The 2020 Not Just Oom-pah accordion concert and workshop series has moved to a live online delivery system. The event will include featured presenters Alicia Baker and Kevin Solecki who will give concerts and workshops online as follows:
Alicia Baker workshops include: Parisienne Cafe Music, All About Articulation, Tips & Tricks for Left Hand Accordion, Bellows, Bellows, Bellows, The Ultimate Coordination – Singing While Playing Accordion and How to Use Piano Sheet Music for Accordion.
Kevin Solecki workshops include: Different Styles of Polka Performance, Other Styles of Ethnic Music, History of Polka, How to Embellish Your Music (How to Play a Polka Effectively and Playing with Others (Duets/Bands).
2020 Concerts will be presented on June 14th & 22nd with workshops from June 23rd to 28th. Not Just Oom-pah are also offering one free Youth Scholarship for a young accordionist age 18 or under. Applications are due by June 5th. Nick Ballarini will be at the Meet and Greet workshop session.
ALL Times are CST= Central Standard Time
Tuesday, June 23 – Meet and Greet Online, 8 -10 pm CST
Wednesday thru Friday, June 24 – 26 Alicia Straka presents each night @ 8-10 PM CST
Saturday, June 27 – Kevin Solecki presents @ 1-4 PM CST
Sunday, June 28- Kevin Solecki presents @ 1-3:30 PM CST
The Not Just Oompah Accordion Workshop and Concert Series is the brainchild of two Texas based accordionists, Laura Niland, from San Antonio, & Shirley Johnson from Austin.
They shared their thoughts, “The Accordion in many cultures is a treasured instrument. In the USA it is often ridiculed & scorned. Texans often only think of Oom-Pah accordion styles: Polka, Conjunto, Cajun, or Zydeco music. However the accordion is so much more! There is a World of accordion styles, each with its own sounds, rhythms, and techniques. Our mission is to bring exciting & interesting accordion music to audiences. Concerts performed by professional, dynamic musicians, who are experts in their genre of music, such as Classical, Jazz, World, etc., will show the public the creative and entertaining quality of this unique instrument. Workshops given by these experts educate accordionists of all ages and skill levels, who then can go out and show others that there is more to accordions than just Oom-Pah!
Our vision is to stimulate enthusiasm for accordion music of all genres. Our long term vision is to partner with other organizations and possibly produce accordion workshops, camps, festivals, and concert series here in Austin as well as in other parts of Texas. Also in the future we would like to develop programs that introduce this instrument into the music and band curriculum of local schools.”
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.” Additional Support is from Texas Folklife, Central Market in Austin, Accordion Renaissance, Accordion for Kids USA, and the San Antonio Accordion Association.
Registrations are requested by June 15th, 2020.
For details email: Ljniland@texas.net
