David Barnert Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 RAc pointed out in another thread that Mike Knudsen, who posted to concertina.net as Ragtimer, passed away this past March. His obituary is here. I first met Mike at the NorthEast Squeeze-In (NESI) back in the Bucksteep Manor days. He had just bought his first concertina, a Stagi Hayden. Later, he also acquired one of the early square 66-button Bastari Haydens: (From his concertina.net avatar photo) He composed quite a few tunes in the Ragtime idiom. Our playing styles were very different, but we became friends, although we had been out of touch in recent years. Last I saw him he was developing Parkinson’s disease which was affecting his ability to play. His last visit to concertina.net was April 12, 2012. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertovich Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 So sorry to learn that Mike Knudsen passed on. We first met in Sunderland at the Button Box in 2008 or 2009 I believe, during one of the Northeast Concertina Workshops (NCW). We became friends and corresponded by e-mail on many occasions. Mike and a few others including myself, helped (we hoped!) Doug Creighton and Judy Hawkins develop the admirable Morse Beaumont Hayden duet. We studied on it rather intensely especially with regard to what we perceived as the probable advantages of palm bars parallel to button rows. This was not looked on favorably by the inventor, Brian Hayden, who preferred button rows slightly slanted to the bars. We also plugged for 1/8" diameter buttons. Both these features, in the opinion of Mike, myself and a few others including Jim Bayliss and Jim Albea, were benefically incorporated into the instrument much to the credit of Doug and Judy. It's a very nice 'tina indeed. Mike truly was multi talented, an innovator, and much else as evidenced by his musical compositions and engineering skills. He was also a very nice person and always wanted to be helpful. It's a big loss that he is gone. Thanks to David Barnert for bringing Mike's sad demise to our attention. I hadn't heard from Mike for quite a while and feared the PD may have got him, which, sadly it had. I and many others will miss you Mike...a good man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 6 hours ago, robertovich said: Thanks to David Barnert for bringing Mike's sad demise to our attention. In January I was asked to write up an obituary for the NorthEast Squeeze-In web page. The result, combining information from my memory, his on-line obituary, his comments on concertina.net, and his wife’s Wikipedia page (!) and slightly edited by others is here on the “In Memoriam” page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inventor Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 I was very sad to read about Mike Knudsen's passing. Though I never met him in person, I always enjoyed reading his contributions to this website, and his support for my system of Duet. I send my condolences to his wife, children, and all members of his extended family. Brian Hayden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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