Julie Kasprzyk Cardona

Introducing... Julie Kasprzyk Cardona

From the age of 5, Julie dreamed of being a world champion accordionist! She immediately showed her aptitude for music, and began performing at every event that popped up. She worked hard (an hour a day at first, and by her teenage years, up to 4 hours a day during the week, and anywhere from 6-10 hours on the weekends!), would perform for anyone who would listen, and participated in local functions, festivals and competitions throughout the U.S.

Not only did she win MANY solo competitions, but performing with her sister Mary, captured the A.A.A. duet championship title in the U.S. for over 12 years, and played 1st chair in The Fernino Quintet and Fernino Accordion Orchestra! By the time she was a teenager, Julie had already compiled over 150 trophies in local, state and national events!

In addition to her music, Julie received accolades for her typing skills - she earned a national honors award for the fastest high school typist in the U.S. with 167 words per minute in a 10-minute timed writing. (Wouldn't have anything to do with her music, now, would it?) Her other hobbies included ice skating and going to concerts!



Radio and television (pictured left filming for the Steve Lawrence and Edie Gorme TV Show) were no stranger to the young musician - interviewing and performing on both locally and nationally operated stations.

In 1964, Julie (and Mary, too) were honored by the American Accordionists' Association with a special award as "Outstanding Student of the Year". (Pictured below left to right - Millie Martignioni, Joseph Biviano, Julie, Pietro Deiro, Jr. and Mary at the Student of the Year awards.)

As a member of the Accordion Symphony Society of New York, she performed symphonic works under the direction of Maestro Joseph Biviano.

In 1967, all her hard work payed off - she won her first U.S. Championship! This entitled her to compete in the Coupe Mondiale, held in Holland that year, where she placed 3rd! (Julie is pictured below, departing for Holland with her teacher Michael Fernino, his wife Ruth and the AAA President of that year, Joseph Biviano.)

In 1968, she won the U.S. Championship again, this time traveling to England, and a 2nd place!

In 1969, a record-breaking 3rd time U.S. Championship took her to the Coupe Mondiale again . . . this time in New York City, where she placed 4th! She was a little disappointed, but as Julie puts it, "I messed up in the sight reading competition!"

Julie went on to teach and perform whatever concert work she could get. However, her wish to become a career concert accordionist just wasn't coming to life. At this point in life, the music she loved took a back seat to her typing ability. Shortly thereafter, she relocated to California, where she began a career as a typesetter/word processor, working in a variety of fields -- food brokerage, relocation, engineering, and law. While working for a worldwide engineering firm, she studied computer programming, and created a data base for a search and retrieval system used throughout the company.

After moving back to Connecticut in the mid-80s, Julie continued her career in computer programming and typesetting. She is currently the lead operator at a New Haven firm, where she does pre-press graphics (preparing digital image files for quality printing).

Mary finally convinced her to start playing again in 1995 after 25 years hiatus! Now, she's once again enjoying performing and doing workshops for you as a member of The "K" Trio!

Julie enjoys reading, arts and crafts, puzzles and bowling . . . and collects owls and butterflies!

The "K" Trio, 835 Mix Avenue, Apt T1, Hamden, CT 06514 USA
Phone: (203) 484 5095     E-Mail:
mary.tokarski@comcast.net