As the organization’s historian, I have been writing historical articles on events that led up to the creation of the AAA and were important for the AAA. This includes some of its influential members, as well as special events throughout the decades, and more.

AAA Historian, Joan Grauman.

Anthony Galla-Rini Arrangements: Looking for an excellent gift for your favorite accordionist?

Anthony Galla-Rini outstanding accordion arrangements for solo, duet, ensembles and more are now available!

Speaking of gifts, Anthony Galla-Rini was one of the greatest “gifts” the accordion world has ever experienced. Not only did he compose, teach, write teaching method and exercise books, create excellent arrangements of popular and classical music, help design the Stradella bass system, conduct accordion orchestras – he also lived more than a century, with a clear mind, and an endless desire to do more for his beloved instrument. In Galla-Rini’s documentary “Sharing the Joy”, created when he was 90 years old (you can view this through the ATG website or YouTube), he said, “I always had plenty of motivation and I still have that motivation today.” Along with motivation was an uncanny musical brilliance and a desire to (as the documentary is titled) be “Sharing the Joy”.

More about the great Galla-Rini momentarily. I want to let everyone know how this enormous musical treasure has become available through the “ATG Musical Archives” at eMusicForAccordion.com . The Governing Board of ATG (Accordionists and Teachers Guild International) is very fortunate to have two of Galla-Rini’s former star students on the Board: Joan Cochran Sommers and Esther Lanting. Both of these women remained close to Galla-Rini from the time they were in their early teens until his passing at the age of 102 in July, 2006. They also stayed in touch with Donald Balestrieri, who owned the rights to the “Galla-Rini Collection” that Balestrieri published for decades through his Ars Nova and Music Graphic Press businesses. Impressed with the ATG’s efforts, Balestrieri instructed his nephew Jon Maniscalco to donate the entire Galla-Rini collection to ATG before Balestrieri passed away in 2023.

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1. ATG Musical Archives 2. Anthony Galla-Rini 3. AAA Membership 5. Donald Balestrieri 9. Galla-Rini workshop materials 10. Galla-Rini music samples 11. Galla-Rini music samples 12. Anthony Galla-Rini 15. Anthony Galla-Rini 16. Advertisement of catalog.

ATG President Mary Ann Covone secured the rights to all of the intellectual property to Galla-Rini’s collection allowing Jon Maniscalco to pack and send fourteen LARGE boxes filled with music and manuscripts to the current ATG President, Kenn Baert. Kenn’s wife Susan went to work scanning and cataloging over ELEVEN HUNDRED pieces – some had orchestra parts, some were books – I can’t imagine how many separate pages Susan had to scan!! Susan and Kenn then worked with Harley Jones to make all of this available internationally through eMusicForAccordion.com. WHEW – there you have it!!

How exciting that this day has come!! In Joan Sommers words, “It is a remarkable collection of music for both smaller ensembles, larger orchestras, and many solos, duets, trios and other valuable musical material. The new site allows you to purchase with credit card and download the pdf file to your computer, so there’s immediate delivery and no cost of postage.”

Now, a little more about Anthony Galla-Rini – but not a lot, as so much has been written about this amazing man (I will direct you to a few more articles at the end of this one). The most remarkable and important thing to note: Anthony Galla-Rini’s entire formal education consisted of 6 months of public school in the first grade!! His father took him out of school to tour with their family Vaudeville group, consisting of his father, his two older sisters, and himself. By age seven, “Tony” was performing solos on a chromatic accordion. He switched to the then new piano accordion and at the age eleven was playing such solos as “Sameramide Overture” and “Light Cavalry” along with numerous popular and light classics with his family, always to tremendous applause! Tony mastered, in rapid succession, the cornet, piccolo, flute, saxophone, trombone, euphonium, clarinet, bassoon, oboe and French horn. Thankfully, for the accordion world, in 1932 Tony gave up all other instruments and focused totally on the piano accordion. In his words (in the documentary “Sharing the Joy”), “My favorite instrument NEEDED all of my attention. I found that I NEEDED the accordion.”

Esther Lanting described Tony, her teacher and lifelong friend, as “funny, gentle and softspoken”. He had a way of helping and correcting you without making you feel stupid or incompetent.” (That’s a great gift from a teacher!!). Esther was the last accordionist to visit with Tony. She brought a six inch stack of his arrangements with her to the nursing home and he chose “Malagueña”, “Come Back to Sorrento” “The Lord’s Prayer” and one of his signature arrangements “Rhapsody in Blue”. With his very weak hand, he conducted Esther as she played each piece. Anthony “Tony” Galla-Rini passed away nine days later on July 30, 2006.

Joan Cochran Sommers started studying with Tony when she was fourteen, and her beloved teacher also became her lifelong friend. Joan recalls “He was so good to me. He watched me grow up!” Tony and his first wife Dina would visit with Joan and her first husband Cecil Cochran. They were all close friends. “When I was a young bride and was making breakfast for all of us, Tony taught me the proper way to cook bacon!” Joan Sommers has so many wonderful memories of their friendship and also of performing and conducting his terrific arrangements through the decades. She speaks about his work (and remember – Anthony Galla-Rini was completely self-taught!!). “I don’t ever find mistakes in his works – not even a wrong octave!” At the end of this article you will find information on several excellent articles on Galla-Rini written by Joan Sommers.

Anthony Galla-Rini with Prof. Joan Cochran Sommers, UMKC
at the Folkstone, Great Britain 1984 Coupe Mondiale

There’s so much more to say, but I will end this with a list of “firsts” by Anthony Galla-Rini as listed in “History of the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International, Part Two 1990-2003” compiled by Stanley Darrow. Before I write this list, two more very important firsts need to be mentioned: Galla-Rini was one of the founders of the American Accordionists’ Association in 1938, and in 1939 he founded the Accordion Teachers Guild (Now the Accordionists and Teachers Guild International – ATG).

1. First to eliminate the perfect 5th interval from the dominant 7th chord button in the Stradella system by opening up the bass board of his instrument and filing off the pin causing that interval to respond. This occurred in 1924.
2. First to adopt the practice of playing two chord buttons simultaneously in the left hand and, consequently, explained in his Accordion Method Book, published in 1931.
3. First to write an article with a chart revealing the actual pitch of the five sets of reeds in the bass and chord buttons of the Stradella system. This article was included in the Accordion Magazine published in New York City, 1936.
4. First to write the chord inversions in FULL-CHORD NOTATION as actually sounding in the Stradella system chord buttons. This was adopted in his Accordion Concerto in G minor and published by Carl Fischer in 1941. Galla-Rini was also the first to perform an accordion concerto as soloist with two major symphony orchestras, namely Detroit (twice) and Denver.
5. First to give formal solo concerts in halls such as: Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles, 1945 and 46; Shrine Auditorium, Detroit, 1947; Civic Opera House, Chicago, 1947; Temple Sholom, Chicago, 1949; Town Hall, New York City, 1949.
6. First American accordionist to be presented in concerts in Europe, i.e. England, Scotland, Sweden, Norway and Italy, 1950. Adrian Dante, Impresario from London organized the tour.
7. First to conceive converting the chord buttons in the Stradella system into single tones in order to achieve a free-bass convertor system (known today in many parts of the world as the quint free bass), initially for Titano, 1953.
8. First to recommend the circle and dots as the logical register symbols for both keyboards. Presented at a joint meeting of the ATG and AAA committees and accepted as the standard in Chicago, 1955.
9. First to present an annual accordion camp, consisting of workshops and a concert, starting in Silver Falls, Oregon, 1990. It has already been presented ten times (*and many more years after 2003).
10. To date, it has been practically confirmed that, of all accordion concerti composed by anyone, his have been given the most number of performances with various soloists and orchestras – forty-four times: in Canada, England, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Spain and the USA. **There have been more performances recently in the US with soloist Stas Venglevski and with (two of the performances) Dr. William Morse conducting: the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, 2021 and the Racine Symphony Orchestra, 2022.
11. (Added by Esther Lanting) Galla-Rini was the first accordionist to teach and conduct accordion at Interlochen Center for the Arts, in Interlochen, MI, a world-renowned summer camp and educational institution for students in grades 3-12.

For more info on Anthony Galla-Rini:

• Accordion Memorials: “2006 Obituary by Kevin Friedrich”
• Article in March, 2025 AccordionUSA.News: “Historic Accordion Catalog of Galla-Rini Music Released Online” (article on Galla-Rini by Joan Sommers)
• The documentary “Sharing the Joy” Anthony Galla-Rini, YouTube

• Book “Anthony Galla-Rini” by Ove Hahn (see book cover picture below)
• Article “Anthony Galla-Rini: Legacies, Répétiteurs and Accordion Symphonies” in March 2012 AccordionUSA.News
• ATG Festival Journal 2015 (article on Galla-Rini by Joan Sommers)
• ATG Festival Journal 2016

AND: don’t forget to visit eMusicForAccordion.com to see the vast collection of Galla-Rini’s works!

A special THANK YOU goes to ATG Board member Susan Baert for her months and months of scanning and cataloguing so that the accordion world can have access to and enjoy Anthony Galla-Rini’s vast collection of music!!