Beverley Fess marks 60 years teaching accordion

By Ron Griffin

On May 4, 2026, Beverley Fess will have completed 60 years of continuous music lessons for students of the piano, piano accordion and free bass chromatic accordion. 

Beverley started playing accordion at the age of 6 and quickly completed the Palmer Hughes program and advanced studies in Dunnville, Canada near Toronto. On Beverley’s 14^th birthday, the studio called and asked Beverley to fill in for a teacher who was sick. Beverley had several classes of youth accordion students that first day.  The studio recognized Beverley’s accordion performance accomplishments as well as her ability to teach others.  Beverley was asked to teach the advanced students and her career was launched.  

Beverley developed several accordion orchestras and had many students in addition to her high school responsibilities.  Many of the lessons were home lessons in other towns requiring Beverley to drive in the major winter weather in the Southern Ontario Canada area.

After high school graduation, Beverley went to legal secretarial studies, but continued teaching and competing in accordion festivals in Canada. After a few years of managing a studio in Alberta, Canada, Beverley went into the insurance business to support herself - necessary in addition to her accordion teaching and orchestra leadership income.

Beverley Fess directs her ensemble

Over time, she decided that working in insurance was not her future or passion and she took the leap to start an accordion studio in Okotoks, Alberta province.  It was a big leap into the deep end of the pool to increase the number of students to make the studio financially viable for her support.  Beverley eventually had 50 students per week whom she personally taught.  

One of the noteworthy students was Michael Bridge at the age of 7.  Michael had been studying the piano for two years.  His mother saw an accordion in a garage sale and bought it.  Michael quickly was drawn to the instrument and his mother found Beverley to teach him.  Beverley taught Michael until he went to university. Michael went on to earn a Ph.D. in Accordion Performance at the University of Toronto and is now teaching at the university.  Michael performs over 100 virtuoso concerts per year in many countries.

Beverley pioneered teaching on line and built a cadre of students in Alaska, California, Montana, Washington, Canada, etc.  When Covid hit the world, Beverley offered her home lesson students to continue online.  Beverley currently teaches 13 piano accordion and chromatic button (including free bass) accordion students online. 

Beverley Fess giving a lesson on zoom

Beverley was a co-founder of the AAC accordion association in Calgary Canada and served as an officer for over 30 years.  Beverley also was elected to the Board of the ATG accordion association and has served in the rolls of Vice President as well as competition chair at the annual ATG Festival. Beverley has served as the co-chair of the Syllabus committee for several years.

Developing accordion orchestras and polishing performance for public concerts are major passions of Beverley’s.  She currently is the director for both the Spokane Accordion Ensemble and Fess Accordion Ensemble in San Diego.  In the past, she directed the Rose City accordion orchestra and served as concertmaster for Stas Venglevski orchestra performances in Houston, TX and Madison, WI. Beverley adjudicates accordion performances at Leavenworth and ATG festivals.  Beverley directs the Spokane Accordion Ensemble which has performed at the Leavenworth Accordion Festival and this year at the Salt Lake City ATG annual festival.

During her Rose City, Oregon orchestra direction, Ron Griffin was an orchestra participant.  They discovered they both had long term interests in the accordion.  After a few trips to be together and playing the accordion together, Ron proposed and they married in 2021. Beverley now teaches online from a boat in San Diego and an island in Washington state.  Ron and Beverley perform regularly for the Norwegian community in San Diego, in the Fess Accordion Ensemble and at accordion clubs around the U.S.