Share
‘14 Years Ago’ – Joan Sommers in Puerto Ricoby Rob Howard |
Towards the end of 1997 Professor Joan Sommers, from the USA, visited Puerto Rico. The first news on Accordions Worldwide for January 1998 included a report of her visit to a place we rarely hear from in terms of accordion activity. JOAN C. SOMMERS, GUEST OF HONOUR - PUERTO RICO Contributed by Kevin Friedrich Joan Sommers, professor of Accordion at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, recently returned from San Juan, Puerto Rico where she directed a series of accordion orchestra workshops and master classes for the Puerto Rican Accordion Association. The accordion in Puerto Rico has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and they were keen to benefit from the expertise of Joan Sommers. During her visit, Joan met with the Chancellor of the Casals Conservatory in San Juan, to discuss the importance of the Accordion in the music field today and was received with great enthusiasm. While a guest of the Puerto Rican Accordion Association, Joan delivered master classes, private lessons and lectures on the accordion related activities found at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music. Joan Sommers was recently pictured in newspapers across the world when she conducted an accordion orchestra on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, DC during the AAA (American Accordionists' Association) National Festival. |