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Janet Cutrer was
born in 1941 in Spanish Fork, Utah, but moved with her parents at age
seven to California (Compton; later to Lakewood) where she was
introduced to the accordion at age eight. Gifted and excelling quickly
(with teacher/composer genius LaVoy Halle), she soon became a top child
and teen competition performer, winning titles and honors at Western
States Accordion Festivals in the great 1950s heydays of the accordion
in America.
A frequent TV, radio, and Miss Universe Pageant performer, stage
performances heavily dotted her early/mid/late teen years. Whether it
was KTTV's "Betty White Show," KCOP TV's "Chef Milani Show," KTLA TV's "Doye
O'Dell C-5 Ranch" show, radio KLON or radio's "Squeekin Deakin" show,
among numerous, including winning the audition in her mid-teens to be
the weekly accordionist for Southern California's popular "Dick
Sinclair's Polka Parade" TV show (though her parents declined the $400
weekly contract, comparable to what her father was making at the time);
or whether it was for countless programs year after year in dozens of
Los Angeles' sprawling suburban cities to receiving at age 22 a 10-year
performing service award from Long Beach's Armed Services YMCA Center,
Janet was always on the go performing and learning musically.
At 19 and with a Las Vegas offer under
consideration, a new performance-direction occurred when Janet finally
accepted her apprehensive parents' repeated requests to set aside her
performing and accordion teaching and attend the religiously based
Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Greeted at the bus station by
campus leaders of BYU's nationally highly-regarded collegiate
entertainment program (and taken under arm by Janie Thompson who with
the famed Tony Bennett had been the lead singers in the Ike Carpenter
big band), Janet soon found herself a major entertainer at Brigham Young
University and prominent in the entire area for the next five years. For
the university she toured the USA (1961), a one-month tour; the Far East
(1962), U.S. Defense Department two-month tour; Europe (1963), U.S.
Defense Department three-month tour; and a five-month around the world
(1965) U.S. State Department tour.
Marrying Jay M. Todd in 1964 and settling
in Salt Lake City, Janet continued during the next decade to perform for
prominent events and conventions throughout the western U.S. and do
audience warm-up for stars traveling through the Rockies (Glen Campbell,
Merle Haggard, Johnny Mathis, Buck Owens, Bobby Vinton, among others).
Performing hours diminished each year, however, as she turned attention
to rearing her five children. For many years Janet did recording studio
work when an accordion was needed, musical backgroundin films, videos, TV, CDs,
and commercials, and continues doing so.
In the mid-1980s, serious health
challenges put her performance career on hold, permanently it was
thought. But after a strong health upswing occurred during the late
1990s, in 2002 Janet again put on her accordion to "see what might
happen at this point in my life." Since then, she has been showcased at
annual U.S. and Canadian venues emblematic of accordion excellence and
musicianship, becoming established again as one of America's premier
accordionists. From the American Accordion Association's Boston fete to
Montana's Philipsburg Accordion Celebration; Texas' National Accordion
Convention to Washington's Leavenworth Accordion Celebration; Las Vegas
International Accordion Convention to Canada's Kimberley International
"Old Time" Accordion Championships (winning in 2005 its jazz and World
"Old Time" duet titles); the Florida Smash to California's Cotati
Accordion Festival.
And so…Janet continues to date being her true musician self...a
stage-show performer who loves also being a symphony pit
instrumentalist, recording studio musician, polka band player,
ensemblist, or jazz comboist, happily "playing again" at countless
diversified settings
To visit Janet's web site click
here
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