World Accordion Day and Dr. Willard A. Palmer Festival in Superior, Wisconsin Helmi Harrington Ph.D., Curator and President A World of Accordions in Superior, Wisconsin, is pleased to announce their World Accordion Day and Dr. Willard A. Palmer Festival will be celebrated from May 2nd to 4th, 2025 in the magnificent Harrington Arts Center located at A World of Accordions Museum in Superior, Wisconsin, USA.

The festival will include concert performances as well as informative lectures on a variety of topics by guests including: Steve Solkela, Brett Jones, Dan Turpening, Mingo Mendoza, William Popp, a Museum Treasure Hunt, Stas Venglevski & Noriko Kijiya (marimba), Mike Middleton & the Middletones, a free Sunday Morning Polka Service, ACM Band and Festival Orchestra conducted by Dee Langley, door prizes and much more!

The Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA) held their first World Accordion Day on 6th May 2009, marking the 180th birthday of the accordion – 6th May 1829, the date the accordion patent was filed.

On May 6, 1829, Cyrill Demian (1772–1849) an organ and piano maker of Armenian origin, accompanied by his two sons Karl and Guido, filed a patent in Vienna, Austria for the accordion. The patent was approved a short time later on May 23rd.

World Accordion Day is a unique global opportunity to promote public awareness of the accordion, an instrument without boundaries, one that spans all cultures and musical genres.

The name of “Bill” Palmer (1917-1996) is certainly the USA’s most influential in music pedagogy, critical editions, and performance. The American musician, composer, scholar and music educator, Willard (Bill) A. Palmer was a child prodigy. At 13, he played the piano on the radio. He studied both piano and accordion which were to form the basis of his musical endeavors.

After the war, Willard A. Palmer and his former student, Bill Hughes joined forces. They can be credited with the high point in accordion performance in the USA. Palmer collaborated with Hughes in producing a series of accordion method books which have had worldwide impact. Sales ran into the millions making it the cornerstone of the Alfred Publishing Co.

During his period as a professional accordionist, Willard A. Palmer sought to perfect his yet-evolving instrument and contributed significantly to the development of the stradella-free bass “convertor” accordion. He designed the “Palmer Emperor Convertor”, and collaborated with Titano Accordions to achieve the realization of his creative ideas.

Willard W. Palmer eventually became one of the most important editors of keyboard music in the United States. His editions of works of the masters are highly acclaimed and respected in the most elite music circles. Palmer is noted especially for his painstaking detail and care in the scholarly researching of original editions. He became Alfred Publishing Company’s Senior Editor in 1964, researching the original manuscripts of the great masters of keyboard literature, with special emphasis on the study of performance practices in the Baroque, Classic and Romantic eras. He achieved recognition as the leading authority on Baroque ornamentation and lectured on the subject at various colleges, universities and music festivals throughout the country.