Quarter 2-3 2015 - Michigan Accordion Society

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Summer / Fall 2015
“Advancing the Accordion
in Michigan & Beyond.....”
A 501 c 3 Tax Deductible
Organization
Officers:
President: Joe Recchia
Vice President: Bob Berta
Secretary: TBD-Open
A. Recchia Acting
Treasurer: TBD-Open
J. Recchia Acting
www.michiganaccordion.org
Please remember that our Monthly events are being
held at a new location.
We have received great
feedback and our members would like to continue
going to Picano’s Restaurant located at 3775
Roc hester Rd, Tr o y, M I pho ne 248 - 689-5500.
Mr.
Picano appreciates our patronage and will continue
special MAS Food Menu’s for us to enjoy!
R em e m b er ! T h e M ic hi ga n Ac co r di o n S o ci e ty
no w acc e p ts Vis a a n d M as t er Car d !
Music Editors:
Bob Berta, Joe Recchia
Accordion Teachers:
Visit our website at
www.michiganaccordion.org
Accordionists for Hire:
Visit our website at
www.michiganaccordion.org
Past Presidents:
Steve Stolaruk: 1996-2005
Lana Gore: 2006
Ray Battani: 2007-2010
Stephen Kaye: 2011
Bob Berta 2012
Joe Recchia 2013—2014
Sept 15th — Accordion
Duets & Modern Accordion Studio Reunion. At
Picano’s in Troy, MI
doors open at 6:30 PM
October 20th—Joe
Natoli from Cleveland,
Ohio at Picano’s in Troy,
MI, Doors at 6:30PM
November 17th—TBD
December 8th - Xmas
Party at Picano’s in Troy
Web Page:
Robert Stead
[email protected]
Photographers:
Tony La Tona & Bob Berta
Sept 11 & 12—Ann Arbor October Fest, Arbor
Brewing Company
Sept 18th—20th Carpathia Club Oktoberfest
Address/Phone:
Michigan Accordion Society
37365 Hanson Dr.
Sterling Heights, MI 48310
586-530-1546
[email protected]
Membership Committee:
Antonella Recchia
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Michigan Accordion Society is very pleased to invite you to our September 15th Music Event at Picano’s. We will be featuring a Modern Accordion
Studio Reunion Night and a wonderful music duet performance by 2 great
“Modern Accordion Studio” students Ms. Pam Manos & Mr. John Sterbenz!
Board Members:
Angela Masi Beaumont
John Gabalis
Tony La Tona
Lorraine Lozovoj
Sam Randazzo
Antonella Recchia
TBD-Open
TBD-Open
Newsletter Committee:
Bob Berta Editor, Bob Stead,
Joe Recchia, Tony La Tona
Vol. 19 No. 2/3
John Sterbenz, Jr. began studying the accordion in 1979 at the age of 8
at Modern Accordion Studios and he continued his instruction under
Lana Gore, moving with her as she opened The Music Centre
(Dearborn Heights, MI) through 1982 John competed at many state,
regional, national and international levels. John became an instructor
at The Music Centre in 1987 to 1992.
Pam McGowan began studying the accordion at the age of 5 at Modern Accordion Studios and continued her instruction at to The Music
Centre. Pam competed in numerous competitions at the state, regional, national and international level, holding titles to such awards as the
Michigan Cup, the Mid-West Cup, the International Grand Prix, the
AAA Championship, and also placed 5th in the Coupe Mondiale, held in
Folkestone, England in 1984.
Both Pam and John are a great talent and they continue to enjoy performing in various venues. Please plan on attending this event and
help us support these wonderful accordionists!
December 31, 2015—
MAS New years Eve party Carpathia Club MAS
members receive $10.00
discount on tickets more
details to follow.
For more details visit our
Events Page on our Web-
For up to date
MAS info please
visit our Facebook page at::
www.facebook.com/
michiganaccordionsociety
Please consider Joining
Facebook it is a great way
to connect with Accordionists all over the world!
FOR MORE EVENTS AND INFO VIST OUR EVENTS PAGE at www.michiganaccordion.org/events
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MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
We hope each of you are doing well and enjoying the great summer that we are
having. So glad to see a lot of great Accordion activity with our MAS Members
in Michigan and Beyond!
This addition of our Newsletter also includs our annual distribution of our MAS
Membership List. This Membership list is only sent out to current 2015 and
past 2014 members. Please note that we still have not seen payments from some
of our 2014 members. Remember your 2014 Memberships expired on December 31, 2014. If you have paid your 2015 Annual Dues thank you! If you have
not paid your 2015 Dues please send us a payment using the enclosed membership application form on Page 17 of this newsletter.
Our Monthly Music Event new location at Picano’s Italian Restaurant has been very well received and
we have received overwhelming support to continue to hold our monthly Music Events their. Mr. Picano is very delighted with our past turn outs and continues to invite us back each month with his special
MAS menu and is even trying to get local news coverage of our events through some of his contacts at
Fox 2 News! So don’t miss the opportunity to visit one of our events and even be on TV! We have
seen a nice increase in walk-ins to our monthly events and a few of those people have now become
Members. This is all great news and we are finally starting to see positive cash flow to help offset our
losses.
Our recent events have been great and will continue to facilitate a Open Mic as well as Featured performers at each music event as well as a Raffle. Any one can donate raffle gifts if you have anything
your would like to donate, please bring it in the day of our Music Events.
We have had a very busy quarter promoting the accordion and MAS is very excited to announce that
we have made great progress with our “Accordion For Kids Program” Please read more about this
great achievement in this newsletter edition!
Also we have made public “The MAS Endowment Fund” which we are publically thanking each Donors of the Scholarships we have collected and also shows how we are using the funds collected to give
back to the community. For more detailed information please visit our new Website link at
www.michiganaccordion.org/endowment/
Your MAS Board works very hard to bring you the best that we can and we are looking forward in seeing each of you at our upcoming events, thank you for making this a great Accordion society!
Joe Recchia, MAS President
We are pleased to welcome the following new members this quarter;
Gary Blair, Daniel Bryson, Jason Fligger, JoAnne Fligger, Chuck Henry
Maurita Murphy Marx, Kathy Polansky, Mark Randisi, Gary Schunk, Adam Stachurski, Kristina Stachurski, Dylan Stachurski, Ray Tini & Johnny Trudell
For PHONE ADDRESS OR EMAIL CHANGES, Please Contact “Toni Recchia” at [email protected] or 586-530-1546
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MAS MEMBERS IN ACTION—Around the Countr y and locally
IF YOU
HAVE AN
ACCORDION
NEWS PHOTO, AN UPCOMING
PERFORMANCE,
PLEASE
SEND IT TO
BOB BERTA
SO WE CAN
INCLUDE IT
IN YOUR
NEXT
NEWSLETTER & OUR
FACEBOOK
PAGE!
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ACCORDIONS IN THE NEWS
Check out this great interview with our MAS member
Cory Pesaturo and Scott Page, famous Guitar and Saxophonist from Pick Floyd, Toto & Sumpertramp talking
about great way to promote the Accordion! https://
www.youtube.com/watch?
Our MAS Member's John & Mary Smoltz's son, John
Smoltz receives highest Honor of being inducted into the
Major League Baseball Hall of fame July 26, 2015 in
Cooperstown, NY. His speech talks about growing up with
the Accordion which can be seen at the link below at approx 6:15 into his acceptance speech. What a great
speech and wonderful honor please help us to congratulate our Members John & Mary Smoltz! http://m.mlb.com/video/
v297990783/smoltz-discusses-illustrious-career-in-his-hof-speech
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ACCORDION FOR KIDS PROGRAM UPDATE
We are extremely pleased and delighted to announce that the Michigan Accordion Society has been
very busy working to locate a school to host an Accordion For kids Program and thanks to our new
Member Mr. Jason Fligger of Detroit we were able to secure a wonderful afterschool program which
will hold an Accordion Class starting September 21, 2015. Classes will run for 10 weeks and the
Michigan Accordion Society is helping by donating 12 Bass Accordions Rentals that were purchased
with our Scholarship Program. Joe Recchia, MAS President said “We are so very pleased to be helping the school in offering an Accordion Class, I had a chance to meet with the School Principle Ms.
Issablle Lauerman and she advised that the school is very excited to be offering this program and her
entire staff feels it will be very successful and are already talking to us about hosting a Winter Accordion Class. This class could not have made possible without MAS Members Kathy Polansky who
will be a great asset with the success of this program as she will be teaching the class as well as Jason
Fligger who has offered to assist Ms. Polansky in the classroom each week.” The Waldorf School has
already posted their Accordion Class on their website as shown Below:
The Waldorf Philosophy
The mission of the Detroit Waldorf School is to provide a rich and dynamic pre-K-8th grade Waldorf education to a geographically, racially, and socio-economically diverse student body in Detroit and Southeast
Michigan. The Detroit Waldorf School is a community dedicated to helping each child develop his or her
full human potential: clear, creative thought and expression, balance and compassion in feeling; and conscience and initiative in action. Waldorf education fosters the development of free-thinking, moral, and selfconfident individuals who lead successful and inspired lives. For more information on the Waldorf School
please visit their website at http://www.detroitwaldorf.org/after-school-programs/
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ITALIAN NIGHT AT PICANOS
JUNE 2nd
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LA NASCITA DI ROMA
APRIL 10TH MAS DINNER DANCE AT VILLA PENNA
The Michigan Accordion Society would like to
thank the numerous Sponsors for helping to
make our April 10th 2015 Dinner Dance Event
a Huge Success! We would like to thank all the
wonderful people who purchased tickets (nearly
400 People) as well as the wonderful line up of
incredible musician by Michele Ramo's Orchestra as well as the Executive Chef Sandy Polidori and George Penna at Villa Pennas and
their incredible staff for putting together an incredible dinner and drink selection in
their brand newly remodeled facility.
Just goes to show you that great things happen
when you bring the best Music, Food and People together! Very proud of all the MAS Musicians, Board members and other Members who
attended to help make this event very memorable and successful! Thank you, so much! For
those of you who missed out, we are already in
talking stages about a repeat event!
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MAY STUDENT NIGHT
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MAS IN THE NEWS
The Michigan Accordion Society was featured
in several Local Papers; The Troy Somerset
Gazatte, The Italian Tribune and the The Italian
American and talked about how the Michigan
Accordion Society is providing Scholarships in
our community during our recent Music Event
this past June of 2015.
We are very proud of these kids and their parents for the work they are doing with the Accordion.
Our Scholarship Donations could not have been
made possible if it was not for our Scholarship
Donors.
Remember to visit our Facebook Page and Website were you can find legible copies of these
articles at these links
http://www.michiganaccordion.org/
inthenews.html
https://www.facebook.com/
michiganaccordionsociety?ref=hl
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JUNE FEATURED CHUCK HENRY
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JULY FEATURED GARY BLAIR FROM SCOTLAND
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ACCORDION HISTORY
ANTHONY GALLA-RINI
PIONEER, TEACHER, AND CONCERT ARTIST
I have always considered Anthony Galla-Rini to be among the top accordion players of all time. Since I
was born and lived in California for most of my life before retiring in Michigan in 2004 I had many times
met him and heard him play and teach students. While there are many other famous accordionists, I would
like to explain why I consider Anthony such a notable musician.
But first a little background. He was born in Manchester, Connecticut, on January 18, 1904. His father,
John, was a bandmaster who trained all his children to perform on the vaudeville stage. Anthony started
playing cornet at the age of 4, and than at the age of 7, accordion lessons were added. In 1924 he separated
from his dad’s act and formed his own act. From 1911 to 1933 he performed on many vaudeville stages
and in that same period learned to play piuccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba in addition to the accordion. But as he said, he never had his heart in that type of performance and so abandoned all instruments except accordion (which was his first love).
His objectives that he decided to focus on were:
1 Teach the accordion as a professionally recognized instrument
2 Exploit the full capability of the accordion
3 Compose and arrange music
4 Promote the accordion in the concert field
He started teaching in San Francisco but established studios in the surrounding areas, hiring his students as
teachers. In 1936 he moved to New York where most of his music publishers were located. After a long
career he moved back to California, but to say it was for retirement would be a mistake as he kept up a very
hectic schedule of writing, teaching and some performing right up to his death in 2006 at the age of 101.
His arrangements and compositions utilize the attributes of the accordion such as the bellows and arrangement of the stradella bass to a greater level than is normally seen in arrangements. He favored classical music often as he wanted to show that the accordion was capable of serious music. Along the way he made
several advancements in the design of the accordion. If your accordion switches show the circle with two
lines and various dots denoting the reed selection….that was his idea. In addition he recognized that a full
7th chord limited the ability to create other chords by playing them along with a single bass note. So he removed the pin on the 5th and that allowed him to also play an augmented chord. That design is now standard on all accordions.
Anthony had perfect pitch and had the amazing ability to hear any chord played by another person and
could tell you which notes were played without seeing the player. He told me that while technic is important, musicality and phrasing is the soul of music. I remember his recommendation to try singing the
piece you are playing at the same time as you play it. He said that often accordionists don’t take breathing
breaks. He joked that if those players sang like they play, they would pass out from lack of oxygen!
That reminded me of a comment by Ludwig Van Beethoven:
“To play a wrong note is insignificant, to play without passion is inexcusable!”
RKBerta
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THE SUMMER ACCORDION LESSON
HOW TO LEARN A NEW PIECE OF MUSIC
The following method is what I use and while everyone will refine this to best fit their routine, it is important that whatever method
you use that you are consistent so you won’t skip steps or cause problems down the road.
TEMPO: At the outset I look at the tempo of the selection but DO not play at that tempo. I reduce the tempo down as I address each
of the following steps. Many musicians skip or gloss over this step and as a result when they get to a fast part of the composition they
play the notes sloppily in a way that for a better word to describe it causes the music to be “compressed”. Gradually you can work the
tempo up as the piece falls “under your fingers”. Compression is a trap that I often have to deal with...often unsatisfactorily ;-)
KEY-SIGNATURE: Be aware of the prevailing key signature at all times and do not be misled by accidentals or the mind may loose
track of the key signature. Remember that the accidental is valid for the rest of the measure, unless it has been canceled. Make sure
you apply the accidental to the note it is intended.
ARTICULATION: The soul of the accordion is the bellows which give it the phrasing and articulation like that of a violin or wind
instrument and it is VERY important to use this. This needs to be used from the very first reading.
FINGERING: The practical fingering should be derived from the very first reading. On some music the SUGGESTED fingering is
indicated but since not everyone has identical hands and length of fingers it is OK to develop your own fingering. In particular I
spend a lot of time developing the left hand fingering. In particular I suggest that you use all the fingers on your left hand...even the
thumb if that allows a more fluid playing. Using all those fingers will give them the strength for playing of bass solos and runs.
PRACTICE HANDS SEPARATELY AS MUCH AS NEEDED: When you do combine the hands make sure you pay attention to the
combination for tempo. If you find that you are slowing down in the more difficult parts of the piece...that is a sign that you are attempting to play the entire piece at a too fast tempo to early and need to slow down until you have it “under the fingers”. If you don’t
do this you will likely find that your playing will continue to speed up and slow down while playing the selection and that is an obvious sign of poor preparation.
DYNAMICS: Again this is part of the SOUL of the accordion performance. While blah dynamics yields a boring performance...over
the top dynamics is very distracting also. Remember...Vaudeville is dead...so those over the top performances are a thing of the past.
It really helps to hear how the original arranger or composer intended the piece to be played by listening to a recording. And of
course if the piece has GOOD dynamics and phrasing indicated so much the better.
BELLOWS REVERSAL: Each accordion has different amounts of bellows capacity depending on many factors so each accordion
will need to have this worked out. Ideally you NEVER want to reverse bellows in a long phrase as that is a sure sign of lack of practice. And note that if you play the selection on more than one accordion you will need to work this out for each one.
SELECT APPROPRIATE REGISTERS FOR YOUR ACCORDION: Don’t use the same combos all the time. For repeats choose
different registers or octaves.
RECORDING THE SELECTION: If you have a way to record your performance you will find the flaws very quickly.
Bob Berta
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FEATURED ACCORDION MUSIC THIS MONTH
This time we are featuring an accordion duet of J.S.Bach’s Menuet in G arranged for accordion by MAS
Member Silven Koltyk. He has given us a great collection of his accordion transcriptions of classical music
that we will be sharing with you in future newsletters. While there is a first and second part, the first accordion
part will stand by itself for solo performance.
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DUET for ACCORDION PART 2
This accordion transcription written by Silven Koltyk or MAS members.
Keep an eye out for future transcriptions from Silven on our newsletters.
Thanks Silven!!!
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MAS Business & Classified Section
MAS Members Please Support the Business that support MAS!
Accordion International offer MAS members: Address: 1760 South 450 West
20% discount on Accordion Straps and cases and
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
special Member pricing on the lineup of Roland V Phone: (800) 935-0013
Accordions
Website: www.accordionfactory.com
Attention: Paul Pasquali
Address: 30640 Dequindre Rd
Warren, MI 48092
20% off all in stock items, including Lessons, Phone: 586 751-8616
Website: www.edbstudios.com
Instruments and Professional Recordings!
Attention: Eric or Donna
EDP Studios offers MAS Members:
Address: 38944 Dequindre Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48310
20% off all in stock items, including Lessons & Phone: (586) 978-1816
Website: www.guszoppimusic.com
Instruments!
Attention: Tom
Gus Zoppi Music Center offers MAS Members:
Music Authority offers MAS members:
Buy four lessons & get two free!
ConCorde Inn offers MAS members:
20% discount on Rooms at both locations
http://www.concordeinns.com/
Address: 24736 W. Warren St.
Dearborn Heights, MI 48127
Phone: (313) 551-5420
Website: www.musicauthorityschool.com
Attention: Pavel
1919 Star Batt Drive, Rochester Hills, MI 48309,
Phone: 248-299-1210 Attention: Erin
44315 Gratiot, Clinton Township, MI 49036
Phone: 586-493-7300 Attention: Erin
JR PRODUCTS LLC is offering A new Portable Charger and Power Adaptor now available for your Roland FR7/FR7x V Accordion
which is specifically engineered and designed for your BP 24-45 Battery pack. Stop carrying around your bulky Roland Foot Pedal
unit and upgrade with these great very small and portable devices. MAS Members receive a 25% discount.
Please visit our new website at http://www.joerecchia.com/jrproducts
MAS Members receive
A wonderful 30 Plus % off on a brand new
Borsini Accordion!
www.borsiniaccordionsusa.com
MAS Members receive one free Dance Lesson
with any Dance Package Purchase
www.argentinetangodetroit.com
Please contact Mr. Jeffrey Iacono, President of
Borsini Accordion of America
1814 Tanger Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714)-269-8648
[email protected]
7758 Auburn Road Utica, MI 48317
586-254-0560 ask for Lori
[email protected]
ACCORDIONS FOR SALE
We have a lot of great accordions and other items for sale, way to much to list here, so
please visit our MAS Website link at www.michiganaccordion.org/classified_ads
Our Classified listing is one of your Membership Perks! For advertising or to participate in the MAS discount program,
please contact one of our Officers or Board Members
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Join MAS and Enjoy these 2016 Membership Benefits!
visit us a t w w w. mi c hi g a n a cc o r di o n. o rg a n d
Your $30.00 MAS membership entitles you to:
 Receive our brand new official Membership card and use it to save money at local area business (please










refer to our website for the latest list of our MAS business supporters and discount listing)
Monthly Music Event Entrance Fee Discounts
Be added on our Website Performers Directory and Teachers Directory
Promotion of your CD's, events & performances
Periodic Updates / Email News Flash & Newsletters
Free Classified Advertising in our Newsletter (Pending Available Room) and Website
Receive a copy of our MAS members list and begin to access a great network of Musicians
Membership Incentive—a little effort and you can get your membership for free (see below incentives)
Invitation to work shops and special appearance as they become available
MAS Membership is still a great deal for only $30.00 a year!
Membership Dues Expire December 31 of 2016
$5.00 Finders Fee Details:
Membership Incentive Programs:
FREE CURRENT C/Y COMPLIMENTARY MAS MEMBERSHIP!
In order to qualify, all of the following must apply:



Solo Music performance during one of our Membership Meetings
Placed on our playing roster by the Clubs Music Editors
To qualify, you must not have been a past MAS member.


You must be a current and paid in full MAS member


The new member must also be paid in full
The new member you refer must have never been a
MAS member
Your name must be placed on our MAS Application
form where it says “Referred By”
Michigan Accordion Society Application Form
We would be delighted if you would join the Michigan Accordion Society! Please fill
out the form below and mail back with your enclosed check at:
“Michigan Accordion Society, 37365 Hanson Dr., Sterling Heights, MI 48310
Membership Type
Dues are to be made payable
New Member
to the “Michigan Accordion
Society” with application for
membership.
I express my talent as:
Single Mem-
bership dues are $30.00/year
or $15.00/year for students.
Spouse
/
Family
(Includes
children
Plan
18
Accordion Fan / Supporter
Play For My Own Enjoyment
and
Please print clearly
under) just $20.00 extra with
Single
Membership
Pur-
chase.
2015 CY Sliding scale for
new single members/ Spouse
& Family plans are:
Jan—Feb = $30.00/$20.00
March—April = $25.00/$18.00
$30.00/$20.00
Other
Amount Paid $__________
Phone Number:
“Referred by”
=
Teacher
City, State, ZIP:
July—August = $15.00/$10.00
(*paid through 2016 CY)
Performer
Address:
Email Address:
*Nov—Dec
Student (must be under 18 yrs of age)
Name:
May—June = $20.00/$15.00
Sept—Oct = $10.00/$5.00
Membership Renewal
Signature: _______________________________Date: _______
MAS Membership Form Revision Aug 2015
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MAS Last
Note News
ACCORDION FRIENDLY OPEN MIC LOCATIONS
Many of our members enjoy attending not only MAS but OPEN MIC clubs in the area. There are a few outstanding Open MIC clubs
that are particularly popular with our members. An OPEN MIC club has attendees sign up to play 2-3 tunes when they arrive. On
any given night you will hear just about every possible type of instrument, different types of music such as folk, country, jazz, classical, and some light pop music. The performers skill level ranges from the low end to professionals but everyone supports all the players whatever their ability and it is common for attendees to get together for future duets, combos, etc. Ages range from young to
“well seasoned” and all are family & Accordion friendly events. Please help us by supporting our partners below and attend their
events:
THE SHELBY MUSIC SOCIETY—Meets the second Saturday of each month from 7:00-10:00pm at the Shelby Senior Center Auditorium on Van Dyke near 23 Mile Rd. Shelby Township, MI. Center is located at the rear of the city library. Admission is by donation. Attendees often bring desserts to share at the break.
THE STARKWEATHER ARTS CENTER IN ROMEO—Meets the fourth Friday of each month from 7:00-10:00 pm. Admission is $4
for non-members and $3 for members. Location is at 219 N. Main St. in Romeo, MI
SLOVENE AMERICAN CLUB, Melvindale, MI Accordion Jam, Every Friday Night 7:00 pm, MAS Members welcomed!
Also check out www.openmicdetroit.com for more locations to investigate and if you find a friendly Accordion location,
please let us know so we can post the event on our Facebook page and on our Website!
PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR 2015 MEMBERSHIP WILL EXPIRE on DECMEBER 31, 2015. YOU CAN RENEW YOUR 2016 CY MEMBERSHIP AS
EARLY AS YOU WOULD LIKE AND WE ARE TAKING VISA AND MASTERCARD TO MAKE IT MORE CONVIENIENT CALL TONI at 586-530-1546
AND FEEL FREE TO RENEW SOON, THANK YOU!
Michigan Accordion Society
37365 Hanson Dr.
Sterling Heights, Michigan
48310
Place
Stamp
Here