Sunday, December 11, 2022

December 11, 2022 The Oklahoma Accordion Club had its annual Christmas party on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at 3:30 pm. The location was Messiah Lutheran Church of OKC. aggie Abel called the group to order at 3:30 pm. She introduced everyone who was present. • Tom Phillips led us in "The Pledge of Allegiance." • Dick Albreski and some members of our Youth Group began the music program. Laz Elliott and Dick performed "Here We Go." The Adult Fun Band will play this song at the 2023 National Accordion Association Convention in Texas. • Dick got us in the holiday mood with a solo, "Let It Snow." • Alex Rockwood played "Up on the Housetop." • Luke Anderson continued the seasonal theme with "White Christmas" and "Sugar Plum." He was playing his new Titano accordion for the first time. Dick told us that Titano is the only brand of accordion that has the air button at the top of a bass row. • Laz Elliott performed two solos: "Tanzende Fingel," and variations on "Dark Eyes." • Maggie reminded members to pay their annual dues to Ron Shearon, Club treasurer. He is also accepting donations to help our young players with convention expenses. • Dick will take our donated winter accessories to a needy charity. • Dick announced that Job Elliott and Courtney are getting married next year. • Christmas music continued, with Ron playing "The First Noel" and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." • Maggie played "Silent Night" on her 72-bass accordion. • Dick said that his first "big" accordion was an 80-bass instrument. Accordions smaller than 120 basses are now becoming more popular. • Tom Phillips presented us with a trivia question: Upon what instrument was "Silent Night" first performed? Answer: A guitar. • Dick played as we sang "Happy Birthday" to Maggie Abel and Lucy Shedeck. He followed with the Polish version, which includes the words "May you live one hundred years." • Karen West was wearing a cute reindeer antler hair decoration and jingle bell jewelry. She performed "Happy Holidays" and "Santa Baby." She said she had just begun to play again after months of dealing with a walking issue. We're happy that she's performing again! • Singalong sheets were distributed, and everybody sang "Jingle Bells," "Silver Bells," and "Silent Night." Accordion accompaniment was provided by Anne Lopez and Lois Roth. • Anne and Lois finished the afternoon of music with "White Christmas," "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," and "Winter Wonderland." During the meeting, we all enjoyed visiting the snack table, which was loaded with cookies, candies, and other delicious treats provided by Club members. Our thanks to Karen and her helpers for setting up the refreshments. We will begin 2023 with a meeting on Sunday, January 8. The official starting time is 3:30, but you are welcome to come early to visit and to hear (or play) some "warm-up" music.