Gabe Hall-Rodrigues is the new AAA 2010 United States Virtuoso Solo – 1st place winner. Gabe is an Arizona native and an ASU Music Therapy student who graduated in May 2010. Although only 22 years old, Gabe is very focused on developing the use of the accordion in music therapy and very involved in playing the accordion.

Gabe comes from a very musical family: His mother plays piano and guitar, his father is very into Brazilian music, his brother and sister both play the piano and sing. All through his childhood, he was exposed to all kinds of music.

Gabe has been using the accordion in his student music therapy practices for several years. Gabe has had the opportunity to use the accordion as a useful therapy tool by using the unique nature of the instrument to draw people in and form personal connections which is an important aspect of music therapy.

In order for therapy to take place, the client must first be comfortable with the therapist and in many ways using the accordion has helped to break the ice for a variety of client populations including: Older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, older and younger adults in the hospital with cancer, teens attending a school for at-risk youth, an adult with severe brain damage, refugee children, and teenagers and children with autism.

Gabe is also a local piano instructor and uses the accordion frequently in lessons which has inspired some of his students to begin taking beginning accordion lessons.

The accordion, in many ways, allows Gabe to stand out among many other student therapists by allowing him to utilize a new instrument capable of catching people’s attention not just in sound but also with its visual appeal and complex physical system of playing.

Most adults comment that the accordion reminds them of their parents, relative, or loved one who played. This allows Gabe to use the music as a way to reminisce which for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can be difficult. Most teenagers and young children have never even seen an accordion in person or heard it played and because of this the accordion has some kind of exotic appeal to adolescents. This is especially helpful for keeping the attention of children with short-attention span and concentration. Gabe benefits from many of the therapeutic potentials of the accordion but also is very fortunate because of its practicality for traveling music therapists.

Being a student therapist, Gabe has witnessed many facilities that have little to no music instruments or resources. Therefore the more portable an instrument the better and although the accordion is heavy it is much more portable than a full sized piano or even an electric keyboard.

In general, the accordion has been successful for a wide variety of music therapy settings and has benefitted him greatly in connecting with a diverse array of people both young and old.

Gabe hope’s to continue studying at ASU in the area ofr accordion performance and plans to continue using his accordion in music therapy practices as well as local performance groups. Gabe currently plays with the ASU Dixie devils which have helped him pay tuition for his music therapy degree.

He has also performed with the ASU Sun Devil Marching Band, and other local bands including Som Brasil (Brazilian traditional music group), Another Day (reggae-rock band), the Bad Cactus Brass Band. Gabe currently studies with Ilmar Kuljus.

It is an interesting chain of events that brings Gabe to the accordion world. Not too long ago, Gabe came to watch his friends, Wes Anderson, who plays percussion and Sean Brogan, who plays bass for the Frank Marocco Accordion Event (FMAE). He saw an accordion orchestra for the first time and introduced himself to Joan Grauman. Gabe was a piano and music therapy major, a jazz pianist, and was teaching himself to play accordion. Joan introduced him to Dan Grauman and Frank Marocco.

Frank was so impressed with Gabe that he invited him to participate in the event gratis. Joan then introduced Gabe to Ilmar Kuljus who was so impressed with Gabe that he offered to teach him. This year, Gabe played with the FMAE Orchestra and also presented a workshop on Music Therapy.Gabe is enjoying his accordion so much that every Friday he plays in a jazz group at ASU. The other musicians enjoy performing with him.

Since practice rooms were not always available, Gabe would bring his accordion outside to practice and always draws a crowd of students. The ASU students say, “The accordion is so cool.” Gabe says he is happy to play the accordion. Gabe Rodrigues……….the new, cool generation of accordionists. And now he is the USA Champion! Congratulations, Gabe!