Nicholas Ariondo (Born, 7 September 1955) is an American accordionist, composer, pianist. "Ariondo's skills as a composer and arranger contribute enormously to the effectiveness of his performances"

Keyboard Magazine ''Keyboard'' is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer-based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, in ...

/Titus Levi Throughout his career, the artistry of Nick Ariondo has created a large repertoire of original compositions & arrangements showcasing the accordion's dynamic range and artistic capabilities. His videos are a global presentation of diverse music styles and influences from traditional folk and ethnic to current modern classical forms. He is known for his work with various singers, such as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname *José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician *Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director * Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politician ...

. A double

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winner with the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...

Orchestra, he became the first American to be awarded Italy's Ancona Prize for his "Kalamatiano for Viola & Free-bass Accordion" (ACCO-Music Publishing), a contemporary composition utilizing Greek dance music as displayed in this video. Ariondo received over twenty awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

) for his compositions and arrangements.

Willard Palmer Willard A. "Bill" Palmer (1917 – April 30, 1996) was an American music scholar, educator and composer. As an instrumentalist, he was accomplished in the accordion and piano. Palmer invented a 'quint' system which was later patented by Titano as u ...

, historian, pianist, accordionist, composer, and editor for

Alfred Music Publishing Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. History In New York City ...

, nominated Ariondo for inclusion into the

International Who's Who in Music The ''International Who's Who in Music'' is a biographical dictionary and directory originally published by the International Biographical Centre located in Cambridge, England. It contains only biographies of persons living at the time of publicat ...

. Ariondo has appeared as featured artist in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

'', '' Accordion Arts'', '' Strings Magazine'' '' Journal of the American Viola Society'' and in several international accordion-related newsletters & periodicals. Upon review of Ariondo chamber work for viola and accordion, Strings Magazine wrote "the combination was fresh to the ears: Ariondo, a virtuoso accordion player, gave a dazzling performance, exchanging bravura variations with the violist. They should go on the road with this one!"

Background

Nick Ariondo was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and started private accordion lessons at age 7 under the tutelage of TV personality Mario DiNardo. Whilst still new students, Nick and his older brother, Anthony, began playing for church functions, fashion shows and family events in the late 1950s before traveling to the west coast. Nick's ethnic background is

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

: parents Nick Ariondo, Sr. and Grace (Nese) Ariondo. His grandparents came to the U.S from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy.

Education

Nick Ariondo's early talents were soon discovered when the family moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the early 1960s, studying accordion with multi-instrumentalist Ford Bosman, with foremost classical accordionist Anthony Galla-Rini, with noted jazz accordionist Tommy Gumina, jazz saxophonist/flutist

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in ...

and with classical pianist/lecturer/teacher Dr. Milton Stern. At age 16, Galla-Rini entered Ariondo into the Western States Accordion Festival, winning the Virtuoso Category performing Liszt's “Rhapsody Espanol” while acquiring a Certificate of Merit for Artistic Services from the Los Angeles City Bureau of Music. In his early twenties, he attended

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

, was elected to the Alfa Chapter of Epsilon Alpha Gamma and upon graduation, was presented the Hugo Davise Composition Award for his “String Quartet No.1”. Ariondo continued studying arranging, orchestration & composition at

California State University at Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

where in 1987, he received the Distinguished Music Alumnus Award from the CSULA Friends of Music. During his studies at CSULA, he was accepted into the piano and string master classes of concert pianist Dr. Milton Stern and string pedagogue Noumi Fischer where Ariondo transcribed, adapted and arranged music for accordion with piano, violin, viola, cello and string bass. In 1976 he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music and four years later a Master of Arts Degree in composition and performance with special emphasis toward the utilization and integration of the accordion in chamber music settings. His masters thesis recital "Interaction and Integration of the Accordion in Chamber Music" encompassed a variety of music styles and genres from the baroque and classical to ragtime, gypsy, improvisational to the avant-garde mixed with accordion, strings, woodwinds and voices. Ariondo continued performing, composing and arranging while developing a vast repertoire for the years ahead. His work in the opera field with director/vocal coach

Wendel Phillips Wendel may refer to: People * Wendel (name), including a list of people with the name * Wendel (footballer, born 1981), full name Wendel Santana Pereira Santos, Brazilian football defensive midfielder and wingback * Wendel (footballer, born 1982), ...

led Ariondo into performing and arranging operatic arias and duets directly from the piano scores, accompanying a variety of singers in concert with accordion and small ensembles, a valuable learning experience into the world of operatic literature and understanding the vocal concept of accompaniment.

Career

At the young age of 17, Ariondo was soloist and accompanist in the

Café Russe Cabaret Theatre A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...

production in Hollywood, CA., performing with international singers and dancers of varied backgrounds and cultures. In the early 1970s, Ariondo was hired as the solo musician at Kavkaz Russian-Armenian Restaurant in West Hollywood, California, where he accompanied international artists Vigen Derderian (famous Persian-Armenian singer), Assyrian composer/violinist Sooren (Suren) Alexander, Inna Miraeva (Russian Gypsy songstress), Lonia and Berta (Russian gypsies from Brazil), Rima Rudina and Hratch Yacoubian (violinists/entertainers). He worked with gypsy/classical violinist Shony Alex Braun as music director in concerts at the

Wilshire Ebell Theatre The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women-led and women-centered nonprofit housed in a historic campus in the Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, California, Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles, California. It includes numerous performance spaces, meeting rooms ...

, toured with violinist Rima Rudina as a duo act throughout the U.S. and was a three-time winner of the International Grand Prix Competitions sponsored by the Accordion Federation of North America. In later years, he concertized with esteemed Jascha Heifetz protege Ayke Agus, forming the Ariondo/Agus Duo. Throughout his career as accordionist and pianist, Ariondo developed a unique ability to reach out to diverse audiences of all ages and ethnic cultures, performing on keyboards in nightclubs and private functions. His astounding ‘live’ concerts and videos on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

are a testament to his devotion and everlasting commitment to innovative accordion artistry. Hailed American composer

Lukas Foss Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. Career Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...

personally wrote Ariondo in 1988 saying, “I am impressed by your music, by the way you write for accordion and by your playing: so precise, so powerful.” Critics have referred to Ariondo as..."the

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

of the accordion". The ''L.A. Times'' calls him the "Pre-eminent L.A. accordionist"...."the irrepressible avant-garde accordionist!”...."infinitely expressive, technically dazzling!"...."a force to be reckoned with!" Ariondo was featured onstage with Plácido Domingo in L.A. Opera's World Premiere “

IL Postino ''Il Postino: The Postman'' (, ; the title used for the original US release) is a 1994 comedy-drama film co-written by and starring Massimo Troisi and directed by English filmmaker Michael Radford. Based on the 1985 novel '' Ardiente pacienci ...

” by

Daniel Catán Daniel Catán Porteny (April 3, 1949 – April 9, 2011) was a Mexican composer, writer and professor known particularly for his operas and his contribution of the Spanish language to the international repertory. With a compositional style ...

televised on PBS ''Great Performances'' and distributed on DVD by Sony Entertainment. The Artistry of Nick Ariondo has appeared “live” on radio stations throughout the West Coast, on cable television and KCET's Classic Arts Showcase. In 1987, after a standing ovation and a riveting performance of Nikolai Chaikin's Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

’s

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

, eminent conductor

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

called Ariondo “a brilliant success!” That same year Ariondo received the Distinguished Music Alumnus Award by

CSULA California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

’s Friends of Music for “achievement and dedication to his musical craft.” Ariondo worked closely with Britain's acclaimed composer

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: ''The Tempest (opera), The T ...

in the Los Angeles premiere of “

Powder Her Face ''Powder Her Face'', Op. 14 (1995), is a chamber opera in two acts by the British composer Thomas Adès, with an English libretto by Philip Hensher. The opera is 100 minutes long. It was commissioned by the Almeida Opera, a part of London's ...

” and in 1990, received an Artists Fellowship Grant from the

California Arts Council The California Arts Council functions as a state agency headquartered in Sacramento, California. Its board comprises eight council members who receive appointments from both the Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and ...

awarded to “those artists who have demonstrated exemplary professional achievement in their fields.” Guest television appearances include ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'', ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...

'' with violinist

Nicola Benedetti Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is a Scottish classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She works wi ...

and his music arrangements of Russian folk songs were featured in the

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...

film “ Love Affair” (Warner Bros.). His accordion can be heard on several film scores, including the Oscar-winning ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

'', ''

Rio 2 ''Rio 2'' is a 2014 American animated musical comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. It is the sequel to the 2011 animated film and the second installment of the ''Rio'' franchise. The title refers to the ci ...

'', ''

Knight and Day ''Knight and Day'' is a 2010 American satirical action comedy film directed by James Mangold and starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The film was the second on-screen collaboration of Cruise and Diaz after '' Vanilla Sky'' (2001). The film fo ...

'', ''

Happy Feet Two ''Happy Feet Two'' is a 2011 animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced and co-written by George Miller. It is the sequel to the 2006 film ''Happy Feet''. Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Magda Szubanski and Anthony LaPagli ...

'', and ''

Bridesmaids Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western culture, Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a weddi ...

'' in a cameo appearance. Stellar return performances of The Nick Ariondo Trio has become a favorite among audiences at

Paolo Soleri Paolo Soleri (21 June 1919 – 9 April 2013) was an American architect and urban planner. He established the educational Cosanti Foundation and Arcosanti. Soleri was a lecturer in the College of Architecture at Arizona State University and a Nati ...

’s

Arcosanti Arcosanti is a projected experimental town with a molten bronze bell casting business in Yavapai County, central Arizona, United States, north of Phoenix, at an elevation of . Its arcology concept was proposed by the Italian-American arch ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

’s architectural wonder 65 miles north of Phoenix (Ariondo's 2015 solo concert featured his original compositions dedicated to Paolo Soleri and Arcosanti). In 2012 Ariondo was the featured artist to perform in

Long Beach Opera Long Beach Opera is a Southern California opera company serving the greater Los Angeles and Orange County metroplex. Founded in 1979, it is the oldest continually running opera company in the L.A. area. In June 2019 LBO presented the world premiere ...

’s production of

Ástor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

’s “

María de Buenos Aires ''María de Buenos Aires'' is a tango opera (''tango operita'') with music by Ástor PiazzollaSCP 2005. and libretto by Horacio Ferrer that premiered at the Sala Planeta in Buenos Aires on 8 May 1968. The first part of the surreal plot centers ...

” receiving rave reviews."Please Cry For Me, Argentina", San Francisco Classical Voice, Jan.29,2012 by Jim Farber; "Musical Notes:Long Beach Opera Delivers Power", Gazette Newspapers Long Beach, CA. posted 2-2-2012, Jim Ruggirello, Gazette Music Writer. Ariondo's concert repertoire highlights his arrangements and compositions of over 200 works ~ solos, duets, trios, small to large ensembles - vocal and with orchestra, including an accordion concerto co-composed with colleague Edward Hosharian (a memorial tribute video

Ariondo's publisher is ACCO-Music Publishing and Accordiondo Music.

Selected compositions

* Kalamatiano for viola & free-bass accordion * Duo for double bass & free-bass accordion * Fantasia for solo viola * Concerto in G Minor for accordion & orchestra (Hosharian/Ariondo) * Matsuri (Festival) for piano & accordion * Global Dance * Musette a la Russe * Valse Brillante * Tango Indo-Serene for violin, accordion & piano * Tarantella for soprano & accordion * Variations on a Jazz Theme for piano & accordion * Impromptu for violin, clarinet & accordion * Arabesque for accordion & strings * Lucenta Sera (Evening Lights) * Stella Notte (Starry Night)

Discography

As leader

* 2005 ''Trilucence''

As sideman or guest

* 2000 ''Peggy's Blue Skylight'',

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

* 2004 ''Variety Orchestra'', Brian Woodbury * 2005 ''Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook'',

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

* 2009 '' Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'' riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack John Powell * 2010 ''

'' riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack John Powell * 2011 ''

'' riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack John Powell * 2012 ''

'' riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack

Mychael Danna Mychael Danna (born September 20, 1958) is a Canadian composer of film and television scores. He won both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Original Score for '' Life of Pi''. He has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Compositio ...

* 2013 ''

Monsters University ''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American animated Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. A prequel to ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), it was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his fea ...

'' riginal Score

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

* 2013 ''

Planes Plane most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface * Plane (mathematics), generalizations of a geometrical plane Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane ...

'' riginal Score

Mark Mancina Mark Mancina (born 1957) is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', '' Training Day'', '' Brothe ...

* 2014 ''

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack John Powell * 2016 ''Nobody But Me'',

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

* 2019 ''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 ''Cosmopolitan (magazine) ...

riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack

References

External links

*
Official YouTube Channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariondo, Nick Living people 21st-century American accordionists 1955 births