Potent Accordion

Yesterday Wild Hollow performed at the Waconia Library in Carver County, Minnesota for the 'Live at the Library!' Concert Series.  The road trip was wonderful, the attendance was great. When we walked through the library door a big, "Hi, Dee!" greeted us and soon the same librarian handed me these two posted articles.  I was a little surprised to see that, even though Wild Hollow is a balanced classical group that plays string quartet material, they focused on the accordion alone.

Waconia Patriot

Carver County News

Thanks to the good folk of Carver County that were so excited to hear classical accordion, but also to my performance partners, Colleen Bertsch (violin) and Katrina Mundinger (clarinet) who have dedicated their talent to becoming proficient at working with the accordion. And also deepest appreciation to Phil Nusbaum who headed these library concerts.

iPad Accordion

OK, so I challenge this as an accordion anything because where exactly are the reeds that would make this a free-reed instrument? But.....for those who are squeamish about traveling on the airlines with their accordions or happen to like bike touring, here you go!

Historical TLC for the ATG

Being the new president for the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International has posed a number of unexpected challenges for me, one of which was the historical filing and storage system of this 69 year old organization.



The 2009 ATG Festival Committee, Mary Tokarski and Michele Boddicker Scheffler and myself, met at the Hilton Airport Mall of America in Bloomington (Minneapolis), Minnesota, May 21-25, 2009. We worked 14 hours a day sorting and filing to discover mementos and statistics from years past. We also set the schedule and worked with the Hilton staff regarding this year's festival 'Accordion Renaissance' presented by the ATG August 13-16 of this year, but that was the easy part of our work week.

Our ATG organizing endeavors unearthed a myriad of findings, from last year's surplus registration desk pencils to a letter from the late Anthony Galla-Rini written in 1940 regarding his views on transcribing orchestral works for accordion orchestra.



The task of sorting through all the storage boxes was an amazing experience. The three of us are proud to look forward into the future of this fine, upstanding organization. The ATG is going to have a great 'Accordion Renaissance' in August at our annual festival and convention.


left to right: Mary Tokarski (CT), Michele Boddicker Scheffler (OR), Dee Langley (MN)

AAMS - American Accordion Musicological Society

It's been another great AAMS festival! The workshops were plentiful and well attended, the presenters really out did themselves. There were displays of antique accordions, new and heritage accordion music and merchandise, and there were concerts, competitions and a banquet. But the very finest attribute of this festival is the friendship and openness of everyone, it is truly heart-warming.





This is a picture of the Westmont Philharmonic Accordion Orchestra during the first concert of the weekend. It is conducted by Stanley Darrow. The AAMS festival is typically held the first full weekend in March in King of Prussia, which is nearby to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Wild Hollow

Wild Hollow, December 2008, Audubon Coffee Shop "Tea and the Classics". L to R: Colleen Bertsch, violin; Dee Langley, free-bass accordion; Katrina Mundinger, clarinet

Picture by: John Omorean