THE SEMINARS
To present every aspect of accordion culture to the New York artistic community
And to anyone else interested
THE SEMINARS were founded, directed, curated and moderated by Dr. William Schimmel,
an accordionist as well as a composer and philosopher. He is Artist in residence of The American
Accordionists’ Association.
They are a series of master classes and concerts that take place yearly over a three day
period. They are sponsored by The American Accordionists’ Association. The first series
of Seminars took place in 1995 and now they are moving into its 15th year. The master classes
consists of lectures, workshops, discussions and intimate performances. The concerts are more
formal: perhaps one evening: classics – another evening: theater and performance art and
another evening: experimental and current – although nothing is completely carved in stone.
Participants prepare topics assigned to them by Dr. Schimmel. Each year, the seminars are
Based around a single theme. Both participants and spectators come from a wide range of
age groups, educational backgrounds and tastes. Although not exclusively academic, they
are intellectually stimulating and require commitment from those who attend, but they are
presented in a straightforward manner and can be easily understood – in other words, no
cryptic shop talk. The Confederations International of Accordionists have awarded Dr. Schimmel
the Distinguished Merit Award for his work in the international accordion movement especially
by way of THE SEMINARS.