Gold Level , Donations of $1,000 +
Judy Contino, Dick and Judy Contino Accordion Scholars
Megumi Hada
Shirley Johnson
Edward Karisch
Laura Niland
Jim Rice
Pamela Tom
Amanda Balcom
Coreen Bergholm
Gail Campanella
Ron Griffin and Beverly Fess
Robert Herridge
Howard Howe
Donna Kaspar
Martina Li
Dr. Takashi Morita
William Salkin
Naomi Sanders
Greg Wyder
Ina Yakubeika
To Donate to the IAMP General Fund, Click Here. Your support and contributions to the IAMP General Fund helps us produce high quality and entertaining accordion workshops, concerts, and orchestras.
To Donate to the Youth Fellowship Fund, Click Here. Your support and contributions will enable us to help young accordionists participate in accordion workshops, concerts, and orchestra performances.
Please donate now! THANK YOU!
Accordion Music that Entertains, Educates, and Inspires Every Audience
Dick Contino was born on January 17, 1930 in Fresno, CA. He attended St. Alphonso's School and Church where he served as an altar boy. His time at Fresno High School was punctuated by his popularity and he subsequently attended Fresno State College.
Fame came to Dick in winning the National Grand Prize (1948) of the Horace Heidt Show which began his extensive musical career. His 48 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show were unprecedented. At the height of his career, 180,000 accordions were shipped from Italy to the US. After his service in Korea, Dick continued his professional music career at the Mocambo nightclub in West Hollywood, CA (1952), where celebrities filled the audience. In the 1950s, Dick met the beautiful Leigh Snowden, an actress for Universal Studios. They were married in 1956, and had a wonderful marriage and family. Their love endured until her death in 1982. Dick was again lucky in love when he married Judy Campbell later in life.
Dick continued his musical career throughout the USA. Dick enjoyed entertaining an audience, from showrooms in Las Vegas, NV, to many Italian events. He entertained on the “Dick Contino” stage for 35 years at Festa Italiana in Milwaukee, WI. He also was a popular and regular performer for the Cotati Accordion Festival in CA.
Sadly on April 19, 2017 the world lost one of the most famous accordionists of all times. In Dick’s memory, the donations made by Judy Contino to the Dick and Judy Contino Accordion Scholars supports talented youth and their accordion pursuits and is a part of the Youth Accordion Fellowship Fund under the direction of the non-profit Innovative Accordion Music Productions (IAMP).