On November 15, I attended a wonderful concert with an exciting and varied program performed by the Accordion Pops Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Desiderio at theTrinity Presbyterian Church in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

This concert was a benefit for Project Child. The purpose of Project Child is to provide humanitarian relief to the forgotten children with special needs in the orphanages, streets and hospitals of the Dominican Republic .

The Accordion Pops Orchestras’ roots can be traced to 1970, when it was organized by the Accordion Teachers’ Association of New Jersey. In 1980 the orchestra members took a leave of absence, but four years later the membership was reorganized under the direction of the late Eugene Ettore of Livingston, New Jersey.

In 1985, Daniel Desiderio was invited to act as a guest conductor of the orchestra and a few years later the A.T.A. of NJ appointed him as conductor in residence. The name of the orchestra was formally changed to the Accordion Pops Orchestra and its membership was expanded beyond the original members from New Jersey to include performers from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Maryland, and Rhode Island.

The only professional accordion orchestra of its kind on the East Coast, the group consists entirely of accordions plus percussion instruments. In addition, the orchestra often accompanies guest soloists such as pianists, tenors, etc.

Most of the twenty-five plus members of the orchestra are professional musicians or teachers. Many are soloists in their own right. The orchestra performs a repertoire of light classical, Broadway, big band and popular music.

It has entertained audiences at concert halls, county fairs, festivals, schools, and playhouses at many locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York.

The APO performed selections whose accompaniments and arrangements were written by Daniel Desiderio including “Bagatelle Overture”, “Manha de Carnaval”, “Cabaret”, “Moulin Rouge Medley”, “Carmen”, “Malaga” (Paso-doble), and “Yankee Doodle Rag” by Eugene Ettore arranged by Al Terzo.

Tenor soloist, Rodolfo Veneziano, thrilled the audience with his renditions of Italian opera favorites such as “La Donna e’ Mobile” by Giuseppe Verdi,” E Lucevan Le Stella” by Giacomo Puccini ,” Nessun Dorma”,” O Sole Mio” and more.

Albert Manginelli, 13 year old accordion soloist and student of Daniel Desiderio, played “Scherzo” by John Gart with great precision and feeling. The concert concluded with the “Sound of Music Overture”, and the “Radetzky March”.

Their next concert, “Concert to Benefit the ALS Hope Foundation”,will be on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 7:30 PM at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 260 S. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA. I highly recommend that you plan to go!

For further information: Musik4ro@comcast.net