Sunday, April 14, 2019

Page 4 May 2019 The Oklahoma Squeezins OAC Meeting Minutes April 14, 2019 •aggie Abel opened our meeting at 3:30 pm, following the OAC Band's Fun Group music session from 2:30 to 3:30 pm, led by Bob Mansfield. Thank you to Barbara Duer for getting the music out to the membership before the meeting. The session was very well attended! •We had 18 members and 3 guests present. We officially have 2 new members, Barbara Yuill and Jean Hill, whom we would like to welcome! •Maggie has done a wonderful job preparing interesting accordion videos for the membership to enjoy before and during the meeting. This month we were able to view more players from the March National Accordion Association convention. •Party animals that we are, we commenced our Pizza Party with strains from "The Godfather," played by Anne Lopez in the background. Lois Roth and Anne played "The Woodpecker Song" and "Return to Me" to continue the Italian mood. Many thanks to Karen West and Tom Phillips for organizing and ordering the pizza. We all appreciate the faithful but often unsung members who pitch in regularly to set up an attractive food table and see to the clean up. •Following good food and good friendships, Anne and Lois Roth played their August concert pieces for the Club: * “San Antonio Rose” * “Polka Medley,” with “Just Because” and more. •New member Jean Hill and Anne harmonized on a beautiful Irish waltz: * “Given's Waltz,” and they also played the: * “Tarantella” •Maggie introduced our guests, Carol Walker, Jacque Rap, and Carol Stickler. She reminded everyone to turn in their concert titles to her in May, and to play their pieces in front of the Club in May to practice playing in front of others. •Barbara Duer played her banjo with Lou Lebrun, performing the snappy tunes: * “Grandpa's Spells” * “Tierney Rag” Lou came all the way from Springfield, Missouri to attend our meeting. So good to see you, Lou! •Dick Albreski gave a workshop on keeping your accordion keys clean. He explained if we use powder to reduce hand sweating or lotion to soften our hands, it can gum up the keys. Dick's wife, Evie, had a humorous solution. She made a cloth cover to put over the keyboard to keep it clean. It also teaches the player not to look at the keyboard while playing. Dick felt the glissando was a bit difficult with the cloth! A composer of many songs, Dick played two original songs with the cloth cover, quite a feat! * “Eveline” * “Trattoria del Centro” Bob asked Dick what the strangest thing he ever found while cleaning the inside of an accordion. His response: "A quarter!" Now how did that get in there??? •T. Z. Wright entertained us, singing and playing the humorous: * “Whiskey Before Breakfast” * “A Walk in the Irish Rain” •Bob concluded our party with a piece that he composed for part of a Tejano album he is working on: * “Hill Country Polka” Then, he played the French tune: * “L'Ame de Poetes,” followed by * “Besame Mucho,” with Sil Lopez who surprised everyone by singing along in Spanish with Bob. • Anne Lopez, OAC Secretary April Meeting Anne Lopez Advertisement