ATG 2026 Festival Page

Joey Miskulin, an accordionist and vocalist with Riders In The Sky, is affectionately known as “The CowPolka King.” In homage to his background as the featured accordionist with Frankie Yankovic, “The Polka King,” beginning when he was only 13 years of age. But that appellation only scratches the surface of this multitalented musician who made his first recordings when he was six years old. He has recorded with a long list of notables including Roy Rogers. In addition to the accordion, he also plays bass, banjo, piano, guitar and organ. He also sings, soloing as well as harmonizing with Riders In The Sky when they sing in four-part harmony on stage and on recordings.

His career as a producer has also been remarkably successful, including among his achievements the firstever Grammy Award-winning polka album (1985). He has produced recordings for WMA Hall of Famers Marty Robbins, The Sons of the San Joaquin, Don Edwards, Michael Martin Murphey, Johnny Cash and, of course, a number of Riders In The Sky albums (including their two Grammy winners). These successful, high-profile projects have played an important role in bringing top-quality recordings of Western Music to large audiences in the US and abroad.

Joey has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cleveland-style Polka Hall of Fame and he has received the Instrumentalist of the Year Award from the Western Music Association in 2002 and 2006. Joey Miskulin was elected to the WMA Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to Western Music both as a musician and a producer.

Praised for his originality, versatility, and virtuosity, Radu Ratoi is an award-winning accordionist redefining the instrument’s possibilities. He is the winner of some of the most prestigious international competitions, including the 2024 YCA “Susan Wadsworth” International Auditions in New York and the Leonnie Sonning Talent Prize, Denmark’s most esteemed music award. He has also been honored with the "Master in Arts" Award by the President of Moldova for his outstanding achievements.

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Radu was appointed as a soloist with The National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova since 2024, captivating audiences worldwide with his technical brilliance and musical depth. With over 60 national and international awards, he is the only accordionist to have won the world’s six most important competitions in both Classical and Entertainment Musiccategories.

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A pioneer in expanding the accordion’s repertoire, Radu has arranged works by J.S. Bach, D. Scarlatti, F. Liszt, and more, including his recordings of Greatest Organ Works for Accordion (2022) and 12 Transcendental Etudes (2023). He has performed at iconic venues such as Berlin Philharmonic, Radio Concert House Copenhagen, and Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall.

Radu plays a custom Pigini Nova - RR and is represented worldwide by Young Concert Artists, Inc.

Stas Venglevski is a bayanist, composer, conductor, arranger, entertainer and a teacher and hisextensive repertoire includes his original compositions and a broad range of classical, contemporary and ethnic music. He has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe, and the United States and most recently in South Africa. Numerous U.S. performances include performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen and Garrison Keillor on thePrairie Home Companion Show.

 

He has performed with symphony orchestras in Europe and throughout the United States, includingthe Anchorage, Grand Florida, and Detroit symphony orchestras in the opera production of Frida, and with the University of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in 2003 for the official World Premiere of the Concerto No. 2 in D minor. It marked the first time the piece had been performed in its entirety with a symphony orchestra. He has performed the concerto on multiple occasions since, with the Tacoma, Colorado Jefferson and Racine symphony orchestras, and with that of Nurenberg,Germany.

 

For over 25 years he has been a regular participant in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Arts in Community Education program (ACE). He’s done television commercials and performed in theater and opera productions; produced 31 recording albums, including a transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite for Bayan, as well as original compositions. Additionally, he has published several books of original compositions.

 

For the past 10 years he has been the Artistic Director of the Houston Accordion Orchestra Retreatand in 2021 he was named Artistic Director of A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) in Superior,Wisconsin. He is a past President of the Accordionists and Teachers Guild and currently serves on its board. Most recently, he has joined the faculty of the Music Department of the University of Wisconsin, Superior, WI.

 

In 2023, he established the Stas Venglevski Music Foundation, SVMF. The aim is to revolutionizethe world of accordion by inspiring young people to embrace the fine arts, empowering them tocreate music, honing their performance skills as soloists and with orchestras, and giving themopportunities to compose and debut new music. In addition to the core mission, the foundation iscommitted to expanding public knowledge of art and music and supporting impactful culturalinitiatives worldwide.

 

In February of 2025, Stas performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall

We are always delighted to have the UMKC Community Accordion Ensemble perform at the ATG festival and this year is no exception.  Under the direction of Joan Cochran Sommers, the ensemble continues to be the premier classical accordion ensemble in the United States.

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​Most of the players in the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Community Accordion Ensemble are alumni of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and former members of the renowned UMKC Accordion Orchestra. The players make their living in various careers, but each has remained devoted to promoting the accordion and its varied repertoire, including transcriptions, commissions and other original works.

Jelena Milojević is one of the foremost accordion performers of today. She studied both in Croatia and Serbia and ultimately received her Master’s Degree in Accordion Performance and Education, in one of the most recognized accordion centres in the world, Music Academy (FILUM) in Kragujevac, Serbia, where she is now completing her Doctoral Degree in accordion performance.

Being a versatile musician with an extensive performing history, she has played numerous concerts in Europe, North America and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician and a soloist with various orchestras. She performed in some of the most prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Berlin Philharmonie.

She is the winner of some of the most prestigious international accordion competitions, such as the CMA World Trophy, International Accordion Competition in Castelfidardo, Italy, International Accordion competition in Pula, Croatia, Roland V-Accordion Competition etc. Her performances have been acclaimed as “an explosion of cosmic sensuality” and she has been praised for her “brilliant virtuosity.”

Jelena Milojević has a successful collaboration with internationally recognized composers, such as Ana Sokolovic, Chris Jarrett, Douglas Schmidt, Farangis Nurulla-Khoja etc, and performs and records new music with Vancouver Symphony, Berlin Symphony, Aventa Ensemble, Turning Point Ensemble, Emily Carr String Quartet, UVic Chorus and Orchestra etc.