See What Our Members Are Doing
- atgaccordionistste
- May 24
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Dr. Michael Bridge
It’s May, and Michael Bridge already passed 50 concerts this year. “Dr. Accordion” performed in 20 schools in Toronto (and one in Chicago), through which about 4,000 students were introduced to the wonders of digital accordion—from Bach’s Toccata in D minor to the Mario Brothers theme song.
Bridge & Wolak visited Regina, SK and Yellowknife, NWT for week-long residencies and performances of their main touring productions: Scandalous Romantics and Bach to Benny Goodman. You’ll hear Scandalous Romantics at the 2025 ATG Festival—on Saturday night.
They also performed at the “Snowcastle”—an elaborate castle made of ice and snow with a second floor and a “concert hall,” built each winter on Great Slave Lake in Northern Canada. An audience of 100 people braved sub-zero temperatures to hear Bridge & Wolak’s 25-minute set. There was a heater blowing at the stage, but it can’t be turned on very much—otherwise the roof melts.
In classical performances, Michael joined Esprit Orchestra (Canada’s only full-size orchestra dedicated to contemporary music) for the Canadian Premiere of Unsuk Chin’s 'Ritus des Herzschlags’—a 20-minute new orchestral work by a world-leading composer with a notable accordion role in the orchestra (mostly fast bellows shakes decaying from shocking and unpredictable loud percussion hits). He also co-arranged Viacheslav Semionov’s well-known Bulgarian Suite for 26-piece brass orchestra with accordion soloist, to be premiered shortly with the Hannaford Silver Band in Toronto.
He visited Chicago at the conclusion of Bridge & Wolak’s spring midwestern tour, and joined Prof. Joan Sommers for a panel discussion on “Building Community Through Music” and gave a solo concert at Harper College, Chicago. He happily continues to work on building community with Mary Ann Covone, and teaches a regular group lesson to a new cohort of chromatic/free-bass accordionists at the Chicagoland Accordion Academy.
Coming up, Michael’s quartet, Ladom Ensemble, will release their third studio album, Sofreh-Tisch, digitally on May 30th—focusing on Persian- and Ashkenazi-influenced music for accordion, piano, cello and hand percussion. Summer tours include weeks in Edmonton, Ottawa, and Chicago for the 2025 ATG festival.
MURL’S LUCKY LOVE BAND: Murl Allen Sanders Has New Band:
Murl’s Lucky Love Band formed in the Fall of 2024 with a three-fold purpose:
First: To have some musical fun with wonderful musicians that I love, admire and respect.
I have gathered with Susan Pascal, a virtuoso vibraphonist and Pacific Northwest jazzicon and Earshot Hall Of Fame musician, with whom I have a long history of music making.
Brian Monroney is the guitarist extraordinaire, fluent in all styles and a respected studiomusician, producer and was Tom Jones’ music director for 10 years. He has an extensive resume of touring, performing and recording with top artists.
Mark Ivester is our master drummer and a sought-after studio musician and live concert musician with whom I have played for more than 30 years. His credits are too numerous to fit on this page!
Chris Symer is a virtuoso bassist and instructor constantly in demand by the best musicians in the Pacific Northwest for his fluid and poetic playing. He is also a highly respected music educator at college level. His credits are extensive and growing all the time.
Alexey Nikolaev is the powerhouse tenor saxophonist noted for his virtuosity, knowledge and striking ability to play beautifully and blend in any musical situation. He is a mainstay of the Pacific Northwest jazz scene and a highly respected college instructor with a wide reputation and encyclopedic resume.
Secondly: To rehearse and record many of my old and new original compositions that have never been recorded, and in some instances, never before played for an audience.
I have an extensive backlog of older material from all eras of my life and I’m still writingnew music! The music we are playing is an eclectic mix of styles ranging from jazz, pop, blues,Brazilian, cinematic, Americana and others.
Thirdly: To play a few concerts!
I hope you will have the opportunity to hear us!
Elena Fainshtein: Concerts Benefit Fainshtein Memorial Accordion Fund
Elena Fainshtein has established the Fainshtein Memorial Accordion Fund at Dallas College in memory of her late husband, Gregory Fainshtein and her student Elijah Clements. Gregory was her accordion partner in the duo Together and arranged numerous pieces for their performances. The Fainshtein Memorial Accordion Fund will provide scholarships to accordion students and eventually enable the College to purchase accordions for student use. To kick off the fundraising, Elena and her trombone partner Lucas Kaspar performed two benefit concerts, one at Dallas College and one at the Kawai Piano Gallery in Plano, Texas, with the donations going to the Fund.
As a new collaboration, Elena will also perform a concert together with Joseph Kuipers, an internationally known cellist, in Fredericksburg, Texas, on June 20th. The program will include pieces by Bach, Dvorak, Piazolla, and Schnittke. Featured pieces will be Il Bell’Antonio by Sollima, Suite Populaire Espangnole by Manuel de Falla, and Shenandoah, an arrangement of a traditional American folk song. In addition, Elena and Joseph will be performing in a unique setting – a cave!! This concert will be on June 7th, at the Cave Without A Name, in Boerne, Texas. (And, yes, that is the name of the cave.) Finally, Elena and Joseph will also be performing at a concert in McKinney, Texas in August. The details on that concert are still being worked out.
Elena and Lucas Kaspar, as TromboKordion Duo, will be performing a recital at the International Trombone Festival, in London, Ontario, Canada, on July 19th. Elena is hard at work perfecting Feira de Magaio, composed by Sivuca e Glorinha Gadelha, arranged by Elder Ferreira. This will be an addition to their standard program and is quite special as Elena will be playing with not only Lucas Kaspar but also Lucas Borges, another internationally renowned trombonist.
Dee Langley performs with Houston Symphony Orchestra
Minneapolis, Minnesota – Dee Langley performed the Alice in Wonderland: Prelude to the Mad Tea Party by Unsuk Chin with the Houston Symphony Orchestra February 15 & 16 in Houston, Texas at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. The Houston Symphony also performed PROKOFIEV The Love for Three Oranges: Symphonic Suite, BRITTEN Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes, BARTÓK Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.
The concert was described as an “Anti-Valentine’s Day” event with a dark, mysterious castle, a husband keeping secrets, seven locked doors each masking a blood-stained surprise. They encouraged their audiences to “buckle up for an evening of chills, thrills, and astonishing theatrical power as the story unfolds before you. “ (Duke Bluebeard’s Castle) The mood was set with musical highlights from other landmark operas of the 20th and 21st century, each with their own eerie undertones. (Prokofiev, Britten and Chin). Houston Symphony Conductor Juraj Valčuha is recognized for his effortless expressiveness and depth of musicianship. With sharp baton technique and natural stage presence, the impressive ease of his interpretations translates even the most complex scores into immersive experiences.
Dee Langley specializes in both solo and ensemble works for the accordion having appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Duluth Symphony Orchestra, Theater Latte Da, and the Guthrie Theater.
Kim and Dan Christian: Busy Prep Time
Kim and Dan Christian have been busy preparing for their Albuquerque Accordion Extravaganza taking place May 14-17. He event will culminate in a Saturday night concert on May 17th at First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque.
Dan and Kim Christian, along with drummer extraordinaire Rich Delabio, will open up the concert and play for the first half of the program. They have an extensive repertoire prepared for this concert including just about every style of music you can think of including Aaron Copland's "Hoe Down" and John Williams' "Superman."
For the 2nd half of the show, 31 accordionists from 12 different states will join Dan and Kim and perform a really fun program. These are tunes that no one would expect to hear on the accordion. The 31 accordionists have been working on these tunes for several months and have come together in Albuquerque for 3 fun filled days of rehearsals and other fun activities.
Here is the program:
I Feel Good - James Brown, Arranged by Dan Christian
Accordion Jump - Mini and Addie Cere
Magnum PI - Arr. Dan Christian
Teufelstanz - Josef Helmessberger
Feather Theme from Forrest Gump - Arr. Dan Christian
Birdland - Arr. Dan Christian
Palladio - Karl Jenkins, Arr. Dan Christian
Cotton Candy Twist - Don Grazanna
Raiders March - John Williams, Arr. Dan Christian
Dr. Herbert Scheibenreif: Busy with Travel for Accordion Events and Adjudicating
Dr. Herbert Scheibenreif has been traveling to various accordion presentations, adjudicating at competitions, and reporting many accordion activities to Accordions World Wide (AWW) through written report. See article in “On the International Scene” in this bulletin.
Stas Venglevski’s past 3 months Activities
Provided by Magumi Hada
2025 has been a very busy and exciting year for Stas Venglevski and Accordion World. He started 2025 with the Houston Accordion Orchestra in Houston in January. Four solo concerts in Houston followed the Carnegie Hall concert in February, all of which were successful. The South Africa and Japan tours in March and April were successful in expanding new accordion fans.
The list of concerts
February 13, Stas Solo Concert, JBC Music Hall, Houston TX
February 14, Stas Solo Concert, Russian Culture Center, Houston, TX
February 16, Stas Solo Concert, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Houston, TX
February 17, Stas Solo Concert, Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, TX
February 20, Solo Performance and with NY Chamber Players in “Sound Espressivo and Price Attractions”, Weil Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, NY
March 2, The World of the Bayan with Stas Venglevski, Old Nectar Garden, Stellenbosch, South Africa
March 8, Stas with Free State Symphony Orchestra, Odeion Hall, University of Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
March 30, Stas Solo Concert, Frank L Weyenberg Library, Mequon, WI
April 4, Stas Solo Concert, Pirica, Beppu, Oita, Japan
April 6, Stas Solo Concert, Lala Symphony, Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan
April 10, Stas Concert with Chiharu Ebihara, Mistral, Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan
April 13, Stas & Noriko Spring Concert, Nagatsuta-Beatnik, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
April 16, Stas Solo Concert, Takehiko Miyanaga Memorial Art Museum, Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan
April 19, Stas & Noriko Spring Concert, Town News Hall, Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan
May 3, Stas & Noriko Spring Concert, The World Accordion Museum, Superior WI
May 3, Stas & Noriko Spring Concert, Weber Music Hall, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN
May 10, Online Listening Party, Composer’s Voice presents “Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame” featuring Stas Venglevski
Gail Campanella Continues Being Innovative
We had our 4th grader, Aria, come to the AIMS meeting (Santa Barbara Accordion Club) in April. Her mother brought her after I was in touch with her about the possibility. She played her 3 pieces beautifully. She told me at our next class that she was “proud of herself.”
Jane Christison – Going, Going, Going ….
Accordionist and singer, Jane Christison, has had a busy spring. It was a jam-packed Week of the Young Child with preschool performances as Janie Next Door® - Music for Kids! Easter was celebrated with a performance at the Bunny Eggstravaganza hosted by the City of Mission, KS. Easter Sunday was spent at a memory care facility.
You might ask, what’s coming up? Besides performances for seniors, Jane is getting ready for performances at preschools almost every day in June, July, and early August. She is considered a “field trip” when she plays music for summer sessions at schools. She quips, “Who knew I was a field trip?!?”
She also has these upcoming public performances:
Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 10:15-10:45 a.m., Wellsville City Library, Wellsville, KS
Wed., June 4, 2025, 10:00-10:30 a.m., Giggle Time, sponsored by Overland Parks Parks & Rec, Roe Park, Overland Park, KS
Saturday, June 7, 2025, 10:00-10:45 a.m. Central Resource Library, Overland Park, KS
Saturday, June 7, 2025, 1:15-3:45 p.m. Old Shawnee Days Festival, Shawnee, KS
Sunday, June 8, 2025, 1:15-3:45 p.m., Old Shawnee Days Festival, Shawnee, KS
Friday, July 11, 2025, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Teddy Bear Picnic sponsored KCMO Parks & Rec, Kansas City, MO
Monday, June 23, 2025, 6:00-6:45 p.m., Cass County Public Library – Belton Branch, Belton, MO
Thursday, July 24, 2025, 2:00-2:45 p.m., Merriam Plaza Library, Merriam, KS
Friday, July 25, 2025, 2:00-2:45 p.m., Corinth Library, Prairie Village, KS
For more information, visit www.musicwithasmile.com
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