Instead of self-imposed musical lockdowns and cancellations that have impacted other US organizations because of the Covid pandemic, ATG has decided to use technology as its friend to find ways of musical communication outside the normal methods. Hence the idea of the ATG Wednesday Night Virtual Workshops was formed for 2021 and continues very successfully in 2022.
So far a total of 26 very engaging workshops have been presented, with Joe Natoli kicking off the series in 2021 with his Alternative Stradella Chord Voicings on 3/24/21 and again on 3/31/21 with his workshop on Successfully Streaming Live on Zoom. Since then, a widely diverse group of workshops have been enjoyed by all attendees, covering just about any useful subject one could imagine as you can see from the following lists:
2021 Workshops:
• Joe Natoli – Alternative Stradella Chord Voicings (3/24/21)
• Joe Natoli – Successfully Streaming Live on Zoom (3/31/21)
• Frank Busso, Jr – The Anatomy of the Accordion (4/7/21)
• Herbert Scheibenreif – Friedrich Lips’ Life Achievements (4/14/21)
• Grayson Masefield – Bellows Masterclass (4/21/21)
• Murl Allen Sanders – Accompaniment Techniques in Ensemble Playing (5/5/21)
• Stas Venglevski – Stas’ “Practice System” (5/12/21)
• Madalynn Neu – Plays Well With Others (5/19/21)
• Paul Cain – In the Studio (6/2/21)
• Joan Sommers, Betty Jo Simon, Jane Christison – Kansas City Trio (6/9/21)
• Paul Pasquali – Arranging Songs for the Stradella Accordion (6/16/21)
• Ron Borelli – Using the iPad for Performance (6/23/21)
• Michael Bridge – How to Play Great Last Notes (6/30/21)
• Mirco Patarini – Scandalli Factory Tour (7/19/21)
• Murl Allen Sanders – Ensemble Playing (9/22/21)
• Dr. Helmi Harrington – Bohemian Diatonic Accordion (9/29/21)
• Dr. Helmi Harrington – Slovenian Diatonic Accordion (10/6/21)
• Gordon Kohl – An Oktoberfest Band Accordionist (10/27/21)
• Joe Natoli – Playing Musically (11/3/21)
• The Fink Family – Schwyzerorgeli (11/17/21)
• Stas Venglevski, Joan Cochran Sommers – Duets for Two Accordions (12/1/21)
• Joe Natoli – Successful Use of Accordion Registers (12/8/21)
2022 Workshops:
• Dr. Angela Natoli – Health Subjects for Accordionists (1/12/22)
• Joan Cochran Sommers & Beverley Fess – Exploring the New ATG Syllabus (1/26/22)
• Liz Finch – Navigating Notation Software (2/9/22)
• Eddie Monteiro – The Magic of the Walking Bass (2/23/22)
• Don Gerundo – Accompanying a Melody Instrument or Vocalist (3/9/22)
• Ulrich Schmulling – Accordion Activities and Literature in Germany (3/23/22)
• Joe Natoli – Music Memorization Techniques (4/13/22)
• Elena & Gregory Fainshtein – Playing Effectively in a Duo (4/27/22)
• Dr. Angela Natoli – Hand Health for Accordionists (5/11/22)
The 2022 workshops are scheduled through May 25, 2022 on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. Each workshop is archived on the ATG Members Only area of the website (www.atgaccordions.com)
The workshops are free to ATG paid members, and everyone is encouraged to join ATG to enjoy these workshops as one of the many benefits of ATG membership. Also, ATG members are encouraged to submit ideas for their own presentations on our workshop series which will be reviewed by the Board of Directors for possible inclusion in our schedule. The only requirements are
1) that you have the ability at home to connect on Zoom via your computer
2) that you have the ATG recommended optimal Zoom settings
3) that you have an internet connection fast enough to support live streaming.
Additionally, presentations are best (especially with live performances) if they are done using a good audio interface.
ATG sincerely hopes to see you joining us either as an attendee or as a potential presenter.
