**(* for those of a certain generation....those who don't get it, see paragraph two below..hint: Champagne Music!)
The office move has been made! Things looks great. IT and Mailroom guys did a phenomenal job! amazing they got it done! (and I'm so glad to see that buddy EW, who was just given an office three months ago, actually gained space in her new "condo sized" cubicle facing the forest!)
In brief -
- Lots of back to school calls from teachers and others seeking resources and help, and
- categorizing hundreds of responses to the two surveys we did this summer on the standards for transmission to the Standards Task force by 8/31!
*** SPECIAL THANKS this week to JL of IT who saved the day by helping me fix a blooper I made on my computer which prevented me from being able to access the formatting codes on this blog! Were it not for JL - you'd be reading this in black and white only, no color and no links!
The main deal this week is,
I've been wanting to share this article re: accordion playing, an old timer teaching the instrument to youngsters, fearing the skill will die out. I've always liked the accordion, my first memories of this unique instrument being my Uncle Stan playing the box at family gatherings. It was the coolest looking thing, and made the most amazing sound. It lured me down to the basement where the guys were drinking and yucking it up. Uncle Stan would come over when he saw me creep down the steps, and play as he smiled at me, and then he'd come over and let me press a few of the keys/buttons....what a thrill!
Yes, Uncle Stan was Polish American, and this was in the mid 60's, but lest you think the accordion is just Lawrence Welk's instrument of choice to play sappy cornball music, think again (and hear the LIVE performances BELOW!) This free vibrating reed and bellows contraption has much to teach, about how it came over to this country, all the types of music that can be played on it (Tango, Eastern European gypsy music, even polkas and waltzes, chanties and ballads and jigs, and Cajun/zydeco!), the different names the accordion takes in different cultures ..........
(to quote the W. Post article linked above:
"Although originally conceived in the early 1800s as a device to tune pipe organs, the accordion was quickly embraced as an instrument throughout Europe for its versatility, rich sound and portability. It traveled to the United States with the wave of emigration at the turn of the 20th century and became big business in the 1930s, when immigrant vaudeville performers stole the spotlight with their ornate accordions and fast-flying finger work."
This instrument and its sound gets your blood pumping!!
To supplement the Post article, I went looking for a few links to share (see below) about the history of the instrument, and the accordion in American music. Unbelieveably, the first item that came up on that search was an article by Uncle Stan's SON, MY COUSIN, Roy!!! (professor at RIT, Rochester, NY, also amateur pianist and pilot).....! Talk about coincidence! My cousin has written about the accordion in Polish American culture! I'm sure he has some great memories of the instrument, too, his Dad being an accordion player..... (and his lovely Mom, my Dad's sister, my Aunt Irene, had a beautiful singing voice, I'm sure she sang along with Uncle Stan...I know she and my Dad used to perform in Polish folk costume in their home town in the 30's....click to see cool photos of such costumes; it's the 2nd photo in queue, not the family portrait)
Have a listen to some live performances by musicians from around the world happening this week in Washington DC at the 60th Anniversary Coupe Mondiale International Competition for Accordionists, jointly hosted by the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International (ATG) and the American Accordionists' Association (AAA) from 13 - 18 August, 2007 in Alexandria, VA (Washington, DC) USA.
CLICK to hear live broadcasts from the JFKennedy Center Millenium Stage
Here's the schedule this week:
Wednesday:
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Accordion Orchestra, Joan Sommers, Director
- Martin Music Center Accordion Orchestra (CA), Randall Martin, Director
Thursday:
- Showstoppers Acc. Orchestra & Dancers (NH), Rosita Lee Latulippe, Director
- North Shore Accordion Orchestra (New Zealand), Lionel Reekie, Director
Friday:
- Accordeonova (Denmark), Peter Anders, Director
- Beijing Children's Palace Baidi Accordion Orchestra (China), Chen Weilang, Director
Saturday
- Winners of the six CIA Coupe Mondiale Categories
LINKS about the Accordion
HISTORY of the Accordion
American Accordionists Association (and once on, click on WORLD of Accordions on left hand column, to see more details about how they work, and their classification)
Daily reports from the Coupe Mondiale, and other neat links
CHAMPAGNE music
STARS of the LAWRENCE WELK SHOW
Around the WATER COOLER
Ensemble plays over net: Arab, Jews and Persian musicians share the same stage
International Relations and Culture (check weekly for new stories)
See you next week! SR
