Sunday, March 11, 2018

Page 4 April 2018 The Oklahoma Squeezins March Meeting Anne Lopez OAC Meeting Minutes March 18, 2018 The meeting commenced at 3:30 pm, attended by 14 members and 2 guests. It was preceded by band practice at 2:00 pm by our very own Music Makers. Music Makers present included Ron Shearon, Barbara Duer, Toni Spaulding, Maggie Abel, Annette Zongker, and Lois Roth. The Music Makers performed "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," "Sweet Rosie O'Grady," and "My Wild Irish Rose" to open our St. Patrick's Day celebration. Please note, in the future, the Music Makers plan to practice before Club meetings, whether Director Dick Albreski is present or not. •Diana Richard began doing a photo shoot of the members with their accordions on to begin work on a directory, so we can get to know each other better. Be sure to check in with Diana at the next meeting if you have not had your picture taken yet. Thank you for all your hard work, Diana! •Members Ron Shearon and Barbara Duer shared fun memories of their NAA convention in Dallas. All agreed the Fun Band had its best year yet. •Bob Mansfield pointed out to those interested in playing the Roland, an electronic accordion, that programming skills would be needed. Maggie added that the Dallas convention includes digital electronics workshops each year. Bob will be performing at the Main Site in Norman on March 24 for a fundraiser for the arts. It will have a Paris Cafe theme, as Bob strolls around entertaining the audience. Bob played "I Wish you Love," "Sous le Ciel de Paris," "Y'a d'la Joie," and "L'ame d'poetes.” Bob sang and played "Sur Ma Vie.” Sounded like the real McCoy to us! He advised us that using a single reed gives the accordion the French sound. Thanks, Bob! •Barbara headed our March workshop, giving us "Practice Tips.” Using "O'Malley's Song," she pointed out to us that we can learn a song much faster if we apply the following: - Take a highlighter and mark all identical or similar measures - Learn to play the song in a slower tempo, then, gradually increase the tempo - Learn one measure at a time, then add the next measure - Refrain from starting over and over from the beginning of the song. Instead, learn the measures that are giving you trouble by playing THESE over and over. •Barbara also played the Irish tunes "O'Malley's Song," as well as "Galway.” Many thanks, Barb. We greatly appreciate you preparing this for us. •Barbara Mahar performed "Danube Waves" and a peppy "Julida Polka." •Anne Lopez played "Danny Boy” and "The Irish Washerwoman." •Lois Roth entertained us with a little ditty from the movie "The Quiet Man," ending with "The Band Played On." •The Club received a nice thank you note from our Youth Group for our financial support. The Youth Group is comprised of Asher Elliot, Lazarus Elliot, Alex Rockwood, Anna Rockwood, and Matthew Medley. •Lou LeBrun, preparing for a move, gave many of her hats to Barb. We had fun trying them on and taking pictures of us wearing them. •Our faithful Club members from Tulsa -- Janet Haskins, Annette Zongker, and Barbara Mahar -- attended, as did Ron Shearon from Bison, Oklahoma. These long-distance travelers are true accordion aficionados! Reminders - The April 8 meeting is our Pizza Party. Reservations are required so we have enough pizza, so please call Karen West by Saturday noon, April 7 if you haven't signed up yet. - If you plan to play in the August concert this year, then at the May meeting you must give Maggie the name of the songs you will play in August. June and July meetings will be used to rehearse our songs in front of the Club. • Anne Lopez, Secretary