My husband Dan and I love Southwest Airlines! While visiting relatives in Florida a few weeks ago, we received a call from Stas. “Misha and I will be performing in Florida next week”, he said. We found out where and when and told Stas how sorry we were that we could not be there. Then, we promptly changed our tickets to stay an extra day (you can do this free through Southwest) to surprise Stas and Misha and attend this concert. We also went right to work contacting all of our friends who have relocated close to Vero Beach and, before we knew it, several “accordion groupies” were joining us.

Photo caption: (l to r) Misha Litvin, Joan Grauman, Stas Venglevski, Brigitte Valenti

Stas and Misha are favorites of ours. We see their performances regularly so, not only was our appearance a pleasant surprise for them, their superb concert filled with new pieces (and new jokes) was a delightful surprise for us. The two greats on bayan and domra created an arrangement of the timeless favorite “Monti’s Czardas” that incorporated a little jazz, their signature playfulness, some “Frosini” touches, a hint of bluegrass and skillful velocity that only Stas and Misha can produce. The audience was in awe of their talents. “Insane Polka”, by (in the words of Stas) “unknown composer, Stas Venglevski”, had the audience roaring with laughter as the two men pulled off this wonderful polka with a “surprise, super difficult” solo part.

Mary Pautz-Klotshe arranged this concert as a fundraiser for her foundation, which she created to honor her now deceased first husband, the “Richard R. Pautz Lifelong Learning Foundation”. For years, Mary has organized concerts to benefit charities that help with educational needs. Mary pays all expenses and then donates 100% of the proceeds to charities. Mary met Stas and Misha years ago when she was teaching at the University of Wisconsin and felt that they were just perfect for this Vero Beach concert that would benefit “Haiti Partners”, an organization that has assisted in building schools in Haiti. Mary said, “These two men are the best in their fields! They love to banter. They are just so engaging!”

So true!