|
My
father was a professional accordion player in southern
Italy when he was a young man, but marriage and children
forced him into industry, and the accordion was forced
into retirement. I was born in 1954 in a small town near Bari, near the spur of the Italian
boot. When I was a boy I remember
my father taking
the accordion out from time to time and playing and
singing wonderful Italian songs. My father tried to
teach me how to play, but I refused because I was shy.
In 1969 my family and me immigrated to New York and
I moved to Houston in 1976 to escape the cold New
York winters. In
1999 my father passed away and gave my son Stephen his accordion as a
legacy. Stephen immediately developed an affinity for
the instrument. He began taking lessons from Mario
Pedone at the age of 11. After driving my son to
music lessons for five years and watching his skill
develop, I began experiencing a growing
desire to hear the classical Italian folk songs that my
father played.
In 2004 I decided that it was time for
me to start learning to play the accordion. Since June
2004 I've been taking lessons from Mario Pedone, but
because of limited practice time my progress has been
slow, but enjoyable. In November 2007 I finally took
delivery of a custom made Serenellini with 5 sets of
treble reeds without a tone chamber so that I can play
French songs
with the French Musette
sound and yet still retain the full and clear sound of a
normal accordion.
I've found the whole experience of learning to
read music and playing the accordion a
stimulating and rewarding experience. I have been amazed
on the power of music to recall feelings and memories. The universal
appeal
of music that touches people of all cultures is
amazing. But the real blessing are the people and the
friendships developed through our common love of music.
I can be contacted
at joeregina"AT"sbcglobal_DOT_net
Address garbled to foil spammers.
To send email, substitute @ sign for "AT" and replace _DOT_ with a
period.
|
