GregPassty

We have a small group (a guitarist and his wife on flute, my wife on djembe and vocals, and me on Anglo concertina) that periodically plays at a local retirement community . Our music comprises a tour of Europe, with tunes from Italy, Germany, Austria, England, and (my influence) Ireland. This time around, we even did a Tango. The Irish numbers we played, which I found in various compilations, were *Wheels of the World, *Daniel O'Connell the home ruler/Tomgraney Castle medley, *Shandon Bells/Ship in Full Sail medley, *The Humours of Ennistymon/The Bride's Favourite medley, *The Eavesdropper/Cuil Aodha jig/Johnny O'Leary's Slide medley, and of course *Danny Boy. We also have a nice 'tina/flute version of Ashokan Farewell (I know--it's not technically part of the "tour".). The reaction of the audience was truly gratifying--they really appreciated our being there. One can never overestimate the effect that live music has on people, even if it isn't played perfectly. For my own part, I enjoy observing how I think in the situation where I'm both responding to the other instruments and making eye contact with members of the audience. Normally, I can't talk and play at the same time, but while preparing for this performance, I found myself able to whistle the flute part while playing the concertina and coaching the djembe! (Actually, this is a major reason I took up the 'tina four years ago--to find new ways to make my brain work.) Greg Passty

Hello, everyone. I started playing to offset the empty-nest syndrome when our son went off to college. (My wife took up TaeKwondo for the same reason.) I also wanted a challenge that would get me to think in different ways, to use both hands simultaneously doing different things, and to create music while exercising physically and mentally. During a trip to Europe as part of an entourage led by a popular World History teacher at our local high school, I had been intrigued by accordions on a couple of occasions, in Innsbruck and Lucerne, and thought that might be the instrument for me. It always seemed too large, however, and one day in January of 1999 I had the brainstorm of trying something called the concertina. I found out a little about it on the Web, and ordered my first concertina, a 30-button Stagi Anglo, from the Button Box by phone. (Concertinas aren't very available here in Central Texas.) I also ordered Bertram Levy's book and John Williams's video to get me started. And at this point , I got incredibly lucky, in a way that I hadn't anticipated. When the 'tina arrived, the notes were located in the same places as on the harmonicas I had played briefly about thirty years ago! This dramatically reduced the learning curve, and I took this as a sign that I had chosen the right instrument. I now have a 40-button Wheatstone, and my wife (on djembe) and I play in a small neighborhood group with a guitarist and flautist. We play not only Irish music, but also Austrian, German, and other European music. I wish I had started long ago! Greg