Un Deux Trois
The Un Deux Trois are back. Look in your December 2012 issue of the Reedwooder for their write up.
Click here to see The Un Deux Trios website. Don’t miss this group and let your friends know!
The Un Deux Trois
The Presidents Message
Dear Friends,
Well, the big concert event of the year is over and the wonderful musicians who performed for us have returned to Germany. Those of you who were fortunate enough to attend this event know that it was an unqualified success. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Manfred, Gretel, Renate, Rosemarie and all of the other members of Petaluma Lodge # 26 who worked so hard to make this event such a success. As I have said before, we are fortunate to be associated with this fine group of people.
The next big event for us is our annual Christmas Dinner Dance which will take place on December 7 at Hermann Sons Hall. Steve and Donald and their crew get the evening off this year to enjoy the dinner without doing all the work to cook it. This year the dinner is being catered by Lombardi Catering so please get your reservations and checks in early. There will be no dinner tickets sold at the door. Deadline for purchasing tickets is November 23rd.
At a cost of $20 per person for members this is a rare bargain evening. The cost covers dinner with fine wine, entertainment during the no host bar cocktail hour and dancing to the music of The Steve Balich Band after dinner. Members of the Petaluma Lodge # 26 are invited to attend at the member price of $20 also. We hope to see many of them join us for a great evening of eating, drinking and dancing. If you happen to know a Lodge member let them know that they are invited as most of them do not receive the Reedwooder.
Please use the reservation form elsewhere in this issue to make your reservations. Invite your friends and family to join us also. Even at the $25 non-member price this is a real bargain. I hope to see a good turnout for this event as everyone works hard to make it happen.
Get well soon wishes are going out to our scholarship chairman and board member Joe Chiesa, who has recently been hospitalized with pneumonia. I spoke with Joe and Donna yesterday and he is now at home recuperating. Have a speedy recovery Joe.
Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next meeting and then at the Christmas Dinner Dance.
Tony Mustaro
President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods
Entertainment November 2013
Frank Divita
Frank started out our evening with ‘As Time Goes By” ‘Ti Ramentai (Remember you Marah)’, and from the web, ‘Aristide’, and ending with ‘Cesarina Mazurka’.
Great Job Frank!
Arthur Seebach
Arthur’s play list was a Grecian tune, followed by “The Sailor’s Wife”, and ending with “Ships are Sailing”. Arthur is self taught, and has been playing for two years.
Wow, great job!
George Johnstone
George entertained us with “Imaination”, ‘Bicycles of Ver” “I will Wait for You’, Under Paris Skyes”, Under the Bridges of Paris”, and “Embrace Me”.
Also, Welcome Back George! George was a charter member, joining the ACR in 1996. Geroge has recently played for us at our meetings, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We’re glad to have him back with us and looking forward to his artistic performances. George is also self taught!
Kris Nelson and Tony Mustaro
Kris and Tony teamed up to delight us. Tony started oput with “Iulopi Iulupi”. Kris joined in for the second with the song “Stardust”. Tony finished of his play list with “La Spagnopta”, “ La Paloma”, “Mia Bella Napoli”, “O’ Marie”, and finished with “Non Dimenticar”.
Great Job you two!
Xavier de la Prade
At the request of our Editor here is a summary of the songs I played at the ACR in October. The first was “Etoile des Neiges”. This song was extremely popular in France in the 1950s. It is about a young man forced to leave the high Alps to work in the city leaving his sweetie alone in the mountains. If you have a French gig, play this song. It is the same melody as “Forever, and Ever” and they love it. In French the lyrics are so much more meaningful.
The second song was “Les Fiancés d’Auvergne”. Auvergne is their French Appalachia. Here again a young man leaves his region to earn money leaving his heart behind. This song was composed by André Verchurin who recently died at the age of 90. André was one of France’s best accordionist. He was a member of the French Resistance. Captured by the Nazis he was never sent to the gas chambers once the Nazis heard him play, the accordion spared his life.
My third song was for my friend Carola, “Otche Tchornia”, a well known Russian Folk Song that I had learned to play in the seventh grade. I am glad Carola got me to play this great song again. Thank you Xavier
A few of our Jammers
News, November 2013
ACR Band Update
The ACR Band will have its next meeting on November 18th, 6:30 before the ACR general meeting. All levels of players are welcome. It helps if you can read sheet music. Bring an accordion and a good measure of enthusiasm. If you would like to play in the band, please contact Steve Balich at 707-874-3494.
2013 Christmas Dinner Dance
The ACR Christmas Dinner Dance is set for Saturday, December 7st, 2012 this year. Let’s gather with family and friends and have a festive holiday party. Food, music, dancing and good fun with our good friends. To see details click form below.
2013 Christmas Menu
To see details click form below.
The Presidents Message
Dear Friends,
Hope that everyone had a great summer and are ready to move into the fall season and some rain to keep the flowers growing. Sorry to lose daylight savings time, but we still have a little longer before changing the clocks.
The big news this month is the arrival of two great bands direct from Germany. Our club, in United States tour of the Keiper Accordion Orchestra and Gesangvereinskapelle Rockenhausen. Each orchestra consists of thirty to thirty-two musicians and they will be performing for us right here at Hermann Sons Hall main auditorium. It has been a pleasure working with Manfred and Renate and their group. They are very positive, energetic, cooperative, and efficient, and very hard workers. We are fortunate to be affiliated with this lodge.
I will give you a bit of background on the two groups who will be playing here on October 17. The present conductor of the Keiper Accordion Orchestra is Jurgen Dorsch who has been the soloist Accordion Champion of Germany as well as receiving top rankings there as a duo player and ensemble conductor. Heiko Opp, the conductor of Gesangvereinskapelle Rockenhausen also received first prize as a soloist in national competition and was awarded first prize three times with his ensemble at the German Orchestra Competition. I think that we are in for a real treat this month, so if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet be sure to do so before they are all gone. Ticket sales are going very well and there are a limited number of seats available. There will also be German food and beer available at the event so don’t miss it. Remember, the last time these groups toured the US was in 1988.
We are hoping for a good representation from our club at the concert. Ticket prices go up to $10 after October 10, so reserve your tickets now. It’s an evening of great entertainment at either price.
I have learned that our own Keith Church will be playing through October 31, 2013 at Café Europe located in the Saint Francis shopping center on the corner of Highway 12 and Calistoga Road in Santa Rosa, so if you’d like to have a good meal and listen to Keith play accordion while you eat stop by for dinner and say hello.
Just as a head up we have a special guest performer already scheduled for February of next year. Joe Domitrowich will be performing his new show at our February meeting so mark your calendars and tell your friends.
Tony Mustaro
President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods
Entertainment October 2013
Xavier de la Prade
Xavier’s play list was ‘Mademoiselle de Paris’, ‘Sous les Ports de Paris’, ‘ La Seine’, Palez – moi l’Amoure’, ‘La Mer’ then to introduce George Simko, ‘El Paso’. Great job Xavier, keep them coming. Charles Trenet was an extremely gifted composer. He wrote many French standards but his most famous is “la Mer”.
“La Mer” that Charles wrote about had nothing to do with “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin. Charle’s version is not a love song. It gives a description of the Mediterranean as he was travelling from Marseille to Sete where he spent his youth. He describes the colors, the white birds and the bending rushes, etc., sort of an impressionist view of the sea. However, the melody lives on. What he could do with seven notes. Supposedly there are over 250 recordings of this melody. Upon his death he was receiving over $200,000 dollars a year just from this song. I for one never get tired of playing it. ~Xavier
Elmo Fama
Elmo wowed us with ‘My blue Heaven’, ‘Alley Cat’, and ‘My Love Forgive Me’
Jane Tripi
Jane’s play list was ‘This Love of Mine’, ‘Deed I Do’, ‘Your Cheating Heart’, and ‘Tuxedo Junction’.
Jane, you just keep getting better and better!
George Simko
George wowed us with a list to long to itemize, but the few that I can remember are ‘My Shawl’ ‘Latin Evening’ and ‘Lets Dance till Dawn’.
Many of had requests and George obliged us. What a great evening, thank you so much George
News, October 2013
George Johnstone
George was our fourth player of the evening.George is a special player. Special in that he has never taken lessons, self taught. He started his journey 18 years ago. His play list was ‘What a Difference a Day Makes’, ‘Shadow of Your Smile’, Besama Mucho’ and ‘ Aye Marie’. George recently had a bad fall off a high curb and severely injured his rotator cuffs. He could not drive or play his accordion. George lives in San Rafael, not on a sail boat, but in condo. He spends his winters in Mexico. He taught himself the accordion, a Giulietti, for company while sailing.
Welcome back George!
ACR Band Update
The ACR Band will have its next meeting on October 21st 6:30 before the ACR general meeting. All levels of players are welcome. It helps if you can read sheet music. Bring an accordion and a good measure of enthusiasm. If you would like to play in the band, please contact Steve Balich at 707-874-3494.
2013 Christmas Dinner Dance
The ACR Christmas Dinner Dance is set for Saturday, December 7st, 2012 this year. Let’s gather with family and friends and have a festive holiday party. Food, music, dancing and good fun with our good friends. To see details click form below.
2013 Christmas Menu
To see details click form below.
The Presidents Message
Dear Friends,
Here it is September already and summer is almost over. As some of you may know, this year our club had a booth at the Cotati Accordion Festival. It generated quite a bit of interest in our club and we have already had two or three of the folks who stopped by the booth to chat visit is at our last meeting. Some of them even played for us!
I would like to thank Ann Albertoni, Olga Fansler, Joan Traverso, and Mike Novi and Lou DiMaggio for volunteering to help with the booth and act as spokespersons for our club. If we do this again next year I am hoping to see more of our members manning the booth.
The next major event on our horizon takes place on October 17, 2013 right here at Hermann Sons Hall. Our club, together with The Hermann Sons Petaluma Lodge # 26 will be sponsoring an evening performance by The Keiper Accordion Orchestra and Gesangvereinskapelle Rockenhausen. These two bands direct from Germany will each have about 32 members performing that night. They are all excellent musicians and we are very fortunate to have them playing for us. They have won various national awards and recognition in their native Germany, where they are also broadcast and recording artists and each of the bands is led by an award winning conductor. Please see the flier we have prepared for more detailed information on these groups.
Admission will be only $8 in advance or $10 at the door if tickets are still available then. This concert will be open to the public but of course Hermann Sons and ACR members will have first opportunity to purchase tickets. There will also be German food available at the performance. It should be quite an evening. Tickets will be available by the time you read this message. You can see or phone me for ticket information, but don’t wait to long or you may miss out!
Once again our club sold advance discount tickets to the Cotati Accordion Festival. I would like to thank Cathy Patton and Art Clark for all of their hard work in making this endeavor a success.
I have spoken to George Simko from Texas and he will be playing for us this month at our Monday night meeting. I am looking forward to seeing all of you there.
Tony Mustaro
President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods
