A gathering of accordionists? “That’s how it all began,” according to Sam Falcetti, founder of Falcetti Music in Springfield, and one of the founding members of the Accordion Teachers’ Association of Massachusetts (ATAM). The ATAM holds its 62nd New England Music Festival April 5-7 at the Waltham Westin in Waltham,, Massachusetts,

The festival will include competitions and entertainment featuring the piano, guitar, drums, violin, voice, and of course, the accordion. “With nearly 900 entries, thousands of dollars in cash prizes and scholarships, and free admission to the performances, the festival will be an exciting event for both competitors and audience members,” said Falcetti.

One of the distinguished judges at the competition will be Joseph Natoli. He is a very versatile musician and composer having served as ATG President, Founder and Director of the GR8Ideas, performer and more. Joseph Natoli has been a performer and advocate of the accordion since the age of seven. Joe started his studies with prominent Ohio accordion teacher, the late Mickey Bisilia of Youngstown, Ohio. Joe later attended and achieved Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Toronto Faculty of Music where he also studied free bass accordion as his applied major instrument with renowned Canadian virtuoso, Joseph Macerollo.

Joe is the co-founder and director of GR8 IDEAS, an organization dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge of digital accordions and digital peripherals via its GR8 IDEAS web page as well as its accompanying GR8 IDEAS Facebook page. Joe has released 6 CDs, including “Omaggio”, “Waltz For Ron”, “Merry Christmas”, and “Chameleon” Vols 1 & 2, and 3. The “Chameleon” series CDs are 70-75 minutes each of completely original compositions in every imaginable genre including Classical, light Classical, Latin jazz, jazz ballads, contemporary, orchestral, cinematic, tango, and more (including his latest compositions including accordion orchestra pieces like “Accordion Fanfare”, “Smooth”, “A New Beginning” and “Nine Children’s Pieces”, plus solo pieces like “Nostalgic Suite”, “Homage & Offspring to the Bumblebee”, “Fantasy On a Well-Known Melody”, “Fragments”, & “We’ll Dance Again”, along with many others). Joe writes for both acoustic and digital accordions, but he uses his orchestrational knowledge to exploit all the best coloristic possibilities on digital accordion.

Deedee Latulippe of Hudson, NH, another founding member of the ATAM, said, “The accordion has waxed and waned in popularity, so the ATAM expanded the festival to include other instruments and adult categories.” Latulippe added, “The organization had to adapt, and we even had to go virtual for a couple of years because of the pandemic.”

Festival co-chair, Frankie Coelho, owner of Miguel School of Music in Dracut, was a former competitor. “A real community emerges and lifelong friendships are formed because of the shared experience that the festival provides,” he said. “Competitors come from all over New England to compete in categories spanning various age groups, musical genres, and skill levels,” Coelho continued.

While the accordion had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, Sam Falcetti argues that it’s making a comeback. “There’s a renewed interest in the instrument on the world stage, and younger musicians are starting to take notice,” said Falcetti. He believes that one of the reasons for this is the transformation brought about by the digital accordion.

In addition to band and vocal performances, you can see the accordion’s versatility for yourself when the festival closes on the afternoon of April 7, when Sam Falcetti’s New England Digital Accordion Orchestra, the largest orchestra of its kind, takes the stage. “We’ve planned a very exciting program for the festival, and admission is free to all events,” Falcetti concluded.