Experience an unforgettable musical line-up at the 2026 Accordionists & Teachers Guild Festival Concert Series.
Attend a three-night series of live performances featuring world-class accordionists from around the globe. Friday night’s concert on July 10, 2026 will feature Joey Miskulin of Riders in the Sky and bayan virtuoso Stas Venglevski.
Joey Miskulin, an accordionist and vocalist with Riders In The Sky, is affectionately known as “The CowPolka King.” In homage to his background as the featured accordionist with Frankie Yankovic, “The Polka King,” beginning when he was only 13 years of age. But that appellation only scratches the surface of this multitalented musician who made his first recordings when he was six years old.
He has recorded with a long list of notables including Roy Rogers. In addition to the accordion, he also plays bass, banjo, piano, guitar and organ. He also sings, soloing as well as harmonizing with Riders In The Sky when they sing in four-part harmony on stage and on recordings.
His career as a producer has also been remarkably successful, including among his achievements the firstever Grammy Award-winning polka album (1985). He has produced recordings for WMA Hall of Famers Marty Robbins, The Sons of the San Joaquin, Don Edwards, Michael Martin Murphey, Johnny Cash and, of course, a number of Riders In The Sky albums (including their two Grammy winners). These successful, high-profile projects have played an important role in bringing top-quality recordings of Western Music to large audiences in the US and abroad.
Joey has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cleveland-style Polka Hall of Fame and he has received the Instrumentalist of the Year Award from the Western Music Association in 2002 and 2006. Joey Miskulin was elected to the WMA Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to Western Music both as a musician and a producer.
Stas Venglevski is a bayanist, composer, conductor, arranger, entertainer and a teacher and his extensive repertoire includes his original compositions and a broad range of classical, contemporary and ethnic music. He has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe, and the United States and most recently in South Africa. Numerous U.S. performances include performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen and Garrison Keillor on thePrairie Home Companion Show.
He has performed with symphony orchestras in Europe and throughout the United States, includingthe Anchorage, Grand Florida, and Detroit symphony orchestras in the opera production of “Frida”, and with the University of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in 2003 for the official World Premiere of the “Concerto No. 2 in D minor”. It marked the first time the piece had been performed in its entirety with a symphony orchestra. He has performed the concerto on multiple occasions since, with the Tacoma, Colorado Jefferson and Racine symphony orchestras, and with that of Nurenberg,Germany.
For over 25 years Stas has been a regular participant in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Arts in Community Education program (ACE). He’s done television commercials and performed in theater and opera productions; produced 31 recording albums, including a transcription of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite for Bayan”, as well as original compositions. Additionally, he has published several books of original compositions.
For the past 10 years he has been the Artistic Director of the Houston Accordion Orchestra Retreatand in 2021 he was named Artistic Director of A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) in Superior,Wisconsin. He is a past President of the Accordionists and Teachers Guild and currently serves on its board. Most recently, he has joined the faculty of the Music Department of the University of Wisconsin, Superior, WI.
In 2023, he established the Stas Venglevski Music Foundation, SVMF. The aim is to revolutionize the world of accordion by inspiring young people to embrace the fine arts, empowering them to create music, honing their performance skills as soloists and with orchestras, and giving them opportunities to compose and debut new music. In addition to the core mission, the foundation is committed to expanding public knowledge of art and music and supporting impactful cultural initiatives worldwide. In February of 2025, Stas performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall
University of Utah – Libby Gardner Hall
July 10, 2026 – 7:30 PM
Open to the public
Purchase tickets: www.atgaccordions.com/tickets
