Dr. William Schimmel moderated and curated the 25th Anniversary of the American Accordionists’ Association Master Class and Concert Series – THAT MEANS WHAT! It was wonderfully attended and the level was at its highest point. Five participants received AAA merit Awards for their participation spanning 25 years: Dr. Robert Young Mc Mahan, Micki Goodman Schimmel, Paul Stein, Godfrey Nelson, Lorraine Nelson Wolf and Lee Mc Clure.
The Seminars were brought to the AAA by Dr. William Schimmel with the idea of presenting all facets of the accordion to The New York Artistic Community, with the notion of finding ways to find new angles of expression, composition, video art, performance, dance, design, trapeze, as well as new takes on old ideas and bringing the Accordion Ancestry into fresh new light.The response has been overwhelming in the establishment of an accordion culture in New York City and its influence has gone global.
Participant Elliot Sharp Roads shared, “This is the 25th edition of Bill’s annual accordion seminar! I was honored to be invited to take part again – my third year in a row. Besides being an incredible virtuoso with a musical history of unmatched breadth and depth, Bill is an amazingly nice guy and genial host. Audience and performers both are made to feel welcome and the programming is eclectic to the max. I brought the Telecaster Thinline that I had outfitted with a Charlie Christian-style neck pickup and plugged into a MaxiMouse portable amp for a gritty but well-defined sound. Bill suggested “Interpolations” as the theme for our 12-minute improvisation and that’s what we ran with, exploring the implications of the definition with shards of noise and fragmented hints of bebop, Indian music, blues, and free jazz in a breathless rush.
Highlights of the evening’s festivities included Le Chat Noir, the opening duet of Bill’s with his wife, Micki Goodman-Schimmel, an electrifying dance performer; Will Holshouser’s intricate and spellbinding solo pieces performed by himself on accordion; Benjamín Ickíes’ rendition of Kurt Weill’s Nana’s Lied; David Soldier’s De Witt Etudes 2 & 3; and Robert Mcmahan’s Meditation for Accordion and Flute performed by him and flutist Denise Koncelik.”
Photo left: Bill Schimmel, Micki Goodman-Schimmel, Pamela Grayson
Photo left: Paul Stein
Photo below: Bill Schimmel and Peter Jarvis
Photo below: Micki Goodman-Schimmel and Bill Schimmel
Dr. Schimmel will soon unveil the plans for the 26th year.
For further information:
Dr. William Schimmel
Email: billschimmel@billschimmel.com
