer Elaine Cooperstein, 539 Elsie Ave,San Leandro, CA 94577.
Accordion Club of the Redwoods 3rdMonday of the month at 7:30 p.m.Hermann Sons Hall • 860 Western, Petaluma, CA$3 admission donation Contact: Tony Mustaro—President (707) 318-0474 [email protected]
Golden State Accordion Club (GSAC)President/CEO: Carole Enneking (707) [email protected]
The Vacaville Chapter meets monthly on the secondThursday, 6:30 p.m. at Pietro’s No. 2 at679 Merchant Street, Vacaville, CA 95688(707) 448-4588
The Humboldt Chapter meets monthly on the thirdTuesday, 7 p.m. at Humboldt Swiss Club, 5403Tompkins Hill Road, Loleta.
The Sacramento Chapter meets monthly on the fourthWednesday, 7 p.m. at the Old Spaghetti Factory, 12401Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova. Contact for all threeChapters: Carole Enneking (707) 864-2359
Good Time Accordion Club (GTAC)meets monthly on the second Wednesday, 7 p.m. atEscalon Community Center, 1055 Escalon Ave,Escalon. Contact: (209) 545-3603
Northern California Accordion Society (NCAS)meets monthly on the first Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. atLutheran Church Hall, 6365 Douglas, Blvd, off Hwy80 , Granite Bay, CA. Contact: Jerry Choate (530)345-2031
Silicon Valley Accordion Club (SVAC)meets 1st Sun. of each month at Harry’s Hofbrau, 390Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, corner of Kiely.1 p.m. $5, under 16 - no charge.
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Join us on (almost every!) third sunday of the monthat the Oyster Point Yacht Club, 911 Marina Blvd, South San Francisco
Club & Musical Meeting • next meetingDecember 15, 2013 @ 2 p.m.Admission: $6 members, $8 guests
DIRECTIONS:From 101 traveling either North or South, take the Oyster Point exit. Turn right onto Marina Blvd.(be careful not to turn right onto Gull Drive, just before Marina Blvd.) Continue past the gate houseto the sign Oyster Point Yacht Club. There is plenty of parking and ramp access.
Newsletter of theSan Francisco Accordion ClubP.O. Box 318175San Francisco, CA 94131-8175www.sfaccordionclub.com
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SFAC Membership is$30.00 per year for individual or family. Formembership renewal, please senda check to: S.F.A.C.,C/o Treasurer Elaine Cooperstein,539 Elsie Ave,San Leandro, CA 94577NEW MEMBERS, please include your nameand address along with your check, as well as aphone number and email address.
