Not Just Oompah! Workshops and Concerts continue in 2023 with Shirley Johnson presenting “The Frills and Thrills of Embellishments” (Zoom) on Tuesday and Wednesday Jan 24 & 25, 2023  form 7-9:30 PM Central time and an Interactive Concert on Thursday Jan 26 , 2023 @ 7-9:30 PM  The cost is $80 includes all materials delivered in PDF by email to participants and also includes the concert! Each event is recorded for later viewing which will be posted on  www.NotJustOompah.org for registration which will be updated Dec.1, 2022.  
Learn how to take a Lead sheet and add: Fills, Trills, Runs, Embellishments  and work with adding: Introduction, Ending, Transitions from one key to another.  Shirley will pre-record several songs and present them during the Interactive Concert where workshop participants will then discuss what Shirley added to make the song more interesting. Participants can also suggest alternative embellishments!  Learn how to make your music more interesting and fun!

Shirley Johnson has been singing, dancing, and performing music since she was 10 years old, when she started performing with Croatian groups in Pittsburgh, PA, since this is her heritage. She is comfortable performing as a soloist, often strolling while playing and singing Italian or French music, or in bands playing Celtic, Gypsy Jazz, Balkan, Polka/German, Klezmer, etc. music. Shirley’s musical career has taken her many places: playing the accordion at Czechoslovakian festivals, singing with the Duke University Chorale at Carnegie Hall in NYC and Disney World, and touring in Northern Spain.

From 1992 to 1994, living in Rome, Italy, Shirley sang with the “Coro Misto” of “L’Accademia della Filarmonica, ” performing throughout Rome, including St. Peter’s Basilica, Italian radio and TV, and at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II’s “Papal Concert to Commemorate the Holocaust.” Currently Ms. Johnson lives in Austin, TX, and performs professional with “The Oom-Pahs” (Polka) and with “Julie Slim and RendezVous” (French Jazz). For multiple years, she has taught singing classes during the annual workshops produced by the Texas International Folk Dancers. She is the current president of the non-profit Innovative Accordion Music Productions. Shirley’s 3rd CD, “Dancing Angels,” features several of Austin’s finest musicians. She teaches accordion privately in person and online, and is co-producer of the “Not Just OOM-PAH!” Accordion Concert and Workshop.

For More Information:
Shirley Johnson 512-680-0422 or email ShirleyJ@Vjeverica.com
Laura Niland 210-651-4359 or email LauraJNiland@outlook.com