Desi's Music Centers

2018 Article by Jon Stafford in the Prosser Pipes & Pedals

Last month I was delighted to be able to once again attend Desi’s Music Extravaganza in Palm Springs California. As expected, it was a wonderful time to visit with all my organ friends and to experience many fabulous concerts from a great slate of artists. I attended many great workshops as well, always coming away with new knowledge and, best of all, rekindled excitement to make the best music possible. Let’s face it,, sometimes we all can benefit from fresh inspiration, a new outlook, and a “kick in the rear” to take our music to the next level.

The time in Palm Springs did not disappoint, with many thanks to Desi, John, Cindy, and Shari for making the magic happen all over again. The good news is that the dates have been set for next year’s even, so if you have interest, please mark your calendars for September 30 - October 3, 2019.

This year’s slate of artists and “friends playing for friends” did a great job of hitting all genres and decades of music, whether it was classical, easy listening, show tunes, jazz, or rock, as well as many favorites from probably the last 100 years or so of music. New to the artists this year was a past employee/acquaintance of Desi’s and a long-ago student of Rosemary Bailey - Dr. Gayle Serdan. Gayle is currently a music educator and accomplished performer (Hammond B-3 style) from the southern California area. Also new this year but familiar to all from past events was Anthony Cozzolino, former owner of Maestro Music Center in Long Island, NY. Anthony recently relocated to Florida but is well-known for the many great educational videos on his You Tube channel (acozz333), covering countless topics of interest about playing and registering both Roland and Lowrey organs. Anthony is a gifted and engaging instructor as well as a great performer.