75th Anniversary Celebration of the American Accordionists' Association (AAA)
August 21, 2013The Accordion Gallery was among the exhibitors at the 75th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Festival of the AAA. It was a great pleasure to see
so many good friends. I would like to share some of my impressions and special moments.
| Welcome to the Accordion Gallery Display at the AAA 75th Anniversary Celebration in NYC |
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| I would like to express my gratitude to Ivan Milev and Entcho Todorov for performing at the Accordion Gallery booth. Their music is always invigorating and inspiring. |
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Entcho Todorov (violin) and Ivan Milev (accordion)  |
| ... a cool mirror
reflection (right) with some of the appreciative audience (left). Mario
Tacca and Ivan Milev are among my favorite accordionists. It was nice
to see them together and appreciating each other's talent. |
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Guenadiy Lazarov (Accordion Gallery) with Maestro Ivan Milev  |
One of the highlights of the festival was the presence of Aldo
Mencaccini, the founder of Bell Accordions,
a master accordion maker and technician, and one of my mentors in accordion restoration. Aldo's custom-made tools are still in action at the Accordion Gallery.  |
| Having the Teacher's blessing is very inspiring ... |
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| Getting together with Stanley and Joanna Darrow brings fond memories. My older son Stoyan took accordion lessons at the Acme accordion school in Westmont, NJ in 1999-2001. There was a time I would visit the school few times a week. Stoyan participated at the AAMS festival competitions till 2005. Now he also plays the guitar, clarinet, and piano but never gave up the accordion and still keeps his favorite Excelsior Symphony Citation in his college dorm room... I admire Stan and Joanna's devotion to the instrument and to music education. They provide unique environment for students of all agess and levels. It was very important for my son to play the accordion with other kids his age. I would say he benefited from "peer incentive". |
Guenadiy Lazarov (Accordion Gallery) and Joanna Darrow (Acme Accordion School)  |
Aldo Mencaccini is greeting Stanley and Joanna Darrow at the Carmen Carrozza Luncheon & Concert  |
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| Mike Bulboff's (Liberty Bellows) son Reed was probably the youngest participant at the festival... |
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| ... and already considers his first accordion |
 Frank Busso Jr. with Reed and Lauren Bulboff |
| Meet the Music Magic Family - Alex, Lilliana, and Petro Chudolij |
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Dan and Joan Grauman (SqueezinArt)  |
Joan Grauman and Cathie Travers  |
I met Cathie Travers on the Internet with help from my friends Dave Magliozzi and Dan and Joan Grauman. Thanks to YouTube I was impressed by Cathie's original compositions and innovative approach to performing accordion music. What a pleasure it is to meet in person and listen to her perform! I'm looking forward to CapeAccordion 2013 for more of the fascinating harmonies and bass patterns...  |
| Greg Zhukoff  |
| I was very pleased to receive complements on the Siwa & Figli
accordions from Alex Carozza, the founder and owner of Alex Music (now
Alex & Bell Accordions) in New York City. Alex Carozza (right: holding the specifications sheet for the Siwa & Figli Super Cobra accordion) with Mario Tacca (left) and Emilio Magnotta (center)  |
The young Cody McSherry knows the hat gives Mario Tacca a special touch ... Cody has a hat too and a special talent and charm of his own. Keep it up, Cody!  |
Accordion music at Bryant Park in NYC
Assembling the International Accordion Orchestra  |
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Accordion Gallery friend Rob Trietsch owns the high ground at Bryant Park. The International Accordion Orchestra performed the famous hit "New York, New York".  |
The Old Aker Band from Norway  |
| Musikforum Olching from Germany  |
Virtual Tour of the Exhibit Hall
| Accordion Gallery - Guenadiy Lazarov, Landing, NJ |
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| Busy Fingers - Annette & Tommy Doyle, Indialantic, FL |
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| Emilio's Accordions - Emilio Magnotta, Stamford, CT |
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| Ernest Deffner Affiliates - Frank Busso, Alexandria, VA |
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| Gioia Productions - Mario Tacca and Mary Mancini, Cortland Mannor, NY |
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| JANPress - Roxy's Music - Joe Natoli, Wooster, OH |
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| Liberty Bellows - Mike Bulboff, Philadelphia, PA |
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| Music Magic - Accordions USA - Alex and Lilliana Chudolij, Clifton, NJ |
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| SqueezinArt - Dan and Joan Grauman, Frederick, MD |
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| New England Accordion Museum - Paul Ramunni, Canaan, CT |
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