Norman Seaton, President of the National Accordion Association, announces that all the plans for the 2010 National Accordion Convention, which will be held in Dallas, Texas from March 11-14, 2010, have been finalized and the committee is ready for this convention. For the first time in history, the planning began by Norman using electronic services (Google Docs) to survey nearly 1400 accordionists from around the world. Once the information was collected, the summaries were forwarded to various committees who have booked presenters who agreed to meet most of the recommendations submitted by surveyed accordionists. Every scheduled event, including the workshops, has been modified to reflect information collected from the extensive survey. Greg Klugiewicz agreed to chair the convention committee.

As a result of the survey, the committee elected to schedule the Thursday Galla-Rini Appreciation Day to be directed by ATG-Board member Esther Lanting (Indiana). Since the virtual accordions have gained respect in the accordion community, Esther has invited virtual accordion owners to join the orchestras. An interesting concept emerged: Esther will also be directing a Roland sponsored Virtual-only accordion orchestra playing Galla-Rini’s arrangement of the Hallelujah Chorus.

Another development for 2010 is the new National Accordion Trade Show. Due to the popularity of the vendor area and the wide variety of vendors, it has been upgraded to become a Trade Show with demonstrations scheduled throughout the convention. The youth activities have also been expanded for 2010. For more information, visit the National Accordion Association web site (www.NationalAccordion.org) and contact the Convention Chair, Greg Klugiewicz.