AAA Board Member, Dr. William Schimmel is always involved in many musical projects which feature the accordion.
Video: Schimmel appeared this summer, August 15th, at Lincoln Center during the Mostly Mozart Festival performing his own arrangement (reality) on Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture”. He also performed, on this program, a work for accordion and cello composed by Mathais Pnitscher. (not on video)
A studio recording of the Beethoven will soon be available for purchase. The concert which included both selections was repeated on September 17th at the International Beethoven Conference in Chicago.
Dr. William Schimmel and his wife, Micki Goodman, have produced a new video called “Inside/Outside Insight”.
On September 29th, Dr. Schimmel’s new work, “Gran Torino”, was premiered by the Colonials, a new group that specializes in period music of all eras. This work was scored for accordion, piano, and Baroque violin, viola, cello and contrabass. The concert took place at Spectrum in New York.
On October 17th, Dr. Schimmel performed with the Either/Or Ensemble at the Miller Theatre/Columbia University in a tribute to John Cage’s 100 Year Anniversary. The title of the piece was “Cage100partypieces”. 125 composers contributed to this massive work in honor of Cage. The concert was broadcast on German TV. Richard Carrick conducted.
The 2014 Accordion Seminars will take place on August 1,2, and 3rd at the Tenri Cultural Institue. The title of the weekend will be: “The Everyday Accordion: Ordinary X Proper=Radiant”. This will be the 20th Anniversary year for the Seminars. The event is sponsored by the American Accordionists’ Association under the Title “AAA Master Class and Concert Series”. Dr. William Schimmel is the moderator/curator.
The Order of the Shield Diploma was awarded to three candidates: Erica Mancini, Peter Flint and Deborah Magocsi. The Order of the Shield is a private studies program on a graduate level. It follows the principals of the Neupauer Conservatory fusing accordion cultural history with mainstream musical cultural history. Dr. Schimmel is the mentor.
There is a New York Times review for Egmont and the rest of the program in print on August 17, 2013 on page C4 of the New York edition with the headline: “Squuezebox and Strings as Charmers, Coaxing New Magic from Beethoven” by Anthony Tommasini.
Plan to attend the 2014 AAA Seminars. More information will be included in future articles in the USA News. The AAA Seminars at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City include three unique days of performances, lectures, and opportunities for you to experience the accordion in new and innovative ways.
For further information: billschimmel@billschimmel.com
