On Nov. 4, 2019 the Button Akordion Rocks Club hosted a Button Accordion Seminar in the Slovenija Center of the Miraculous Medal church in Toronto. Button accordion virtuoso and teacher Klemen Rošer travelled from Slovenia to be the special guest lecturer.
Despite hosting this on a Monday night, we were very pleased that 30+ people of all ages made the effort to attend. Button accordion enthusiasts travelled through an unexpected snowstorm not only from the local Toronto area but also from further distances such as Beamsville, Brantford, Kitchener, Georgetown, Mississauga, Concord, Thornhill, Maple, Caledon, and Whitby Ontario. It shows there is a strong and growing interest for this musical instrument and an unfulfilled demand for more of these kinds of educational events, which the Button Akordion Rocks Club together with Glasbena šola Rošer will do our best to fulfill.
After the seminar, Klemen performed a short concert for the eager audience. Local musicians, Michael, Jonathon and Nicolas Gregoric and Tony Jalovec joined Klemen for some joyful jamming. It was an informative and entertaining evening.
For the remainder of the week, our guest from Slovenia was kept busy from morning till night teaching private lessons to boys and girls ranging in age from 5 years to 70+. Some students were complete novices in music, while others came with many years of experience eager for tips on how to improve their style and technique.
The week of seminar and private lessons would not have been complete without a visit to Dom Lipa to play a few beloved Slovenian folk songs for the generation of Slovenian immigrants who worked so hard to nurture and preserve their cultural heritage within their families and communities, in their adopted country of Canada. Thank you Sonja Vidovic, Activation and Volunteer Coordinator at Dom Lipa, for organizing this concert and extending a warm welcome to Klemen Rošer.
While this was only the first of several musical educational sessions scheduled on the calendar, the 2020 global pandemic temporarily interrupted our plans. We hope to resume the musical educational sessions and other special events in the future.
Button Akordion Rocks Club wishes to acknowledge Moya Financial for the generous educational grant. We are grateful for their generous support of so many cultural and family-oriented events, which enrich and strengthen the community.
Thank you to all who participated in the button accordion seminar and week of lessons.
Zelo ponosni in zadovoljni smo bili na Klemen Rošerjev obisk v Torontu kjer je nam predstavil odlični seminar ter učil naše navdušne Kanadske Slovenske študente (stare in mlade) na diatonično harmoniko. Z veseljem, že pričakujemo njegov naslednji obisk. Hvala vsem ki ste prišli. Lepo smo se imeli.
In the photo: Klemen Rošer, Nadja Rošer, and Martin Pusic.