Sunday, August 14, 2022

August 14, 2022 The Oklahoma Accordion Club held its monthly meeting on Sunday, August 14, 2022. Thirteen people attended - ten in person and three on Zoom. "Welcome music" before the meeting was provided by Lois Roth. aggie Abel called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm. We stood and recited "The Pledge of Allegiance" and sang "America the Beautiful." • Maggie made a few announcements. Frank Gesinski can't attend on Zoom today because of a family gathering. Anne and Sil Lopez are unable to be with us, but send greetings to all. Frequent guest Winston reported he could not attend, but will return soon. • Dick Albreski and Ron Shearon gave a demonstration on tuning an accordion. An accordion gets out of tune from exposure to dust or smoke, from rust, and so forth. Dick said he learned to tune and repair accordions when he was a teenager. He reminded us that the wax and resin inside an accordion can be damaged by both heat and cold. If you are uncomfortably hot or cold, so is your accordion. • Dick began the music with a French waltz called "Style Musette." Then he performed "Bésame Mucho," and a medley of "Pennsylvania Polka" and "Beer Barrel Polka." He was playing an Italo-American accordion that had once belonged to an OAC member. • He told a funny story about going to the wrong place for a gig, and playing "Amazing Grace" for the burial of a septic tank! • Maggie played two of her favorite songs: "The Donkey Song," and a waltz called "Dreaming." • Janet Haskin performed "Amazing Grace" and "I'll Fly Away." She said she plays a Yamaha piano for services at her church in Stillwater. Janet asked if anyone knows an easy way to transpose music. • Maggie reminded us of times past when the August meeting was our annual concert day. • Dick announced that he will be rehearsing and leading the Fun Band at the March 2023 National Accordion Association Convention in the Dallas area. One of the pieces will be "Oklahoma Accordion Waltz," composed by Dick. • The afternoon's music ended with an impromptu jam session by Dick and Lois. Songs included "Sentimental Journey," "Snow Waltz," "Tick Tock Polka," and "Tennessee Waltz." • Dick told us about the time in his life when he had a wife and a new baby, and he lost his job as a salesman. He said he immediately decided to make music and accordions his career, and he has never looked back or regretted that decision. The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be Sunday, September 11, at 3:30 pm. Join us to play or to listen -- or both. You may hear some German music!