Subject: [Harp-L] SPAH Election - An Observation

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Great observation - and you're precisely one of the overseas  
visitor/members I was thinking of earlier. 
 
SPAH has become SO international friendly - to my observation even more  so 
over the last few years: Sacramento so encouraging to many Asian  attendees 
now that Suzuki has become such a part of the harmonica playing world  
they've helped expand horizons in conjunction with Tom Stryker and  his SPAH 
team who certainly rose to the occasion by encouraging many other  
international attendees as well. Koei Tanaka playing with a Tower of Power  trio comes 
to mind at Sacramento. Brilliant.
 
My first SPAH (2005) hosted Donald Black of Scotland (be still my heart!)  
and Tony Eyers from Australia. Winslow played onstage with them both as I  
recall. Of course Brendan Power has been in attendance tons of times.
 
 
I very much enjoy hearing so many accents from all over the Globe  as well 
as the US, since I still have my own Scots accent despite my many years  
here in NY. At my first SPAH Rodrigo Eberienos from Rio de Janiero played - and 
 blew us all away by just how good he was. I remember when Pablo Fagundes & 
 Ted Falcon (another youthful team from Brazil) had us excitedly applauding 
- I  still listen to their CD. Last year Susan Sauter of Germany was 
invited to show  just why she won first place at Trossingen.
 
 
THAT's the beauty of SPAH - it attracts harmonica players from everywhere - 
 so many more than the few I've mentioned here, and what makes it the  
fabulous and music-centric festival we all look forward to every August.
 
 
I only wish more of your countrymen would come over: jjmilteau, Michel  
Herblin and Paul Lassey are particular favourites of mine. 
 
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 4
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:22:12 +0100
From: Robert Koch  <rok68@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] SPAH Election - An Observation
To:  harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx

> Steve -
> Winslow wrote:
> I thk that  anyone who has been to the SPAH convention (really more of a 
festival) will  agree that you don't want to miss a great event in August, 
because of some of  the talk going on in March just as voting is about to 
start.
May I say that  you do not want to miss the convention, precisely 
because you will NOT hear  some of the talk being talked, here and now...
Hope to buy you a beer in  Austin.
Robert (who will be traveling for the third time from France to  
attend...)