MACR HONOREES AND ACCORDIONS BOUGHT IN THEIR HONOR

   Anton J. “Tony” Rozance, 1914-1999, began his music career as an accomplished accordion player in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he opened the Rozance Accordion School. He played with many well-known leaders of the entertainment business and moved to San Antonio after WWII. He had organized an orchestra at Randolph Field in 1943. Rozance had a successful career as a member of the staff orchestras of KTSA radio and WOAI TV during the 1950s. He taught more than 400 students a week, with a staff of 15, at the Rozance School or Accordion in San Antonio. 

   As a pioneer of the “Golden Age of the Accordion”, he was a guest artist with the San Antonio Symphony and in addition he played with a trio at the St. Anthony Hotel Club for 10 years during the 1960s. 

   Among his many accomplishments he also organized and led the San Antonio HemisFair Band in 1968 which played daily at the fairgrounds. Rozance was a lifetime member of the Texas Accordion Association, and a lifetime member of the San Antonio Accordion Club. He served as the President of the Accordionists and Teachers Guild International, and president and board member of the San Antonio Musicians’ Society. Tony was inducted into the Hall of Fame Musician’s Society in 1976. 

   Tony Rozance was a talented musician, accordion performer, band leader, teacher, arranger and composer. He left a lasting legacy of great accordion music to his students whom he taught over his lifetime. 

   Lou Le Brun was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1930 to Paul and Almina Le Brun. At seven years old her uncle Emery bought her first accordion and lessons.  When 12 years old she joined a Los Angeles-based USO troop that traveled on weekends to military bases and hospitals in California and adjoining states. Starting in 9th grade she took monthly lessons from Anthony Galla-Rini for about three years. Under Galla-Rini she became interested in interpreting classical accordion music.  

     After graduating from high school, she became associated with Prosper Studios in Glendale, CA. She eventually transferred to the Ferraro Accordion Studios which was more lucrative and demanded more of her time.

    In the late 40s, the era of the Women's Clubs, Lou  began playing in beautiful homes where meetings convened. Often her clients paid $5 which was a lot of money. This is where she discovered her love of the sound of applause and performing. She even learned to tap dance while playing the accordion! 

   At 23 years young, she moved to Columbus, OH where she taught at a big studio and also played for "dignified" stag parties. A few years later she switched to a long and successful career as a computer programmer in California and eventually settled down in Springfield, MO.

   Lou retired by 2001 and resumed entertaining and delighting many audiences with her return as a professional accordionist. She directed the “Accordion Connection,” a local group of 5 accomplished accordionists, in Springfield, MO during 2003-2005. She joined numerous accordion clubs and attended accordion conventions and festivals. Lou is known for strolling/dancing/flirting while performing boogie-woogie tunes. In 2018 one of the highlights of her accordion career was being invited as a guest on a Springfield TV interview show called, “The Mystery Hour.” 

   You can find Lou Le Brun’s “The Mystery Hour” interview and YouTube performances that were posted by various fans. She was known sometimes as the “Charming Octogenarian Badass Accordion Player,” and now has the honor of being the “Nonagenarian Accordionist.” In 2020 she was honored as an inductee into the Accordion American Hall of Fame by the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and Performing Artists (FAMSPA). She was featured as a cover page guest artist on the April 2021 special edition of “Accordion Stars Illustrated” magazine.

     If you wish to hear Lou Le Brun perform, visit www.youtube.com/@louiselebrun2056 

    Lou Jacklich 1928 – 2024) was a professional accordionist for 80 years. He started accordion lessons at the age of 7 under the guidance of his father, Louis G. Jacklich and his uncle, Rudolph Jacklich, who both played the instrument. At the age of 11, Lou played solo accordion with the National Institute of Music and Arts annual junior musicians’ concert (comprised of 5,000 young violinists from the West Coast and Canada) at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.

    He obtained his union card at the age of 16 in order to tour with the Vaudeville Orpheum Circuit, and he taught for the Meni-Ketti studio. Lou studied music at San Francisco State College. He joined the U.S. Navy and served during the Korean War.

    In the 50's Lou founded the “Lou Jacklich School of Music” with 450+ students and 9 teachers. In 1959 Lou-Rich Publications was formed by Lou Jacklich and Richard Whitmire in San Lorenzo. By 1960 he was a pioneer on the electronic accordion and was in high demand with his virtuoso artistic arrangements.

    Lou received local and international acclaim. In 2014 the San Francisco Accordion Club presented him with the Club’s lifetime achievement award in recognition of his distinguished teaching and performance career. In 2016 he was named the Cotati Accordion Festival Honorary Director and he received the Art Van Damme Educator’s award at the Las Vegas Accordion Convention. In 2019 he was honored as an inductee into both the Accordion American Hall of Fame and the Accordion World Hall of Fame by the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and Performing Artists (FAMSPA).

    Lou Jacklich performed his own jazz arrangements to the delight of audiences. Visit his YouTube page to hear samples of his virtuoso performances:  www.youtube.com/@loujacklich1040 

    Lou Jacklich’s life story and samples of his electronic arrangements are at: https://www.musicforaccordion.com/eTracks/inform/jacklich/index.htm