The accordion's name is Ed; the dog is Poodwich. Photo by Gary Samson

In June, he traveled to Romania to perform American folk music at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest and to do a two-week tour of the country. "The accordion has been the vehicle used to express folk heritage all around the world," Sredzienski says, "and I've been lucky to have people from all different heritages pass on music and culture to me. In Romania, I blended the folk music that I already do with New England rural traditions, especially fiddle music. The fiddle is a major instrument in old New England music, and it goes with the accordion like peanut butter and jelly."

At one stop in Romania, after discovering that the microphone in the gazebo was from a 1970s cassette recorder, Sredzienski performed in a broken water fountain in a town park. Hundreds of people crowded around to see "the Americans." At another city, he and fiddle player Bill Zecker were the second act, following a long round of speeches by U.S. and Romanian officials. "The people were somewhat offended by the speeches, so when we played, no one gave us the time of day," Sredzienski says. "I finally saw one man's leg tapping way out of beat, so I decided to sit next to him and play for him, eye to eye. Well, they absolutely lit up. The gig went from zero to 200 percent. We were supposed to play for half an hour, but we ended up playing for more than two. We met so many wonderful people, heard such great music. It was the richest and most enlightening experience of my life."

Sredzienski lives in Kittery Point, Maine, with his wife, Tracy Thaden, who, like her husband, is fascinated by unusual music. Perhaps that's because her paternal grandmother played the accordion and, as the first woman to win a cross-country airplane race (in 1936), knew something about having the courage to follow a passion.

Sredzienski has collected 30 accordions over the years, all stored in his in-laws' barn, but he performs with only three of them. He uses a small antique Hohner accordion that he got in Arkansas, which is especially good for playing fiddle tunes. A red Loverini Brothers accordion, named "Engelina" after a woman from Holland who used to play it, is good for strolling and playing cafe music. He uses a 38-pound Titano, named "Ed" after Sredzienski's brother, to play classical, jazz and rock.

That's right, rock. Ten years ago, Sredzienski was hired to be the strolling accordion player during a Polish wedding dinner. The dance band was The Beach Cowboys, a rockabilly and surf band from the Portsmouth, N.H, area. Sredzienski got up on stage and played a few songs with the band, and they've been playing together since under the name The Serfs. The Serfs' first CD, as yet untitled, will be released later this year and is a compilation of Sredzienski's original music, blending ethnic music with rockabilly and surf. There's even a tango.

"In the 1930s, the accordion was very hip. Everyone took lessons; there were magazines devoted to it, newsletters; it was really that generation's instrument," Sredzienski says. "Its popularity faded once the Beatles came. In the 1960s, anything that was old and traditional was square and corny, and you can't get more traditional than the accordion. For awhile, manufacturers tried to make it hip -- they came out with Tiger accordions, which were pink, but they didn't catch on. But the accordion is an amazingly versatile instrument, and I'm trying to explore that versatility."

Hot Music, Cool State

Sredzienski believes ethnic music is experiencing a revival, and he is trying to help it along. He is on the touring roster and the arts-in-education roster for the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, which means that he visits New Hampshire schools on a regular basis. During his residencies at these schools, he teaches kids about immigration, encouraging them to find out about their grandparents and their heritage, and shows them how they can learn about history through music.

In his travels, he has seen a lot of young kids learning the fiddle. "The revival of interest in bluegrass music has contributed to interest in the fiddle again, just as the popularity of Cajun music and Tex-Mex music has stimulated interest in the accordion," Sredzienski says. "Plus, New Hampshire has such a rich contradance history, and the fiddle is an important element in that. I hope that my visits to schools will encourage kids to learn a traditional instrument. And I want them to know that New Hampshire is a cool state to be an artist in, because it really supports its artists." ~

Anne Downey is a free-lance writer who lives in Eliot, Maine.