The newly formed Northern Californian Accordion Society announces its meetings will take place on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM. These meetings will take place at the Polish American Community Hall, 327 Maiun Street, Roseville, CA. To help defray the cost of the hall, there a $3.00 donation at the door will be charged.

The Northern California Accordion Society aims to:

1. Foster the art of the accordion
2. Preserve the history of the accordion.
3. Celebrate the music of the accordion.
4. Promote public awareness of the accordion.
5. Provide educational opportunities for future accordionists.

NCAS membership is open to all who enjoy the art of the accordion, whether you play or not. Please join us!

For further information, please contact Vince Cukar, President (pictured right with the NCAS Bear Mascot) at:

Phone: (916) 791-3041 or
E-mail: ncas@jps.net

Texas accordionist Ponty Bone will be performing in New Braunfels and Austin in December.


Concert details are as follows:

December 15 - Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, 4 pm (call 830-606-1281 for info)
Texas' Oldest Dance Hall will rock; again an early Sunday afternoon show.

December 23 - Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, Austin Music Hall (8 PM - 11 PM) Always one of our favorites for the whole year; vendors are world-class.

Born in Dallas, raised in San Antonio, lived 15 years in Lubbock and a huge part of the Austin scene the last 18 years, accordionist Ponty Bone is completely unique...just like Texas. To define his style of music in a word is a difficult task, but, describing his mastery of his instrument, the word most often used is "awesome".

Playing the accordion all his life has given him chops enough to mix his Texas blues with Louisiana Zydeco and, then mix Mexican or Caribbean rhythms with his own wry originals.

For information on recordings and upcoming concerts, please call 512-443-7952

Applied Microphone Technology has signed Jazz Accordionist Frank Marocco to their long list of endorsers. “I'm very pleased to report to you that your ACC3 Microphone system is the best I've ever had for my Accordion. The Accordion has always been difficult to Mic but this system has over come the problems of noise and feedback. The sound is very clean. The Musicians I work with are impressed with my new system as well. Thanks for caring to make a great Mic for the Accordion”...... Frank Marocco

The ACC3 and ACC1 have given accordionists the ability to amplify the accordion with no alteration to the sound. No longer is there even a need to ‘adjust’ your EQ in order to get a better reproduction of the accordion! It has the truest sound possible which cuts through, and allows the player to be heard clearly out of the main speakers and on the stage. Due to it’s frequency response, extra gain before feedback is achieved. Its installation is simple. The microphones mount inside the accordion in many different ways allowing for different accordion styles, shapes, and sizes. Either system can be used in any instrument based on customer's decision. Designed for mic level input stages, the system works equally well with line level amplifiers.

What will impress many accordionists is that their accordion virtually remains cosmetically the same. With the exception of a small eighth inch connector, the accordion surface is untouched which means the value of your instrument will stay. The interior contains three 'small' condenser microphones; two strategically placed under the grill and one strategically placed within the bass machine. Cross talk between the hands is eliminated by this process, and feedback, unwanted noise, is controlled by you. All being controlled by means of a small belt pack, with small knobs easily assessable with the hand. The belt pack also allows for the changing of a 9 volt battery to be done outside of the accordion.

There are two free-reed AMT mic systems: ACC3 (three mics and appurtenances) and ACC1 (one mic and appurtenances for the diatonic, melodeon, etc.) Extra mics can be added if desired in either system however we found that three were sufficient in the ACC3. With word spreading quickly, more and more accordion dealers are jumping on board. The latest being Steve’s Accordion Shop in Ohio and Bell Accordion in New York. Both Aldo and Steve install with the utmost of precision and dedication with the goal of customer service at the forefront. For contact information on dealers please visit the AMT website at: www.appliedmic.com. The entire system including installation hardware, is available at a surprisingly affordable price. Sugg. Retail Price: ACC3 $399.00, ACC1 $299.00.

The Kansas City Star music critic Paul Horsley's review of a recent concert by the New Ear Contemporary Chamber Ensemble featuring accordionist Lidia Kaminska had the following headline: "NewEar gives humble accordion the respect it is due."

Horsley went on to say: "The best thing about the concert was the fascinating artistry of accordionists Lydia Kaminska, who made this much-maligned instrument sound more like an organ than like something to accompany polkas.

In Chiel Meijerling's swirling "No Pain, No Gain," Kaminska's left hand wove fiendish ostinato patterns while the right hand played both melody and filigree."

Lidia also played in a piece titled "Insonnia" by Jacob Ter Veldhuis and "Scrum" by Paul Rudy.

The Accordionists & Teachers Guild, International (ATG) will hold a festival to celebrate Anthony Galla-Rini's 99th Birthday in San Diego, California on January 17th and 18th, 2003. Tony is the ATG's President Emeritus, one of its Founding Members, and he has supported the ATG through its many years of activities. In addition, he has given so much to the accordion and all accordionists through his own original compositions and the great number of arrangements for both soloists and ensembles.

The ATG looks forward to accordionists contributing to the festivities, which will include Birthday Orchestra Rehearsals, a 99th Birthday Banquet and concert.

Registrations are due by December 17th, 2002. For further information e-mail Joan Sommers at: sommersj@umkc.edu