SEQUIM — A group of musicians was swaying to the bellows of its own tunes.
The accordion social drew on Sunday about 50 enthusiasts of seasoned players and those just learning the instrument.
The founder of the group, Jeannie Berg, said the instrument is a unique experience because it is like a “one-man band.”
Berg said she had played the instrument many years ago and picked it back up about a decade ago.
She has been taking lessons and practicing ever since.
She wanted a place to celebrate the instrument, so she and her husband, Steve, began the socials.
The next gathering will be March 22 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“When we lived in Kitsap County, we had these, and so when we moved here in 2007, we really wanted to start them up again,” she said.
She said that the crowd of about 50 people included some from Port Angeles and others from places as far as Tacoma.
The group asks for a $2 donation to help with the rental of the Sequim Senior Activity Center and meets about every other month, Berg said.
Elsy Laresser and Ilse Osier both are lifelong players of the accordion and retired to Sequim.
“I’ve been playing for 60 years and started when I was 9 years old,” Osier said.
“There was about 20 years there that I didn’t play for a little while, and then I picked it back up after I retired.
“I also have a piano at home that I play every day — I love a whole variety of music.”
Laresser said she traveled around Europe as a young woman playing the accordion.
Then she took a break before picking it back up to play in the Edelweiss Accordion Band, based in Sequim.
“To me it is all about showing that the accordion is more than polka and waltzes,” Laresser said.
Osier was excited to hear that her neighbor, Reid Henry, 14, wanted to try his hand at the instrument.
“It isn’t the most common for young people to play, but it is a wonderful instrument,” she said.
Although Osier said she wasn’t normally a teacher, she took on her one and only student, and Henry performed at the social.
“I heard a Cajun band playing, and it really is the very best accordion music,” Henry said.
Henry also plays the violin in the Port Townsend Community Band and said he is working hard to add the accordion to his repertoire.
“I plan on playing for a long time,” Henry said.
Osier and Laresser said they’ll continue to go to the socials to enjoy the beginning and practiced players.
“It is wonderful because it is like a one-man band,” Laresser said.
“You can take it pretty much anywhere, unlike a piano or other instruments, which require accompaniment, you can play it all on your own.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
