Henry Doktorski in concert in New York

Joseph Petric with Toronto Symphony

Will Holshouser Trio

UMKC Announces 40th Anniversary Program

Henry Doktorski will perform at the City University of New York on Friday, March 23rd, 2001. The recital, sponsored by The Center for the Study of Free-Reed Instruments and The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, will begin at 7:30 P.M. at the Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall at The Graduate Center, CUNY, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street.

Doktorski will perform compositions by two great Italian-American accordionists of the first half of the 20th century: Guido Deiro and Pietro Frosini.

Guido Deiro was born in Salta, Italy in 1886; as a young man he played at beer gardens and cafes in Italy and Germany. After he emigrated to the United States shortly after the turn of the century, he became famous as a vaudeville star, international recording artist, composer and teacher. He and his brother Pietro were among the highest paid performers on the circuit. He began teaching when the "moving pictures" forced many vaudeville shows to close. Guido dated the famous actress Mae West and is mentioned in her biography. He died in 1950.

Pietro Frosini was born in Catania, Sicily, in 1885 and began to play the accordion at the age of six. In 1905 he emigrated to San Francisco and was discovered by a talent scout for the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit. Soon after, he met and became friends with Guido Deiro. Frosini made one of the first accordion recordings on a cylinder record for Edison in 1907 and made his first Victor recording in 1908. He traveled extensively on the vaudeville circuit in America and abroad and even performed for the King of England.

Frosini gave up vaudeville in 1932 when the "talkies" closed most vaudeville companies; he then became a staff accordionist for WOR radio in New York, a position he held until his death in 1951. Throughout his career, he performed, taught, composed and arranged music for the accordion. He wrote more than 200 original compositions for the instrument.

During the CUNY recital, Doktorski will perform two works by Guido Deiro: the waltz My Florence (1918) and the fantasia Egypto (1923), and four pieces by Frosini: the swing novelty Rag in D Minor (1916), the waltz Florette (1934), the overture Omaggio a Pietro (1918), and Rhapsody No. 2 in C Minor (1939).

The recital is part of a larger event sponsored by CSFRI titled The Accordion as an Icon of Italian American Culture. This two-part event begins on March 23rd with a symposium at 3 P.M. (in which scholars will present papers examining aspects of the accordion and Italian American culture), and concludes with the accordion recital at 7:30 P.M. Other performers include Robert Y. McMahan and William Schimmel.

For tickets and other information, call 212-817-8215 or email continuinged@gc.cuny.edu

Canadian accordionist Joseph Petric's landmark recording of the Peter Paul Koprowski Accordion Concerto with The Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Jukka Pekka Saraste, has just been released on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) SM 5000 label. The Koprowski concerto is notable in the accordion repertoire for its audience impact and is the most significant concerto recording for accordion since the release of Arne Nordheim's concerto SPUR nearly twenty years ago. The concerto was written in 1993 after a commission from Joseph Petric and the CBC.

After its premiere with the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra in 1994, Petric gave seven performances of the Concerto with numerous Canadian orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Peter Paul Koprowski (b.1947) is one of the internationally best-known Canadian composers. According to Koprowski, his musical aesthetic, "is in the tradition of composers who have been concerned with a 'summing up.' I am less interested in contributing to the development of the language than I am in contributing to how the language is used."

Joseph Petric is the only accordionist to have reconciled the accordion to the modern concert stage in a broad international public context. His performances have been described by the international press as "sensational...arcane...miraculous musical moments". The London Independent concurred by noting, "Had he been a pianist he would have won the Leeds Competition years ago". Other recordings by Petric can be heard on the ConAccord, Trappist, Zorro, Centrediscs, Analekta, Chandos, Imprinte Digitale, and CBC's Musica Viva labels.

His recent release of Padre Antonio Soler - Nine Sonatas was noted in the Contemporary Free Reed for it's "flowing imaginative and authoritative performances". In December of 2000 he recorded the Berio Accordion Sequenza for Naxos. Analekta of Montreal will release his first Bach album in 2001.

For a complete discography as well as other information about Joseph Petric, please visit his website at www.interlog.com/~jpetric.

For further information on Joseph Petric, or to obtain a copy of this release, please contact Richard Paul Concert Artists at 416-494-9444 or toll free in North America 866-224-8046 or rpca@greatconcerts.com or visit www.greatconcerts.com

Richard Paul
Richard Paul Concert Artists
717 Bay Street, Suite 908 Toronto, Ontario M5G 2J9
tel: (416) 595-9555 or fax: (416)598-0654

Will Holshouser will perform at The Cutting Room, 19 West 24th Street (between 6th & B'Way) on Friday, March 2nd at 8:00 PM, Tel: (212) 691-1900

The Will Holshouser Trio comprises Ron Horton, Trumpet, Dave Phillips, Bass and Will on accordion.

Will began playing the piano at the age of 9, with a strong interest in Jazz. It was when a friend offered him an old accordion that he became infatuated with the sound and so began his accordion career. Will went on to study accordion with well known New York accordionist William Schimmel for five years.

Will and his trio are featured regularly at the Knitting Factory, The Cutting Room and Tonic in New York where they play styles as varied as rock, jazz and Klezmer music.

Recent reviews include:
--NY Times
Will's music 'successfully showcased the range and beauty of the accordion...this could be music for some fantastical Fellini Film."

-- The Village Voice
"Will Holshouser plays as much accordion as there is to be played."

The UMKC Accordion Orchestra under the direction of Joan Cochran Sommers has announced its exciting program for the 40th Anniversary Concert to be held April 29th, 2001.

This landmark concert will also mark the retirement of Joan Sommers from the Conservatory, and while the orchestra will of course continue, it will be the last official concert of the orchestra during the accordion program at UMKC.

In conjunction with the concert, the UMKC Accordion Orchestra will release a set of four CD's highlighting the 40 years of accordion greatness.

The concert will be at 2:30, Sunday April 29th, and everyone is invited to come and share in this truly momentous occasion. For details, please contact Joan Sommers at: SommersJ@umkc.edu or call 816 235 2700 for ticket information.

The Program will be as follows:

Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave, Op. 26) - Felix Mendelssohn Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 - Franz Liszt Scheherazade - Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakov IV - Festival at Bagdad Ballet Tango - Astor Piazzolla Introduction (avec rage) Joyeux et viril La cite L'Amour (Avec rage... mais avec amour) Cabaret (avec rage) Violent Solitude Finale (Violent et Raguer) Grand Final (Avec toute la Rage du monde) Lidia Kaminska and Betty Jo Simon, soloists Serenata - Leroy Anderson Tango Medley (Three world famous tangos) - Hans Boll "Out of Crooked Timber..." - Paul Rudy Lidia Kaminska, soloist Galop from "Jeux d'enfants" Op. 22 - Georges Bizet Harlekinaden, Three Burlesque Dances - Adolf Gotz Burlesque Valse Comique Jeuz Capricieuxs UMKC Accordion Orchestra Joan Sommers, Director Finlandia, Tone Poem, Op. 26, No. 7 - Jean Sibelius Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre The Stars and Stripes Forever March - John Phillips Sousa UMKC Orchestra and former orchestra members Joan Sommers, Director

The Accordion Club of the Redwoods will celebrate its fifth year anniversary in March. They will celebrate this occasion in May so as to coincide with the installment of the new board.

The Accordion Club of the Redwoods meets every third Monday of the month at the Hermann Sons Hall, 860 Western, Petaluma, CA. Meetings begin at 7:30 PM, and meetings are open to the public, especially visiting accordionists and anyone else interested in the accordion. There is a $2.00 admission donation.

For further information on the Accordion Club of the Redwoods and their activities, please contact their President - Kristofer Nelson at: krisnelson@aol.com

The Milwaukee Accordion Club recently featured the Louisiana Yard Dogs, where they invited guests to chase their winter blues right out into the swamp!

The leader, Charlie Kuchler, who performs on a wireless Baldoni Midi accordion performed with sidekick Jim Tillman on guitar and vocals.

Charlie finds the wireless Midi works well, as he proclaims that a strolling accordionist, a moving target, is harder to hit when over-enthusiastic party participants want to throw mysterious objects at him!

This month the MAC will feature club member Rob O'Steinhofer as he gathers a group of musicians to play Irish Music in celebration of St. Patricks day. For full details, visit the MAC site.

Sharon Shannon, widely regarded as one of the most gifted musicians of her generation, was born in the Village of Ruan near Corrofin in Clare County, Ireland.

She is one of the most adventurous musical spirits to emerge from Ireland in the past ten years. The young accordion player has made a huge impact on the traditional music scene, boldly crossing musical borders with humor and flair.

Her parents IJ and Mary were set dancers and the four children all play music: Sharon accordion and fiddle, Mary (Bumblebees) banjo, Majella fiddle and Garry, flute player with the Kilfenora Ceili Band. Sharon started like so many on the tin whistle, but by ten she was playing the accordion. She also plays the fiddle and melodeon.

Over the past decade, Sharon has collaborated with some of the finest musicians around the world. In the late 1980s, she played in the Irish act Arcady, with singer Frances Black and bodhran player Johnny McDonagh. She has since worked with such prominent artists as Donal Lunny, Natalie Macmaster, Dennis Bovell, Adam Clayton of U2, and Liam O’Maonlai of the Hothouse Flowers.

Sharon’s debut album, Sharon Shannon (1991), was immediately celebrated as a critical marker in Irish folk history. Infectious and bright, imbued with the native culture but also aware of global possibilities, the album gave Sharon a rising popularity across the festival circuit. Her shows on the acoustic stage at the major English festival of Glastonbury were fervent testimonies to the power of a two-row Castignari button accordion in full effect. In 1992, she was included on the record A Woman’s Heart, which celebrated Ireland’s female performers. This became the island’s biggest-selling album, and Sharon’s subsequent tours were warmly received.

Her latest recording, Spellbound - The Best of Sharon Shannon, continues her rhythmic explorations while at the same time remaining faithful to the music's roots. It was produced by Donal Lunny, whose new group Coolfin often features Sharon as guest artist. Further collaborations with Lunny include playing on his score to the film This Is My Father, starring Aidan Quinn and James Caan. And her music was featured on The Brothers McMullen, which took the Sundance Film Festival by storm.

The accordion she plays is a Castagnari "Tommy" in C#/D. She also plays a Castagnari in B/C.

For her concert schedule, please see the Future events section or you can contact:
Mitchell Greenhill,
Phone: + 1 847 491-9707
Fax: + 1 310 458-6005
e-mail: mitchg@folkloreproductions.com
www.folkloreproductions.com

20 year duo 'They Might Be Giants' (John Flansburgh - accordion, and John Linnell - guitar) can be heard on the song "Boss of Me", featured on the Fox hit series 'Malcolm in the Middle.'

The band has just inaugurated a $9.99 per month on-line music magazine called TMBG Unlimited, which includes new tracks in every issue.

Their precursor to this, was a gimmick they initiated back in 1983, called Dial A Song, where callers could get a song played on their answermachine. Callers can still access this service, which currently includes accordion on the second track, by calling: (718) 387 6962.

further informaiton can be found at: www.tmbg.com

Pablo Ruiz Picasso

Accordéoniste et Enfants (1903)

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Gene Kovack is looking for performances of American accordionists captured on video. Anyone wishing to correspond with her, that has videos to offer, is free to contact her at:
Gene Kovack: dkovack@neo.rr.com