ACCORDIONS RISING is a documentary
film I have been dedicated to for a few years now about how, contrary to conventional wisdom, music of the accordion is alive and thriving! With a focus on New York City artists/musicians and composers, the film explores how appreciation for
the music of the accordion is regaining its footing as a vibrant and versatile instrument and is finally taking its rightful place,
I intend to complete
the film this summer, but I need finishing funds to do so. Only the big ticket final
post production items remain: color correction and sound mix. However, licensing
fees, errors and omissions insurance, marketing, film festival, music festival and convention entry
fees will also be needed for the film to reach its audience.
I hope that the trailer
will inspire interest in all of you out there: people in the accordion world, fans
new and old, music lovers of every stripe, as well as those interested in trends in American culture,
to support the completion of this delightful and informative film. It is time to shatter mistaken notions and
tell the real story because the real
story will be a revelation.
June is National Accordion Awareness Month.
This film celebrates the accordion.
Please Pay Homage. Make a contribution.
Once Accordions Rising is released, people
everywhere can come to understand that accordions have returned, not only with amusement,
but with a beautiful, eloquent, haunting, and downright exciting vengeance!
Just imagine all those who are not “in the know,” and are missing out on so much interesting music. Together we can fix that.
- Roberta
Cantow, Filmmaker and Accordion Devotee
Your Support
To date, I have done the research, production and film
editing completely with out of pocket funds. Before asking others to commit funds to this project, I wanted to
be sure that, indeed, there was a story to tell. Now, six years hence, I
KNOW there is a story to tell, and I have put it all together on film.
My budget to complete and launch this film is $30,000
I am asking you, my friends and acquaintances, my dentist and accountant, music lovers, musicians, accordionists worldwide and all
those interested in cultural documentaries to come along on the last leg of this journey with
me, as I am creating this film for you and for the edification of the nation. I would
like as many people as possible to know about and embrace the rise of the
accordion because it is nothing to be ashamed of, and it is, at least in
the US, “as American as apple pie.” Put
another way, ‘Accordions R Us.’
Please rise to the
occasion in any way that you can: Make
a donation of any amount and forward information about
the campaign to others. You will not just be making a donation,
you will also be contributing to awareness and understanding of the instrument
that so many of you cherish and so many more just need to understand. Long Live the Accordion and its astonishing range and complexity!
![]()
ABOUT THE FILM
The resurgence of interest in accordion music has been occurring over the last 30-40 years. Though many continue to see the it as the stodgy instrument of a bygone era - and accordion jokes abound - it is time to set the record straight! Accordions deliver a surprising range of styles, express the complete and complex range of human emotion, and reflect the diversity in our culture today
Accordions Rising is the story of the variety of styles, cultural diversity and
extraordinary virtuosity of the instrument and the music that it can make. Touching on its deep history but focusing on the
present, the film offers
entertaining, conversational style interviews, anecdotal commentary and both
formal and informal music performances from celebrated accordionists,
composers and bands working and performing in America today. These primarily New York based but globe and US trotting musicians, make
up the colorful and thoughtful cast of characters who drive the story by
tracing their uniquely personal attractions to the instrument and sharing their
surprisingly divergent paths: from immigrant roots, Creole or Roma beginnings,
for example, to a recognition of the very special niche this so-called
"low art" form provides for inspirations in jazz, classical, new
music, pop, fusion forms, operatic styles and beyond.
The film provides a
tapestry of fascinating individuals, their attitudes, deep passions, and above
of all else, profound dedication to the instrument. We learn that though still
a rebellious lot, these music makers have an audience in some of the
hippest hide-a-ways and most sought after venues. The film makes clear that the so-called
“accordion world” reaches far beyond the borders of the Big Apple, a microcosm of the larger landscape and a curious continuum that includes the familiar wacky and wild as well as the more sophisticated,
serious, meditative and post modern.
The film offers visual and poetic elements that demonstrate the many ways that this most maligned of all musical instruments has captured the imagination of many in the form of informal community events, photography, dance/video, performance, and site-specific work.
But let's face it. Accordions themselves, are not much without the people who play them. I am extremely grateful to all the film’s participants, the performers, composers and others who generously gave of their time as interviewees and storytellers. The interweaving of their very unique personalities, musical inventions and performance examples are the very heart of this story.
Some of them include Guy Klucevsek, a thoughtful
and reflective composer/accordionist prominent in new music circles ; William
Schimmel, master accordionist, exuberant and philosophical; Pauline
Oliveros, electronic and experimental improviser with a serious intellectual approach; Will Holshouser, jazz accordionist
extraordinaire, low key as can be; Rachelle
Garniez, singer, songwriter, musician, perhaps the edgy rebel, Peter Stan, Ambassador of Roma Music
“par excellence," warm and personable; Bob
Goldberg with his Famous Accordion Orchestra, spirited and community
minded, and Nicole Renaud with her “illuminated accordion” angelic soprano voice, and steadfast French
charm; among others,
![]()
3 Segments with William Schimmel, Nicole Renaud and Guy Klucevsek:
Undine's Curse/Nicole Renaud -A Sequence from Hyperbaric-Hyperbolic by Paul Etienne Lincoln© 2008 Paul Etienne Lincoln
Accordions Rising will be a revelation to those who continue to think that
“the accordion is dead.” As William Schimmel points out, “The accordion is the icon of the 21st
century.” Indeed, this film only touches the surface of what is going on out there in the world of accordion culture and accordion music. Not only does the accordion have a past, but a bright and energetic future is in store as well.
Join the Campaign and Receive Regular Updates with New Video Clips
![]()
Angels and Accordions, 2010 - Producer, Dance Theatre Etcetera in Collaboration with Green-Wood Historic Fund
If I meet my funding goal, the project will be released into the
world via film and music festivals/conventions beginning in the fall. If my goal is not met, I assure you that the film will find its way to you, no matter what!
Other Ways You Can Help
Accordion Aficionados Unite!
Use the share tools below.
Forward this campaign to people within and beyond the
music world.
Ask them to share the campaign with their friends.
Together we are
stronger in getting the word out.
