The Houston Accordion Orchestra Concert

For the past 10 years, Stas Venglevski has been the Artistic Director of the Houston Accordion Orchestra. He is bringing his group to Holy Wisdom Monastery in June for a retreat. They have so kindly offered to host a free concert for us on Friday, June 20 at 6:30 pm in the Assembly Room. Expect music by Danny Elfman, Russian and Japanese folk songs, original music by orchestra members, The Flight of the Bumblebee, and more …

We hope you can come!

Leader – Stas Venglevski

Stas Venglevski is a bayanist, composer, conductor, arranger, entertainer and a teacher and his extensive repertoire includes his original compositions and a broad range of classical, contemporary and ethnic music. He has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe and the United States and most recently in South Africa. Numerous U.S. performances include performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen and Garrison Keillor on the Prairie Home Companion Show. He has performed with symphony orchestras in Europe and throughout the United States, including the Anchorage, Grand Florida and Detroit symphony orchestras in the opera production of Frida, and with the University of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in 2003 for the official World Premiere of the Concerto No. 2 in D minor. It marked the first time the piece had been performed in its entirety with a symphony orchestra. He has performed the concerto on multiple occasions since, with the Tacoma, Colorado Jefferson and Racine symphony orchestras, and with that of Nurenberg, Germany. For over 25 years he has been a regular participant in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Arts in Community Education program (ACE). He’s done television commercials and performed in theater and opera productions; produced 31 recording albums, including a transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite for Bayan, as well as original compositions. Additionally, he has published several books of original compositions. For the past 10 years he has been the Artistic Director of the Houston Accordion Orchestra Retreat and in 2021 he was named Artistic Director of A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) in Superior, Wisconsin. He is a past President of the Accordionists and Teachers Guild and currently serves on its board. Most recently, he has joined the faculty of the Music Department of the University of Wisconsin, Superior, WI. In 2023, he established the Stas Venglevski Music Foundation, SVMF. The aim is to revolutionize the world of accordion by inspiring young people to embrace the fine arts, empowering them to create music, honing their performance skills as soloists and with orchestras, and giving them opportunities to compose and debut new music. In addition to the core mission, the foundation is committed to expanding public knowledge of art and music and supporting impactful cultural initiatives worldwide. In February of 2025, Stas performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall.

Register

Please register by June 19, 2025.