|
Joan
C. Sommers, is continuing to be very busy as an adjudicator,
clinician, and conductor at several musical events again this
year. In July, as previously noted, she and several members of
the orchestra will be busy performing or assisting during the
Annual Music Festival held by the Accordionists and Teachers Guild,
International where she is serving as Chair and Coordinator of
The Anthony Galla-Rini International Competition for Classical
Accordion held in honor of one of her early teachers. In October
she will be adjudicating the 4th V-Accordion International Competition
sponsored by the Roland Corporation, after which she will travel
to Verazdin, Croatia to adjudicate, participate in many CIA meetings
and to conduct the World Accordion Orchestra IV in a World Premiere
Performance of ICONOSPHERE, a new piece written by the well-known
American composer-playwright-author, John Franceschina, and dedicated
to her. Upon her return, she will once again present workshops
and conduct the International Orchestra at the Las Vegas International
Convention beginning on November 1.
She
is looking forward to next year's concert of the UMKC Community
Accordion Orchestra since it will be a celebration of 50 years
for the accordion group concerts at the UMKC Conservatory of Music
under her direction. She hopes you will join in that Celebration!
One of the pieces to be performed on that concert will be ICONOSPHERE
and another new piece, CELEBRATION OVERTURE, written by Los Angeles
based TV-Film composer, Leonard Stack, especially for this 50th
Anniversary Celebration. The World Accordion Orchestra I performed
his piece Lest We Forget in 2007 in Alexandria, VA and the WAO
II performed his second composition for accordion orchestra, Film
Noir: City at Night, in 2008 in Scotland.
|
|
|
|
|
Betty
Jo Simon earned the Bachelor of Music Degree in Accordion
Performance at UMKC and was very active as a performer during her
school years. She toured with the UMKC Accordionaires on two of
its overseas USO Tours and she gave the premiere performance of
Paul Creston's Fantasy for Accordion and Orchestra as a winner of
the Conservatory's Concerto and Aria Competition. After graduating
she performed with The Fred Waring Pennsylvanians for several seasons.
Betty Jo plays professionally around K.C. and continues to have
her German polka band, the Alpen Spielers.; she is married, has
two grown children and is now a very proud first-time-grandmother
of a beautiful baby girl. Last August she played the Galla-Rini
Concerto No. 1 with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra as well as several
other solo performances in New Zealand.
|
|
|
|
Ron
Barrow earned the Bachelor of Music Degree in Accordion
Performance at UMKC and also toured with the UMKC Accordionaires
on one of its overseas USO Tours, along with his wife, Judy, who
also earned her accordion degree at UMKC. Ron and Judy have one
son and three small grandchildren. In addition to music as a hobby,
both Ron and Judy spend a considerable amount of time on their
sailboat kept at Stockton Lake. He also earned an M.A. in Education
from UMKC and an M.B.A. from KU.
|
|
|
|
Joyce
Davis began the study of accordion at a young age
and earned her Baccalaureate of Music in Accordion Performance in
1979. After several years of teaching accordion, she began
work with the Internal Revenue Service where she continues today.
(Joan told her that if she didn’t write something about herself,
she would do it. So here goes: Joyce is one of those quiet
people who is a star bass accordionist! She just opens up
the music and reads it perfectly and is always dependable, whatever
part she is given. Indeed, Joyce has played all parts, including
the Elektronium and MIDI parts, at some time during her long membership
in the orchestra. She has also made numerous trips throughout
the USA and overseas with the UMKC accordionists. During her
school years she became quite well known for her expertise in writing
out music by hand for everyone needing a perfect manuscript.)
|
|
|
|
Kevin
Friedrich lives in New York, NY. has just retired
as President of the Confédération Internationale des
Accordéonistes (CIA), IMC-UNESCO, the international accordion
organization which serves as the umbrella organization for all national
accordion organizations. Having been elected to that important post
for two terms, a period of 8 years, upon retirement he was given
the new title of CIA Ambassador in recognition of his tremendous
dedication to the CIA and the many accomplishments achieved during
his terms in office. Kevin continues his work with Accordions Worldwide,
the largest accordion internet site in the world, traveling to accordion
festivals throughout the world providing online coverage. He also
promotes the Accordion Museum he established in his home town of
Dargaville, NZ. Kevin lives in NYC, but when not working on behalf
of the accordion, he serves as a flight attendant on Delta Airlines,
flying all over the world, and still finds time for personal practice
and Thursday evening rehearsals in Kansas City. He earned the Bachelor
of Music Degree in Accordion Performance at UMKC and afterwards
spent a year studying in Paris with Max Bonnay. One of his latest
accomplishments is becoming an American citizen in November of last
year.
|
|
|
|
Don
Lipovac, a graduate of the Kansas City Conservatory
of Music with degrees in theory and education, performed in Carnegie
Hall and represented America as US-AAA Champion at the 1958 World’s
Fair in Brussels, Belgium. He received the “Polka Hall
of Fame” Award at Iron World in Chisholm, MN in 1992 and a
“National Cleveland-Style Hall of Fame” Lifetime Achievement
Award in Cleveland, OH in 2006 in recognition of his work in preserving
and promoting Slovenian Cultural Heritage. Don started his musical
career at the age of four, playing Slovenian melodies on a button-box
accordion bought by his grandfather and later began piano accordion
lessons with Alfred Vacca, who trained him thoroughly in the classics.
He has appeared on the Lawrence Welk Television Show during its
period of great popularity and as a soloist with the Kansas City
Philharmonic Orchestra. He served as director of the St. John
Tamburitzans for more than 35 years and was inducted into the Tamburitza
Association of America Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions
toward the preservation of Tamburitza music.
|
|
|
|
Samantha
Jarquio has just completed her second year as a Landscape
Architecture student at Kansas State University. She began at age
5 with Terry Bell in Independence and later with Joan Sommers at
age 10. Samantha switched from piano to chromatic accordion and
now plays both instruments as needed. She has won many different
competitions, including of MAMA, ATG, AAA and has been US-ATG representative
in the Junior Coupe Mondiale, where she earned a 7th place. Samantha
also plays clarinet and has been featured soloist with the orchestra.
|
|
|
|
Christine
Jarquio Christine Jarquio (Independence, MO) graduated
from the University of Missouri in Columbia with a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Music Education with voice as her performance area, but
has recently completed her first year in a Master's program at Florida
State University. Christine has sung with the UMKC Accordion Orchestra
and with the World Accordion Orchestra I in Alexandria, VA. Like
her sister, she also began accordion studies as a youngster with
Terry Bell and continued them with Joan Sommers, under whose guidance
she earned the right to represent the USA-ATG in the Coupe Mondiale
held in the twin cities of túrovo, Slovakia and Esztergom,
Hungary. Though she no longer competes, she enjoys playing in the
accordion orchestra when possible.
|
|
|
|
Karen
(Scovel) Boocock lives in Wichita, KS, having been
born there and growing up in the nearby suburb of Derby.
She earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Accordion Performance at
UMKC after which she studied and taught voice. She has returned
to the accordion in recent years and has traveled to KC for frequent
rehearsals. The motivation to regain her skills has helped her get
through breast cancer and reconstructive surgeries. She says her
first accordion was a little blue plastic one and she danced around
the house pretending to play music from Mary Poppins. |
|
|
|
Amy
Hatfield originally from the KC Area, earned her Bachelor
of Music Degree in Accordion at UMKC and has traveled with the orchestra
to many competitions and music festivals. She is the proud mother
of a son and a daughter, both of whom are now becoming interested
in playing a musical instrument. Amy is kept busy home-schooling
her children. She and her family are the recent victims of a fire
in their home which destroyed her two accordions and a piano as
well as almost everything else in the home. Luckily, she and the
children were not there at the time of the fire. In spite of that,
however, she has been determined to come to rehearsals and continue
playing with the group. |
|
|
|
Bob
Eichkorn played accordion as a young student while
growing up in Topeka, KS where he continues to live. Bob,
in fact, was enrolled in the very first class of accordion degree
students in the Conservatory of Music but was called into US Military
service during his first semester of study. He has retired
after 41 years in Document Management Sales and Service, using Microfilm
and Imaging Systems for Storage and Retrieval of Vital and Business
Records in Northeast Kansas. |
|
|
|
Mickey
Eichkorn also played accordion as a young student
while growing up in Topeka, KS. Mickey is a retired Registered
Nurse who graduated from Stormont-Vail School of Nursing in 1964.
Both Mickey and her husband Bob Eichkorn
played in the original Mid-America Accordion Symphony Orchestra
in the years 1958-1960 that was based in Kansas City.
They came back to the accordion to play in the accordion orchestra
for the celebration of Joan’s 40th year at the Conservatory.
Soon after last year’s concert, and with considerable encouragement,
they decided to make the long drive from Topeka every Thursday evening
to attend rehearsals of the orchestra and once again enjoy the music
of an accordion orchestra. They have three sons and five grandchildren. |
|
|
|
Cathy
Sue Weiss, originally from New York, started playing
the accordion when she was 7 years old. She won several competitions,
including that of the 1973 NY State Championship. In
1977 she moved to KC to complete her Baccalaureate of Music degree
in Accordion Performance at UMKC. Since that time she has continued
to play with the UMKC groups and has traveled worldwide.
Cathy currently works for Pitney Bowes and was awarded 2008 Top
Sales Awards which included recent trips to Cancun, Mexico and Puerto
Rico. She resides in the Brookside area with her 4 dogs and
2 cats, all adopted through rescue work. Weekends during the
summer are spent on her boat at Stockton Lake. She enjoys
cooking and entertaining for her friends and treasures the time
that she can spend with them. |
|
|
|
Lou
LeBrun from Springfield, MO, is a new member of the group
and makes a very long trip up to UMKC each Thursday for all the
rehearsals, after which she must make the same trip home again.
All of us admire her spirit and dedication to playing with us this
year. Born in Los Angeles, she began studying accordion at 7 years
of age and in her teens studied with Galla-Rini. She taught and
performed professionally for 15 years, got married and then worked
as a computer programmer for 30 years. During that time Lou rarely
played accordion but resumed her entertainment career in 2002 at
the age of 72 and now entertains in the Springfield area. She is
also a regular participant in the Dallas National Accordion Convention,
the Las Vegas International Accordion Convention, and the Scott
Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia. Everyone hearing her play enjoys
her bubbling personality, career anecdotes, and unique musical styling.
|
|
|
|
Laura
Lee Crandall is a freelance percussionist in the Kansas
City area and a graduate of UMKC, where she earned a bachelors degree
in Percussion Performance. She performs with a number of ensembles
in a variety of styles, from orchestral percussion with the Kansas
City Philharmonia, to hand drums for the Alvin Ailey Dance Camp,
and drum set with different rock and jazz groups. She also has been
performing on the vibraphone for weddings and parties. Laura has
played several times with the UMKC accordion groups. |
|
|
|
Evan
Maslak from Kansas City is currently a freshman percussion
performance major. At UMKC he has played with the 3:30 Jazz Combo,
the Percussion Ensemble, and the Wind Symphony. In addition, he
teaches 10 students at the Keith Larson Percussion Studios in Olathe.
This will be his first time performing with our UMKC accordion groups,
although Keith and Brenda Larson, owners of the studio where he
teaches, have played with the UMKC Accordion Orchestra both here
and on tour. |
|
|
|
Brian
Steever is a jazz drummer from Jefferson City, MO
and has just completed his sophomore year in the jazz performance
program at UMKC, studying with Bobby Watson, Brandon Draper, and
Gerald Spaits. Kansas City has been treating him well as he has
been able to play around town with several local legends including
Bobby Watson, Mark Lowrey, David Basse, Megan Birdsall, Clint Ashlock,
Pat Conway, and Hermon Mehari in a trio called Tri-Dimensional,
to name a few. He has also had the opportunity to study classical
percussion with Dr. James Snell and Dr. Nick Petrella. Keep your
ears open and catch him playing around town. Brian played with the
Accordion Orchestra last year, too, on its Annual Concert. |
|
|
|