Rio Navarro, 15, began his PCM journey in the Young Musicians program and, at age five, started studying cello with Niklas Bertani. Rio is an accomplished accordionist, having won the All Ireland Championship title. Additionally, he won first place in the Dan Stover Memorial Music Competition. He has also performed at the Pasadena Playhouse’s gala, Playhouse Party, and was named the Cotati Accordion Festival’s student scholarship winner. This year, he’s excited to join the PYSO Philharmonic’s cello section.

Rio talks about his experience as a multi-instrumentalist, provides insight into accordion technique and history, and thanks Rachael Denny for the strong music foundation he received in YM classes that helped him get to where he is today.

This interview was conducted on 7/22/24 and has been edited for length and clarity.

What are the differences between playing the accordion and the cello?
Their physical differences require me to engage in playing them differently. When playing the cello, I have to listen to make sure it’s in tune because it needs to be tuned before each play. While an accordion only needs to be tuned from time to time so I always feel confident just picking it up and playing away. This allows me to focus more on technique.

The accordion needs more coordination because both hands are playing different melodies at the same time, like piano. The accordion can sound like more than 1 musician, especially with the free bass system, when all the chords on the left hand are converted to single notes and is used a lot in classical and baroque music. Cello requires different coordination with a lot of technique on the bowing hand.

How does one instrument help you with the other?
I started learning cello at 5 years old with my teacher Mr. Niklas Bertani and did a lot of ear training without knowing how to read music. That gave me a great music foundation because I developed perfect pitch, sound, and memorization. So when I started learning the accordion at 10 at Dave’s accordion school, it came naturally and I picked it up quickly. On the other hand, the accordion makes the cello feel light (haha), and since I learn a variety of genres on the accordion (folk, jazz, Russian, French, Spanish, Flamenco, classical…), it makes me a more well-rounded musician when I play the cello.

What was it like playing at the Pasadena Playhouse’s gala, Playhouse Party?
It was an honor to play there! It was a great experience and good practice for future events. They all seem to enjoy it, and it was very fun! The Playhouse Party was also a great experience to play at an event where guests were all socializing and it felt like no one was listening, but they all enjoyed my music! It was fun to watch the audience’s faces because they’re not used to seeing the accordion be played. The accordion was very popular in the 1960s and still is in many other countries but in America, it’s misunderstood as a funny instrument.

What have been some other musical highlights?
I am excited to play cello in the PYSO Philharmonic this coming season! I have done SCSBOA two times, and got a superior grade at Regionals at my school orchestra. I am the current reigning 2024 All Ireland Champion, bringing back the first world title for this instrument to California. I am also getting hired professionally to play for events nationwide and will be competing at the Cotati Accordion Festival in North California this summer!

You first began at PCM in the Young Musicians program. Do you remember anything
from those classes? How do you think these classes prepared you for playing the cello and the accordion?
Ms. Rachael Denny always had fun activities for the Young Musicians classes. Her class is where I first learned rhythm, and some music theory, and the games and songs made me feel like music was fun. And it is so important to enjoy music. I will be forever grateful for Ms. Rachael Denny.

What are your goals for the future as a musician?
I want to participate and compete more at professional levels and would love to have more opportunities to perform. For accordion, I would like to win the annual Coupe Mondiale Accordion Championship for classical accordion, play more events, and hopefully bring back the accordion’s popularity in America. For cello, I hope to compete and play in a professional orchestra as well. I’m really looking forward to having a solo cello concerto and starting with the PYSO Philharmonic!

Anything else you would like to add?
I do hope the accordion will come back to be more popular in America. It is such an amazing instrument because you can play many different styles of music. It is great PCM has been offering some accordion courses.