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The Classical Free Reed Inc |
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Henry Doktorski's The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. eBay Store
is pleased to offer the following service to accordion students:
Description:
Treat Yourself and Your Loved Ones to the Greatest Christmas Gift Ever: Accordion Lessons!
Special Introductory Offer: One FREE 25-minute accordion lesson by speakerphone or Skype with webcam with Concert Accordionist Henry Doktorski, with the purchase of one regular lesson at $25.00. You get two lessons for the price of one!
Henry Doktorski is not simply an accordion teacher; he is a personal trainer for accordionists. Just as a serious athlete or bodybuilder needs a coach who will demand the best, a serious student of the accordion who wants to improve needs a qualified and capable teacher who can lead the way by example.
Doktorski is accepting a limited number of serious students who are interested in studying accordion technique and interpretive musicianship with a professional concert accordionist. Stradella and Free-Bass left-hand systems both accepted.
Doktorski specializes in classical or semi-classical works, but will also guide students who wish to play jazz, standards, and folk music with correct stylistic interpretation. Weekly or bi-weekly lessons can be either 30 minutes or 60 minutes in length and are conducted by speakerphone.
25 minute lessons are $25.00, and 50 minute lessons are $50.00, and can be paid PayPal, or by other means. Doktorski will pay for the phone call to anywhere in the United States. Canadian and overseas students must telephone Doktorski. Student must have a speakerphone or Skype with webcam to take lessons.
Upon acceptance of this special introductory offer (two lessons for the price of one), student and Doktorski will correspond by e-mail prior to first lesson to become acquainted with each other, schedule the first lesson, and discuss the repertoire the student wishes to work on. Copies of student's music may need to be sent to Doktorski prior to first lesson, or Doktorski may suggest repertoire.
Three students shared their thoughts about studying accordion with Doktorski:
I began taking accordion lessons when I was five years old and finally quit when I was fifteen. My parents made me take lessons and I had to play at family gatherings. I was not interested in music and I hated to play for relatives. I didn't want to sit in the house and practice accordion when all my friends were playing outside. I was very happy when I finally quit the accordion at age fifteen!
Forty-seven years passed; I finished high school, got a job, got married and raised a family. Then my kids grew up and moved out, and I retired. I spent a lot of time fishing.
About five years ago my wife started taking piano lessons, and I really enjoyed listening to her play. I began to think, "This sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe I could play an instrument also at this point in my life." So I unearthed my old accordion from the closet and dusted it off.
But I soon discovered I needed a teacher. I decided right away that I did not want to take lessons from an ordinary accordion teacher, someone who might have taken lessons from another ordinary accordion teacher. I wanted someone who was a highly-trained and educated musician, someone with conservatory training.
During my search for an accordion teacher, I found Henry Doktorski. He seemed to be just what I was looking for--someone with advanced degrees in music; someone who understands the symphony orchestra, who has played with symphony orchestras, and knows how to play the accordion like an orchestra. So I began taking weekly lessons with Henry. My lessons last for 45 minutes. Today (November 6, 2006) I had my 24th lesson with him.
During my lessons with Henry, the music comes alive. He is teaching me to play much more than just the notes; he is teaching me how to play with passion and emotion. His willingness to share his musical knowledge makes my lessons meaningful and productive. I look forward to every lesson with him and practice session at home.
Now I practice several hours a day; and my abilities have increased much more than I could have imagined. Now I actually look forward to and enjoy playing for family gatherings! I play simply for the joy of music. And my brother-in-law (who plays the guitar) and I have great jam sessions! We have so much fun playing together. I see myself playing the accordion for the rest of my life.
Henry is a world-class musician and teacher. I highly recommend him to anyone serious about accordion study.
David Mastropietro
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
I am delighted and honored to have the opportunity to study with Henry Doktorski. I saw him play and teach at an accordion festival, and thought how great it would be if I could study with him. Maybe I could leap from the lower depths of accordion playing to starry heights or at least to a respectable reliable intermediate level.
For the past several months I have been taking lessons by telephone with Henry and it has been a wonderful experience:
I commend him as a fine lovely person and recommend him to anyone at any level who wants to study the accordion.
Toby Harke
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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I am 73 years old - studied and taught accordion during the '50s and '60s. I decided in 2005 that it might be fun to perform a recital for my 75th birthday. I listened to myself on tape and was not pleased with my performance. I realized I need professional help - and so looked around for a teacher whose performances pleased me.
There were no teachers close to home, but I thought of Henry Doktorski, as I had purchased several of his CDs, and attended two of his live performances. I was impressed in several ways:
So I began studying with Henry by telephone. Speaker phone lessons are convenient for both teacher and student: no travel, no distractions, disruptions, privacy. Hey, you can even take a lesson in your "jammies"!
As to the "improvement in my playing since taking lessons with Henry," - I can say that he brought to my attention aspects of my playing that I never heard and wouldn't have heard on my own - situations that needed immediate attention - i.e., unison passages of right and left hand in which the two hands were not perfectly together. I never would have heard that on my own. Also, the cutting off of notes prematurely. Prematurely getting to the next note, phrase, or measure. Getting to the next note, phrase, or measure too late. Tempo problems. Bellows reversing problems, etc.
I also discovered that Henry has the patience of Job! And that is a testimonial!
Joan Gilyeat Moyer
Indianapolis, Indiana |
ABOUT HENRY DOKTORSKI
"The humble accordion will never be the same" -- Philadelphia Standard and Times
Henry Doktorski is one of the leading concert accordionists in the United States and a recognized figure in international classical accordion circles.
He has a Master of Music Degree from Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in Composition, a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Park University (Parkville, Missouri) with a double major in Piano Performance and Music Education. He has C.A.G.O. certification with the American Guild of Organists.
Doktorski is a member of the advisory and editorial board for The Center for the Study of Free-Reed Instruments at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the academic honor society in the field of music. He is a former faculty member (Instructor of Accordion) for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and presently serves on the faculty of The City Music Center at Duquesne University as Instructor of Accordion.
He was the first-place winner in the American Accordion Musicological Society Virtuoso Solo Competition (1990: King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) and since then has delighted hundreds of thousands with his tasteful and sophisticated musical interpretations, including performances on accordion with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the New Philharmonic Orchestra (Glen Ellyn, Illinois), the Northwest Indiana Symphony (Merrillville, Indiana), the Loudoun County Symphony (Leesburg, Virginia), the Butler County Symphony (Pennsylvania), the Wartburg Community Symphony (Waverly, Iowa), the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Orchestra (Fairbanks, Alaska), the McKeesport Symphony (Pennsylvania), the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, the Duquesne University Contemporary Ensemble, the River City Brass Band (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, in addition to radio and television appearances.
Besides classical music, Mr. Doktorski is equally adept at popular and international music as well, and performs for private parties, receptions and special events such as Oktoberfest celebrations. His extensive repertoire ranges from Bach, Brahms and Piazzolla to Gershwin, Mancini and tunes from hit Broadway musicals and Hollywood movies like The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof and Titanic.
He has recorded with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony (you can hear him on the Sony Classical hit CD Cinema Serenade with violinist Itzhak Perlman) and was the featured soloist on six compact discs:
Mr. Doktorski is the founder of The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. -- a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the accordion and classical music. He also serves as the American Correspondent for the Frosini Society (Sweden).
He is in demand as a recitalist and clinician and presents concerts and workshops at national and regional accordion conventions. He has performed in Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Fairbanks, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York City, Orlando, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Superior, Wisconsin, and Waverly, Iowa. Doktorski also teaches accordion students, from beginners to advanced professionals.
During a radio interview on WQED-FM, Mr. Doktorski said, "I never tire of performing classical pieces on the accordion -- both transcriptions and original works -- for audiences, however small. It really gives me a thrill when I watch the faces in the crowd. Initially, I see indifference or skepticism or outright joking; but after the first few bars, I see amazement. Then after a minute or two, I see enjoyment. Most people simply have not been exposed to the possibilities of the instrument."
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