American Accordionists' Association Board of Directors

2025-2027 AAA Executive Board

Don Gerundo - AAA President

Don Gerundo is an active accordionist and pianist performing in the New York metropolitan area. He is a versatile keyboardist who plays various styles ranging from popular American Standards from the American Songbook, Jazz and Rock N Roll.

Don starting playing the accordion at age 5 with Dr. Sal Febbraio. He also studied with Tony Mecca and later studied piano with Johnny Morris. He also studied jazz improvisation with Adolph Sandole one of the Sandole brothers famous for teaching many great jazz artists in New York City.

Don performed club dates as a teenager with many of the local leaders in the New York metropolitan area as well as working at resorts in the New York Catskill area. He has worked with Latin Salsa bands, Blues bands as well as jazz groups. This “On the job” training helped him hone his improvising skills as well as build his repertoire. He continued to perform during his college years attending Ithaca College where he joined the national music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha as the first accordionist to be offered an invitation in that chapter.

For the last several years Don has focused on the Free Bass Accordion and exploring its use in the Pop and Jazz Idioms by utilizing its flexibility in chord voicings, bass lines and general accompaniment.

Don is also an experienced user of Finale (music notation software) and has used it since 1992 almost from its inception. He uses it to create arrangements, generate materials for students, create transcriptions as well as composition. He has given workshops and demonstrations using this music software.

Joan Grauman Morse - AAA 1st Vice President

Joan Grauman Morse began playing piano at the age of 6. She received a BA in Piano Performance and Music Education from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1977. Joan began performing, teaching and choreographing international dances as a teenager. At the age of 23, she “borrowed” her father’s accordion to learn to play the (mainly Balkan) folk music she loved. At the age of 26 she also taught herself the Austrian diatonic accordion to play German and Austrian music for a local dance group.

“I never dreamed just how much of a role the accordion would end up playing in my life!”, Joan says with joy. She was the accordionist in the celebrated Balkan band BAMCO (1983-2001), as the solo musician for a Bavarian dance group (1979-1982), in a duo with award-winning wind musician Daniel Rozas (1990s), and she subbed in three Washington, DC area Klezmer bands.

In 1994, she created the mail-order accordion gift business “SqueezinArt” with her then husband Dan Grauman. The company featured Joan’s accordion art on clothing, and other gift items (1994-2019). In 2008, she illustrated a children’s book, “An Accordion! What is that?” written by Karen Malan Uribe with music and narration by Mary Tokarski.

In 2004 Joan founded and directed the Virginia-based Potomac Accordion Ensemble (2004-2018), and was the music director of the Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society (2003-2018). She founded and co-directed an accordion orchestra camp, the “Frank Marocco/Mesa Accordion Event (2007-2014)”.

Joan has performed, given workshops and played in festival accordion orchestras worldwide. She has been on the AAA Governing Board since 2006 and the AAA’s Historian since 2008.

Mike Silvia - AAA 2nd Vice President

Michael (Mike) Silvia is an e-commerce and digital experience design professional, who has served in various leadership positions for state government, the IRS, New Balance, and Mercer. He is currently a user experience design director in the insurance industry. Mike holds an M.S. in public affairs from the University of Massachusetts, and a B.A. in history and political science from Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. He studied the accordion under Anthony Imbriglio, Sr. for about 9 years.

Mike has the fondest memories of the AAA festivals that he attended—from 1979, when it was held in Miami, through 1983, when it was held in Hershey, PA. Shortly after the 1983 AAA festival, Mike put his accordion away for well over 30 years. However, he remained close with several of his accordion friends, and in 2017, a few of them competed as adults in Princeton at the AAA festival. They’ve been attending every year since then.

Mike has been a member of the Accordion Teachers Association if Massachusetts (ATAM) since 2018. He currently serves as the organization’s president and chairs its virtual competition. Mike was also responsible for implementing the AAA’s virtual competition during the pandemic. In 2023, Mike was elected to serve on the AAA Board.

Rita Davidson Barnea - AAA Secretary

Rita Davidson Barnea is an honors graduate of the University of Connecticut, having received a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education, and has been a member of the AAA board for many years. For over 14 years, Rita has served as the national editor of accordionusa.com, covering accordion artists, concerts, and other events taking place in North America.

Rita presents workshops and concerts on “The Life and Music of Eugene Ettore,” The Use of the Accordion in the Teaching of Music in School,” and “How to Organize a Children’s Birthday Party” centered around the use of the accordion. Rita has adjudicated for many accordion competitions over the years, and performed in concerts, workshops, and at accordion festivals throughout the USA.

Rita retired from a 30-year career as a public school music teacher in West Orange, New Jersey, where she used her accordion every day in the classroom and as an accompanist for concerts and programs. Rita is the creator and curator of the Eugene Ettore Memorial Website, which contains photos, articles, and other valuable information about Eugene Ettore, prominent.

Ray Oreggia - AAA Treasurer

Ray Oreggia has been an American Accordionists’ Association governing board member for several years and has served as the organization’s Treasurer since 2017. He studied accordion under one of the AAA’s founding members, Joe Biviano.

Ray received a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Science from the New Institute of Technology. Over the years, he has performed at countless venues and with numerous ensembles and orchestras of varied instrumentation. Ray has been a strong supporter of the Long Island Accordion Association since its inception in 2010.

2023-2025 AAA Executive Board

Frank Busso Jr. - AAA President

Frank Busso Jr. has served on the AAA board of directors since 2007 and as the organization’s 2nd Vice President since 2021. He is the director of the Ernest Deffner Affiliates, whose brands include Titano, PANcordion, Pigini, Excelsior, Roland, and Hohner. Frank is the accordionist for The United States Air Force Band in Washington, DC and runs the Busso Music School in Alexandria, VA. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Boston University, later serving as an instructor and arranger with the Boston University Athletic Bands. Frank studied accordion with Frank Busso Sr at the Staten Island Music School in New York, eventually becoming an instructor there, where his students earned many regional and national titles in competition.

Frank Busso Sr. - AAA 1st Vice President

Frank Busso Sr. has served on the governing board of the American Accordionists’ Association for over 45 years. He has held the offices of President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, and Treasurer. Frank started studying and playing accordion at age 7. Since then, he has achieved great successes as a performer through the New York metropolitan area. As director for the Staten Island Music School in New York, Frank taught many award-winning students and conducted numerous classical & festival accordion orchestras. He was also the music teacher at two parochial schools for over 25 years. Currently a resident of northern Virginia and Palm Beach, Florida, Frank continues to perform and arrange orchestral works.

Sam Falcetti - AAA 2nd Vice President

Sam Falcetti graduated from the University of Hartford with a degree in Theory & Composition. In the 70s and 80s, he was an adjunct professor at Westfield State University and Holyoke Community College, where he had an accordion ensemble that twice performed at Carnegie Hall. As a conductor, Sam’s Springfield Accordion Orchestra was invited to perform at the World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan and also toured Italy performing concerts. As an entrepreneur, he founded Falcetti Music, a 60-year eight-store music chain in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. Today, Sam is involved in teaching over 30 digital accordion players at Falcetti Music and online. He is also a Roland Accordion dealer and conducts the 20-member New England Digital Accordion Orchestra, performing at major events in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Sam is a past president and charter member of the Accordion Teachers Association of Massachusetts, an honorary member of the Massachusetts Accordion Association, and a past officer and member of the AAA since the 70s. In 2019, he was awarded the first International Scholar Award at the “IDEAS Symposium” in Ohio.