Close your eyes and you won’t believe you are hearing an orchestra of accordions! The New England Digital Accordion Orchestra may sound like a brass band, a full-out symphony or a classic Big Band, but accordions are exactly what produced these musical styles and many more at two summer community
concerts in Western, Massachusetts.

These outdoor concerts were held on the West Springfield, Ma. Town Common, sponsored by the Mass. Arts Council, and also on the East Longmeadow, Ma. High School Campus, sponsored by the East Longmeadow Rotary Club and Channel WWLP TV. Both concerts were presented on a band shell provided by the sponsors.

The well attended audiences in the hundreds were a joy to play for, remarked the conductor, Sam Falcetti. Many attendees danced along with selections such as “Gonna Fly Now”, “Ease on Down”, “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”. They also had an opportunity to sing along with an instrumental civil war medley including “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah”, “On the Road Again”, and “God Bless America”.

Vocalist, Ed Young, of New London, Ct., added punch to the Big Band sound with Frank Sinatra hits sprinkled throughout the two hour performances. “His sound is unbelievably like Sinatra” said Orchestra Director Sam Falcetti of Wilbraham, Ma., retired founder of Falcetti Music in Springfield, Ma. “We’re going a step further with the original Quincy Jones arrangements that Sinatra used on many of his biggest hits.” “You see accordions but you clearly hear flutes, and trombone solos, etc. and then they play “Pennsylvania Polka” and you have a polka band sound” said Falcetti, who has watched accordions evolve over a 60 year music teaching career.

Comments from the sound engineers setting up both concerts were unexpected and very encouraging.They had very limited experience working with digital instruments except for keyboards and electronic drums. The sound of the orchestra was very pure, clear and crisp and sounded the same 20 ft. or 200 ft. from the stage. When the orchestra blended an accordion reed sound along with orchestral sampled instruments, it gave a whole new dimension to the instrument. They also remarked on getting a sax, trumpet and trombone section sound which they thought was about 90% of the real acoustic blend. Certainly the accordion industry should be grateful to Roland Corp. and the late Ikutaro Kakehashi for the creation of this revolutionary Roland V Accordion a reality.

The New England Digital Accordion Orchestra is the first and only Digital Accordion Orchestra in the United States. They rehearse once a monthat Falcetti Music in Springfield, Ma. The 21 members are from all over New England and are able to practice their parts by playing along with a recording from each rehearsal on a USB stick in their Roland accordions.

The conductor, Anselmo “Sam” Falcetti, started on the accordion at the age of 10, and began home teaching when he was 16. Before graduating from the University of Hartford with a degree in theory & composition, he opened up his first accordion studio in Westfield, Ma. During his career Mr. Falcetti has conducted the Springfield Accordion Orchestra on performance tours in Japan, Italy, New Zealand and the USA in the 70’s and 80’s. He also directed the Orchestra on National TV on the David Frost Show with Roberta Flack. In the 80’s, by invitation, his Westfield State University Accordion Ensemble performed twice at Carnegie Hall in New York City. As founder of Falcetti Music he provides Roland Accordion sales, service and instruction and is the distributor for all of New England.

Sam resides with his wife Peggy in Wilbraham, Ma. and is proud of his two sons and four grandchildren who are all involved with music. For more information: samfalcetti@gmail.com