I was born in Pittsburgh PA, my interest in playing accordion came from my mother who'd taken lessons as a kid, and still had her old accordion.  I was fascinated by the piano keyboard on the right hand and the buttons on the left and wanted her to teach me how to play it when I was 4 yrs old, but my mother told me I was too small.

 

Seeing how disappointed I was, my Dad took me downstairs to his work bench - pulled out an old concertina with significant holes in the bellows and let me plink and plunk at will.

 

I began taking accordion lessons with a little 12 bass  and quickly moved onto larger accordions and competitions. Winning first place in state for my age division at 9-10 yrs old.  I was fortunate in living in city where there was an active accordion studio led by a passionate and
gifted musician and teacher -Gene Van.

 

Outside of my parents, Gene was the most influential person in my early years and late teens as I began to perform, compete and eventually teach at the studio.

 

Classically trained, I continued to compete and win state titles and several US division championships - eventually competing for US Virtuoso (twice).  

As a member of the Gene Van Accordion Symphony, I played at numerous events across the US and won several US championships as an Ensemble and Sr. band.

My favorite pieces of music is the Symphony No.6, Pathetique (Tchaikovsky), The Russian Easter and Night on Bald Mountain.