Accordions
Peggy Falcetti and her husband, Sam, opened Falcetti Music in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1957. Since that time, Peggy and Sam have been very active in many community music programs. Peggy has served as the chairperson of the New England Music Festival since 1977. The festival is sponsored by the...
Tony Santorella opened his own music publishing company just north of Boston after learning the trade from the iconic publisher Charles Hansen. Tony was an All State trumpet player who studied music at the University of Miami in Florida. His incredible abilities as a player translated nicely to...
Michael Doucet has become an important link to the roots of Cajun music, not only because he has written and performed the musical style since he was 6 years old, but because of the months he spent conducting a geological survey in and around his hometown of Scott, Louisiana. He discovered how the...
Frank Charles is perhaps best known for playing the organ during most hockey, baseball, and basketball games during the 1980s in Milwaukee. His riffs for the Brewers influenced many other organists in baseball with familiar musical phases such as "CHARGE" and polkas during the seventh inning...
Tony Lovello began playing accordion when he was five years old, thanks to the fact that his father was a professional musician. Tony performed on stage, television, radio and in the movies, along with teaching and selling the accordion. He was an early adapter of the Roland electric accordion...
Weird Al Yankovic built his career upon creating parodies of hit songs, with a special focus on incorporating his beloved accordion. Al began recording his silly songs on tape and mailing them into the Dr. Demento radio program. Once his songs were gaining popularity, Al expanded his band and...
Lane Zastrow was playing professionally and even teaching music as a teenager. His main instrument, the accordion! After years on the road, Lane made his way into the print world. In 1967, Lane joined Sight & Sound, which was owned by Zeb Billings. He later worked for the famed Chicago...
Skip Buss played trumpet for several big bands on the road and in local hotel ballrooms during the great Swing Era of the 1940s. He decided to leave the road when his son was born at which time he gigged at local clubs and ballrooms at night and worked for a small music retailer by day. He joined...
Jim Trimper, Sr. is the president of Denton, Cottier & Daniels, a chain of piano and organ stores in the upstate New York area. The company was formed in 1827 and thus has a long history in each of the communities of their store locations and a dedication to service that Jim has continued...
Art Kubera began taking accordion lessons when he was eight years old growing up in Buffalo, New York. His love of music continued to develop and within a few years he was playing in school bands and later his own bands around town. After years of playing professionally, he realized there was a...