Picture above, left to right are: Rod Dingman, Roger Schmitz, Kevin Friedrich, Helmi Harrington, Mayor Jim Paine and Tracey Gibbens.

A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) curator Helmi Harrington, Ph. D., presented a seminar and course teaching Antique Accordion Restoration at the renowned A World of Accordions Museum in Superior, Wisconsin. The week long course, one of several in the series, focused on reeds with topics and practical work assignments including identifying dislodged reeds (a common occurrence in antique instruments), removing, cleaning and treating all the reeds, dealing with rust and age related issues, sequencing according to keyboard configuration, cleaning and prepping the reed blocks, reed leather work and finally waxing the reeds back into place. In this seminar, each topic’s complexities paid particular focus to how it applied to antique instruments.

See pictures of the work at: 2021Course

Participants included accordionist and CIA Ambassador and curator of the Accordion Gems Exhibition at the Dargaville Museum in New Zealand Kevin Friedrich and local Symphony Conductor, musician and accordionist Tracey Gibbens. Additional assistance was provided by Museum volunteer Robin Floyd.

During the timeframe of the weeklong course, several of the AWAM Board of Directors met with the Mayor of Superior, Jim Paine. The Mayor is an enthusiastic supporter of his community and has been proactive in recognizing the importance and uniqueness of A World of Accordions Museum in Superior. The Mayor has invited A World of Accordions Museum to display several instruments at the City Hall offices to create awareness of the 2,000 instruments housed in the adjacent World of Accordions Museum. The Mayor was excited to hear that the Museum was the recent recipient of a substantial donation of instruments (350) from a private Washington DC and Paris based collector Alain Papineau. A preliminary display of instruments from these holdings is on display in the Special Exhibits area at the Museum.

Helmi Harrington founded A World of Accordions Museum and Harrington ARTS Center and also established the curriculum for and teaches accordion repair. She has been recognized in various Who’s Who listings, through regional awards and the Confederation des Accordeonistes Internationale (CIA) (2006). She is writer of accordion-related articles for Groves New Dictionary of Music (London, 2000 Edition), the American Accordionists’ Association Newsletter and various scholarly journals, compiled and edited Charles Magnante: America’s Great Accordionist, and has ca. 60 music books and recordings available through Harrington ARTS Center Publications.

Helmi completed a Ph.D. dissertation in Musicology on composer Hugo Herrmann under Dr. John Grubbs of the University of Texas, a double Master of Music degree from the University of Houston in Music Literature and Applied Piano under Dr. Elmer Schoettle, a Bachelor of Music degree in Applied Piano and Performer’s Certificate from the University of Houston under Prof. Albert Hirsh. She studied with Dr. Armin Fett of the Staedtische Musikschule Trossingen, from which she received an honorary degree, and Dr. Albert Feil of the Universität Stuttgart. Her many awards include a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst scholarship. She holds certificates as Master teacher in accordion and piano from the National Music Teachers’ Association and the Minnesota Music Teachers’ Association.

Future classes in the series pertaining to antique accordions will include Tuning, Bellows Work, Bass Mechanics and general aesthetics and restoration. For more information about A World of Accordions Museum, please visit www.worldofaccordions.org.

Picture below, left to right are: Kevin Friedrich, Robin Floyd, Helmi Harrington and Tracy

Gibbens.