J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 NEWSLETTER San Francisco Accordion Club Join us on January 19, 2014 At 2 p.m. Meet Rene Sevieri. His singing and accordion playing are deeply rooted in his Italian heritage, but his music repertoire has been influenced by many bands and styles over the years. Rene recently played for an olive harvest in the Carmel Valley for 7 1/2 hours straight, without taking a break, and he never repeated a song. Rene started taking accordion lessons in 1963 at the young age of 8 from Michele Corino at North Beach Music in San Francisco. He played his first professional gig at the age of 12 for a fashion show at the Italian Village in North Beach. Right before he graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in 1973, Rene formed a band called Hang Ten and The Surfmen. They toured most of the military bases and car shows playing surf music while Rene continued playing for weddings and dinner dances whenever the band wasn't booked. Some cuts from Rene's latest CD (Canzoni di Babbo) can be heard on his YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/sevieri55 In 1997 he quit playing professionally because his business was flourishing, and he wanted to spend more time with his wife and three young sons. Rene sold his business two years ago and is presently semi-retired with time to play the accordion on a regular basis again. Also, about 5 years ago, while in Hawaii, he purchased a ukulele and has been playing it ever since.
Transcript
J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4
NEWSLETTER
San Francisco Accordion Club
Join us onJanuary 19, 2014
At 2 p.m.
Meet Rene Sevieri. His singing and accordionplaying are deeply rooted in his Italian heritage,but his music repertoire has been influenced bymany bands and styles over the years. Renerecently played for an olive harvest in theCarmel Valley for 7 1/2 hours straight, withouttaking a break, and he never repeated a song.
Rene started taking accordion lessons in 1963 atthe young age of 8 from Michele Corino atNorth Beach Music in San Francisco. He playedhis first professional gig at the age of 12 for afashion show at the Italian Village in NorthBeach. Right before he graduated from SaintIgnatius High School in 1973, Rene formed aband called Hang Ten and The Surfmen.They toured most of the military bases and carshows playing surf music while Rene continuedplaying for weddings and dinner danceswhenever the band wasn't booked.
Some cuts from Rene's latest CD (Canzoni diBabbo) can be heard on his YouTube page:http://www.youtube.com/user/sevieri55
In 1997 he quitplayingprofessionallybecause hisbusiness wasflourishing, andhe wanted tospend more timewith his wifeand three youngsons.
Rene sold his business two years ago and ispresently semi-retired with time to play theaccordion on a regular basis again. Also, about5 years ago, while in Hawaii, he purchased aukulele and has been playing it ever since.
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Big Lou, the Accordion Princess, fellpassionately in love with the accordion 25years ago. The love affair has never dimmed.
We are pleased that our San FranciscoAccordion Club President, Lynn Ewingwill be playing for us in January.
Lynn was born and raised in San Diego,California, where she started playingaccordion at age seven. Later, Lynn directedfive accordion bands and taught more than ahundred young children to play accordionwith the Robert Mitchell AccordionStudio. Lynn received certification in theOrff Method of Music Instruction and taughtas the Music Specialist at El GranadaElementary School for several years.
Currently Lynn plays and entertains withthe wonderful AbsolutAccord, led byRichard Yaus, who performed for us atour December meeting.
From the waltzes of France to beer-drinkingsongs from Germany, from Polish Polkas toNorteno Corridos, Big Lou plays it all.
Big Lou was Ms. September in the 2012Accordion Babes Calendar. She also plays withthe Baguette Quartette, a San Francisco BayArea group that plays music that was heard inParis between 1920 and 1940 on street corners,in cafes, and in popular dance halls.
A this month's meeting, she will be playing withKit Robberson who specializes in early bowedinstruments, specifically vielle and violas dagamba. She studied at The University of Texasin Austin, where she became involved withperforming, teaching, and promoting earlymusic.
In California, Kit has performed on viola dagamba with the San Francisco BATS improvcomedy troupe. She studied viola da gamba withJordi Savall and Rosamund Morley, and hasrecorded with Heliotrope on the Koch label.
Lynn also teaches private accordion studentsand devotes a lot of time to the health andgrowth of SFAC.
3December Meeting
The program started splendidly with long-timemember and former ACE ensemble player BobSmith, who rather somberly stated that this maywell be his last performance for our club. We’rehoping that this isn’t the case, but we’veappreciated Bob’s performances over the years.
which was a hymn composed in 1597 by PhilippNicolai as harmonized by Johann Sebastian Bach.
This is a very placid and stoic harmonization soemblematic of the Baroque period. Bob played veryelongated phrases expressively and beautifully. Healso played and sang the iconic “White Christmas,”including the seldom heard verse. Bob is adedicated musicologist, and has bestowed manyeducational materials upon us over the years bothas handouts and within the newsletter. He has alsowritten a book called “Fingering the Accordion,”which was endorsed by Anthony Galla-Rini.
Our next performer, Scott Anderson, is a relativelynew member, and gets the perseverance award forstudying with Lou Jacklich for 15 years! Hestarted hisportion of the program byplaying a piece from thePhilippines called DahilSalyo that means"Because of You," whichhe dedicated to his wifeCamilla whois originally from the
Philippines.
The song was performedby Nat King Cole at the
Aranta Coliseum in Quezon City in 1961. Scottdedicated his second piece, the German Fur Elise,to Richard Yaus for his outstanding generosity inrunning the Orchestra Program in 2013. Scott endedwith The Girl from Ipanema, composed byAntonio Carlos Jobim after he saw a beautifulwoman walking in the seaside neighborhood ofIpanema near Rio de Janeiro.
When our next performer took the stage, we knewthat his program would probably be anything otherthan traditional, considering his attire that featuredmulti-colored tennis shoes. Then again, eccentricAaron Seeman (aka Duckmandu) is a foundingmember, arranger, and vocalist with San Francis-co’s Punk Rock Orchestra.
Aaron is a quality playerand composer as exem-plified in his perfor-mance for us and hisnumerous creative com-positions. His first piecewas a lively klezmersong called A BrokenLife. He then empha-sized atypical musicalforms from Sweden forhis next pieces. In Swe-den, the polska (yes,polska, not polka) music
tradition is continuous, “with tunes and stylespassed down through families, relatives, and neigh-bors.” He followed with another polska thatsounded like a lively march. Then he played aSwedish Christmas song and the traditional Ameri-can Christmas song of “Oh Holy Night. “ He fin-ished with his own composition of “Itty Bitty SnittyLittle Frenchman” from his Duck-TemperedClavier series of compositions, featuring ratherwhimsical songs in all 24 major and minor keys.
Our first featured group was AbsolutAccord, ourpremier bay area seven-piece accordion groupconceived and directed by Richard Yaus. Theother members of the group are Lynn Ewing,Randy Hicks, David Perry, Joe Simoni, NormaZonay, and Marian Kelly on the bass.
Cont’d
Bob wasdressed in aseasonal redshirt that hismother madefor him. Heshared “HowBrightlyShines theMorning Star,”
4DECEMBER MEETING, Cont’d
This is what excellent accordion playing is allabout – whether from the entire ensemble or eachindividual performer. The group exudes dynamicexcellence that makes their performance traveldown a musical highway that embodies impecca-ble synchronization, shimmering brightness andcrispness, articulation, and precision.
They played Magnificent Seven (and it was trulymagnificent), Latin-American Impressions,Gladiolus Rag, It's Only a Paper Moon, Matti-nata, Jalousie and Chattanooga Choo Choo be-fore the break. Richard, who also arranges themusic, announced a new Orchestra program start-ing in March and a special one-day BassAccordion workshop in February.
After an intermission where Christmas cookiesand goodies were plentiful, AbsolutAccordcontinued their performance with The SkatersWaltz, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,Malaguena, Jazz Pizzicato, and Manhattan.They closed the program with a musical medleythat included songs from "Annie Get Your Gun"and "Oklahoma".
Our second featured performance was SteveAlbini and Tatiana Semichastnaya, who playedtheir “passion and fire” Italian music fused withjazz and world rhythms. Steve is a multi-instrumentalist and singer well-known in our areafor his stellar musicianship and entertainmentability. Tatiana, originally from Russia, hasperformed as an accordionist in the Las VegasCirque du Soleil show. Steve’s cousin, AmandaAlbini, joined them on drums. Amanda is still
only in high school, but is already a professional-grade drummer.
The trio gave us an up-tempo, scintillatingperformance. Steve and Tatiana, who both playedRoland electronic accordions, opened with Brazil,in which Steve sang. Steve sings very well andstrongly, and is fortunate because he knows thelyrics to many songs. As a matter of fact, he sangevery song on the program. Additionally, he alsospeaks Italian, so this obviously helps him to singso many Italian songs, such as Al Di La, whichwas their second piece. Sway, a rhythmicallyenergetic and intense Latin piece was next, and theperformance was top-drawer. They closed with aChristmas medley which included I’ve Got MyLove to Keep Me Warm, It’s the Most WonderfulTime of the Year, and Have Yourself a MerryLittle Christmas.
We would like to extend our sinceresympathy to long time club member andACE Accordionist Mary Alice Eldon,whose husband, Dr. Dave Eldon, passedaway recently. Cards can be send to MaryAlice at 1004 Edgewood Rd, RedwoodCity, CA 94062. Funeral mass andCelebration of his life will be held at St.Matthias Catholic Church, 1685Cordilleras Rd, Redwood City at 11 AMon Friday, Jan 17.
5Founding Member - Jim HollidayBy Jean M. Butler
Jim Holliday is one of the five original founders ofthe San Francisco Accordion Club, along withRusty Bartoli, Walter Traverso, Lou Soper andDominic Palmisano. Jim’s sweetie and devotedpartner, Evelyn Baulch, was a quiet but importantpart of that founding and a stalwart fan of theAccordion Club from the beginning.
Growing up in Chicago, Jim often went toVaudeville shows and listened to the radio. “It was agentler time back then,” he said. He would listen toaccordion music on the radio, and became fascinatedby the sound of it. “When I was a little kid, I had twoobsessions: flying and the accordion,” he said. But hehad never actually seen the instrument. One day hewas with his family at a picnic in the country, andcoming from the woods was the sound of anaccordion. Captivated, he walked until he found thesource of the sound, a trio of musicians playing atanother picnic. One of them was an accordionist. “Isat there against a tree and listened all day. I toldmyself that I would play it some day.”
That day was long in coming. Accordions wereexpensive even then. But luck was on his side, andone day, while he was working as a swimminginstructor for a swanky club in Chicago, a clubmember who was in the trucking business started upa conversation with Jim about music. When Jimmentioned he was saving for an accordion the mansaid he had a barn full of accordions a client hadnever paid for. Fifty dollars later, Jim had his firstaccordion. He started taking lessons right away,making up for lost time and practicing incessantly,stopping only when Pearl Harbor was bombed andeveryone was signing up to join the army.
One night he was walking by a bar in Chicago whenhe saw a picture of an accordionist who was thefeatured musician inside - Art Van Damme who was19 and playing around town. “That guy made somesound with an accordion! Nobody knew how he didit! Art Van Damme became an accordion hero toJim. and an inspiration for his own playing.
Eventually Jim realized his other dream, that offlying, and became an airline pilot. He began flying
around the world and loved it. When Jim retired, heand Evelyn connected again after a brief, but neverforgotten, meeting 25 years previously. Jim broughtthe love of accordion into Evelyn's life, and Evelynbrought him to the world of dancing. Dancing andaccordion became a magic combination for them, butsomething was missing.
“I was dying to talk with somebody about theaccordion,” he said. One day they met Lou Soper, anaccordionist (and soon-to-be founder of theAccordion Club) and his girlfriend Mary Casey. Jimtalked of his longing to meet other accordionists. Hewas in luck: Lou had friends in San Francisco whoplayed also. Soon there were others he could playwith and talk to about the accordion, most of themItalians. Before too long they began talking aboutstarting a club. “Every Italian accordionist knewsome other Italian guy that wanted to hear theaccordion,” he said. He knew the owner of arestaurant in San Mateo where everyone could meetand made all the arrangements. Their first meetinghad twenty-five people, and the club soon grew.
The Accordion Club has brought Jim immense joythroughout the years. He loves the players, he lovesthe music and he loves the company of his friendswho feel the same way. “The thing that holds theclub together is the relationships,” said Jim. Evelynadded, “When you have friends that are accordionplayers you have friends for life.”
Jim worries about the future of the accordion—“None of that rock and roll stuff! There’s nothinglike listening to Begin the Beguine. Why doesn’teveryone love that?”—but was reassured whenhearing that children and young people adore theinstrument these days. Jim was born in the same yearas Ronald Reagan. “So when you toast Reagan youcan toast me too!” he said.
Jim’s health has prevented him from attendingmeetings recently, which for him is a tremendousloss, but perhaps more of a loss for the club, whocontinue to miss his presence and his passion for allthings accordion.
Location:Pelican Cove Clubhouse, 1 Pelican Lane, Redwood Shores, CA 94065
Why Two-In-One?
This workshop is intended for any accordion player interested in playing in an ensemble. The focuswill be on the bass accordion and the fundamentals of ensemble playing. So we’ll need BassAccordion participants AND other accordionists to join in and form an ensemble to make theexperience complete. All participants, even those playing bass, should bring their “regular”accordions along.
The Workshop will be directed by Richard Yaus, the leading force behind the successful accordionensemble AbsolutAccord and the Accordion Orchestra Project in 2013. This is a fantasticopportunity for you to get a sneak-peak of the Accordion Orchestra Project in March and April 2014.
Music parts and bass accordions will be provided at the Workshop.
All participants must be able to read music. Ability to play at a level equivalent to Palmer Hughes Accordion Course Book Number 5 or
Sedlon 3A or higher. Should be comfortable playing scales and chords in the keys of Cmajor/minor, G
major/minor, F-major/minor, D-major/minor, B-flat-major, A-major/minor, E-flat-major, E-major/minor, etc.
Basic familiarity with the bass clef if you’re interested in the bass accordion. An understanding of music terminology, music notation, time signatures, articulation, and the
ability to translate these into your music playing. Understanding of bellow techniques helpful; instruction will be given on advanced use of
bellows.
Please bring a sturdy music stand and your regular accordion to the Workshop.
Bass accordions will be provided. Or, if you have one please bring it along. No prior ensemble/orchestra playing skills are required, but if you’ve played with others before that’s a great plus.
This event is endorsed by the San Francisco Accordion Club (SFAC) and the Silicon ValleyAccordion Society (SVAS).
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Accordion BabesCalendar for SALE
San Francisco Bay AreaAccordion Orchestra Project II
Rehearsals - Saturdays March 1, 15, 22, andApril 5, 2014 from 10 AM to 2:30 PM
Final Rehearsal - Saturday, April 12, 2014
PERFORMANCE at SFACSunday, April 13, 2014 at 2 PM
For Registration Form or questions aboutqualifications, call (650) 832-1740 or send ane-mail to [email protected]. Or go to:www.absolutaccord.com
The Project will be directed by Richard Yaus, theleading force behind the successful accordionensemble AbsolutAccord and the first AccordionOrchestra Project in 2013. The goal is to bringaccordionists together to create a one-of-a-kindorchestra experience that will conclude with aperformance at the San Francisco Accordion Club(SFAC).
You must be able to attend at least three of thefirst four rehearsals; attendance is mandatory atFinal Rehearsal and the SFAC performance.
Proposed music pieces:• “A Media Luz” (Tango) by Edgardo Donato• “Those Were The Days”, a popular 60’s tune• “Fiesta Mexicana”, a fun and upbeat Medley• “A Walk In The Black Forest”, another famous60’s melody• Other fun and exciting pieces may be introduceddepending on overall rehearsal progress andcapabilities.
Music parts will be provided. There is no costassociated with attending or performing. The rehearsalsite is located close to Hillsdale Shopping Mall andpublic transportation in San Mateo; the venue alsoprovides plenty of parking:
Laurel Elementary School Library316 36th Avenue, San Mateo, CA
This event is endorsed by the San FranciscoAccordion Club (SFAC) and the Silicon ValleyAccordion Society (SVAS).
Scholarship InformationScholarship Applications are due in MARCHto be awarded in April. Twice a year, our clubawards scholarships to accordion students whohave a financial need and demonstratededication to pursuing their study of theaccordion.Students must study with a teacher who is anSFAC member in good standing.
Applications can be obtained by emailing:Mike Zampiceni@[email protected] should be returned to him at:220 Tasman Dr, #106, Sunnyvale,CA 94089
There are events happeningall over the US.
Check out AccordionUSA.com for allkinds of cool festivals and
performances.Be sure to Save the Date for the 2014
National 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, andjust plain fun.
It will be held again in Plano, Texas, thistime at the Southfork Hotel.
It is that time again when the newest, coolest andmost awesome calendar isfor sale! Purchase yours atthe upcoming meeting andhelp spread the word.Many of the BABES inthis calendar are membersof our club and most allhave played for us at onetime or another.
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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.
ACCORDION EVENTS9
ATG FESTIVAL COMES to SanFrancisco - July 23-26 2014
By Joan Sommers
The Accordionists and Teachers Guild,International (ATG) President Betty JoSimon invites everyone to attend the 74th
Annual Festival which will be held at theCrowne Plaza Airport Hotel inBurlingame. The featured guest artistswill be Stas Vangelvski and Frank Petrilli.
The ATG was founded by several men, butit was the vision of Anthony Galla- Riniand Sydney B. Dawson from the WestCoast who really set it in motion and madeit a reality. The ATG and the AAA areNational Organizations working for theadvancement of all aspects involving theaccordion, whether it be piano or button,classical or entertainment, free- bass orstradella.
While the word “Teachers” is included inthe ATG title, members do not have to beteachers or professional musicians to bemembers . The goals of the organizationare to serve as many differentaccordionists as possible, including youngand old, professional and amateurs, playersand admirers of the instrument, and, ofcourse, those who teach the instrument.
The ATG does hold competitions duringits Annual Festival held each summer, butit also does much more! There arecategories for those who wish to play for aprivate critique of their playing as well asfor those who are competing to see howthey rank alongside other players, or evento represent the USA in the CoupeMondiale (World Competition) held by theConfédération Internationale desAccordéonistes, the world organization inwhich the ATG has always been an activemember.
It is becoming ever more important foraccordionists to embrace all kinds ofmusic and to use other instrumentalists
and vocalists in their groups. And thesegroups, from duo to large ensembles andeverything in between, may select theirown music; not all categories haverequired repertoire. Some categories havetrophies and a bit of prize money; othershave certificates of participation. Thewhole idea is one of sharing with oneanother and learning about new andinteresting repertoire . There will beconcerts featuring all kinds of music andnumerous performers!
The Workshops, for which ATG hasalways been noted, include topics ofimportance to one and all, regardless ofthe particular interest one might have inthe accordion. Be sure to attend one or allof the numerous concerts, workshops, orcompetitions, as well as visit the exhibitsbeing held during the festivals.
You are especially invited to participatein the ATG Festival Orchestras, one ofwhich will be of an elementary level,while the other will be more particularlyfor those musically experienced players.These groups may include otherinstruments, too, so there is a place foreveryone. Both groups will receive theirmusic before the Festival, then rehearse acouple of times and perform during one ofthe Concerts.
The ATG cordially invites everyone whoenjoys the accordion to attend its AnnualFestival; everyone is welcome!
More information:http://www. accordions.com/atg
Welcome our New MemberWe are pleased to introduce Kate CameronFroeberg who plays the accordion and enjoysModern Jazz (Improv), Classical, and GreatAmerican Song Book. She plays mostly solonovelty but has been playing with an orchestrafor Fiddler on the Roof.
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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.
AdvertisementsPlease support the businesseswhich help support us.
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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 meetingJanuary 19, 2014 @ 2 p.m.Admission: $6 members, $8 guests
DIRECTIONS:From 101 traveling either North or South, take the Oyster Point exit. Turn right onto MarinaBlvd. (be careful not to turn right onto Gull Drive, just before Marina Blvd.) Continue past thegate house to 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
F I R S TC L A S S
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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.
