Members of the Chicagoland Accordion Academy will present an evening of original compositions by world renowned accordionists and composers, Amy Jo Sawyer and Stas Venglevski on Sunday, November 16, 2025, 4:PM, at the Highlands Presbyterian Church. 1902 W 59th St., La Grange Highlands, Illinois. Come meet the composers and stay for refreshments!

Mary Ann Covone shares, “This concert includes all my students doing solos and duets plus all 3 of my groups. Stas wrote a piece for the kids “Ducklings at Breakfast” and Amy Jo arranged a Christmas medley for the rest of the crew called “Swingin’ Christmas Medley” It is a Chicagoland Accordion Academy event honoring Stas Venglevski and Amy Jo Sawyer. Joan Sommers is attending.”

Amy Jo Sawyer was inducted into the Accordionists & Teachers Guild International Hall of Fame at the 79th Annual ATG festival held July 24 –28, 2019 in Denver, CO. Amy Jo has been a faithful ATG member for over 40 years. She has served as President two times and is currently 2nd VP on the ATG Board.

She has devoted much of her musical career to the accordion. Her concertizing, composing, arranging, and administrative activities have enhanced recognition of the accordion as a concert and popular/jazz instrument. She earned BA Degrees in Composition and Keyboard Performance, and a MA in Jazz Keyboard Performance. Her Jazz CD “According to Amy” and her Classical CD “Classically Amy” demonstrate her virtuosity and the versatility of the accordion.

She represented the Western US in the Coupe Mondiale (World Accordion Championship) in Biel, Switzerland. Amy Jo has written music for, and performed with, the University of Missouri at Kansas City Accordion Orchestra, under the direction of Joan Sommers, on four international tours. She has performed with the Sacramento and St. Louis Symphonies, including accompanying tenor Luciano Pavarotti. In 2018, she performed at the Cotati Accordion event in Cotati, California, Chicago Accordion Club and the Accordion Lovers Society International in San Diego.

She has written many compositions for the accordion that have been performed internationally. Her original Tango, “Juntos” (Together), was performed in Castelfidardo, Italy in 2011 by the Frank Marocco Orchestra. Her original accordion orchestra composition, “Recuerdos” (Memories), was performed by the World Accordion Orchestra at the 2018 Coupe Mondiale in Lithuania.

She is a Nationally Certified Piano Instructor (Music Teacher’s National Association) with award winning students. In 2017, she received the Commissioned Composer of the Year award sponsored by the Illinois State Music Teachers Association, for her original piano solos. In 2017, she was commissioned by the Salt Creek Chapter of ISMTA to write a composition for “Eight Hands”. “The Sweet Salt Creek Suite” was written and performed in October of that year. She currently serves on the ISMTA board as Chair of the Commissioned Composer Program, and is 1st VP in the local ISMTA Chapter, Gateway Arch East.

Stas Venglevski is a bayanist, composer, conductor, arranger, entertainer and a teacher and his extensive repertoire includes his original compositions and a broad range of classical, contemporary and ethnic music. He has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe, and the United States and most recently in South Africa. Numerous U.S. performances include performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen and Garrison Keillor on thePrairie Home Companion Show.

He has performed with symphony orchestras in Europe and throughout the United States, including the Anchorage, Grand Florida, and Detroit symphony orchestras in the opera production of Frida, and with the University of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in 2003 for the official World Premiere of the “Concerto No. 2 in D minor”. It marked the first time the piece had been performed in its entirety with a symphony orchestra. He has performed the concerto on multiple occasions since, with the Tacoma, Colorado Jefferson and Racine symphony orchestras, and with that of Nurenberg,Germany.

For over 25 years he has been a regular participant in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Arts in Community Education program (ACE). He’s done television commercials and performed in theater and opera productions; produced 31 recording albums, including a transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite for Bayan, as well as original compositions. Additionally, he has published several books of original compositions.

For the past 10 years Stas has been the Artistic Director of the Houston Accordion Orchestra Retreatand in 2021 he was named Artistic Director of A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) in Superior,Wisconsin. He is a past President of the Accordionists and Teachers Guild and currently serves on its board. Most recently, he has joined the faculty of the Music Department of the University of Wisconsin, Superior, WI.

In 2023, he established the Stas Venglevski Music Foundation, SVMF. The aim is to revolutionize the world of accordion by inspiring young people to embrace the fine arts, empowering them to create music, honing their performance skills as soloists and with orchestras, and giving them opportunities to compose and debut new music. In addition to the core mission, the foundation is committed to expanding public knowledge of art and music and supporting impactful cultural initiatives worldwide.In February of 2025, Stas performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall.

What is the Chicagoland Accordion Academy? From their website: “The accordion is gaining popularity again! Perhaps that is because it is such a versatile instrument lending itself well to ethnic, folk, popular, and jazz music as well as classical music. Unlike other instruments that can be played as solo instruments but are more often heard as part of a larger group, the accordion is a solo instrument and is in great demand in all genres of musical groups.

Our classes are geared toward adults who want to learn to play for their own enjoyment. Students learn to read music and to listen to music and learn how to adapt it to the accordion. Our students have expressed a variety of reasons why they want to play the accordion such as:

They like the sound of the instrument;
They have an older relative who played;
They inherited an instrument;
They want to play with an ethnic group;
They want to play music of their heritage;
They played as a child and want to resume learning;
They played the piano but want to learn accordion because it is portable;
They know that playing the accordion provides an outlet from the stress of everyday life.
Whatever your reason is for wanting to play the accordion, we will work with you and help you achieve your goal!” Group and private lessons are offered.

For further information: maryann@chicagolandaccordionacademy.com