Sunday March 8, 2009
Accordionist:
Nick Franco
“Nick has performed as a soloist and in five to fifteen piece orchestras at private homes and clubs and at public venues throughout New England, from Palm Beach to Miami Beach, Fla , in the Baltimore/ Washington, DC area and in Pennsylvania during his 45 year career as a professional accordionist.
His first encounter with tango was as a child, when he would watch his parents, who were avid tango dancers, practice at home or dance at various family and other social events. But, he really became enamored with the passion of the music during his graduate school days at the University of Miami in FLA. There, he lived in an apartment next to “portenos”, a couple from Buenos Aires, who played tango tapes whenever they were home. Eventually, he began playing tangos for them.
During the last four years, as a member of the Lehigh Valley Tango Society, he has taken advantage of every opportunity to play the music for dancers and to dance himself. An accordionist can dance while playing the instrument! The accordion makes a good follower, from the waste up, that is.
When not performing for tango audiences, Nick strolls table to table serenading diners from 6:30 to 9:30 every Friday night at the Vineyard, a Trattoria in the Lehigh Valley noted for its veal dishes and frequented by artists, opera singers and an occasional tango couple!”
nbfranco@verizon.net