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| Central Florida Accordion Club Featured Member for November, 2003 Genie Harris |
| At the age of 6 after only one year of study, Genie won first place in her division at the state Rocky Mountain 16th Annual Accordion festival. In her category, she was the youngest among 200 contestants from all over Colorado . . . |
| Genie Harris was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. Her grandparents raised her and early on took the opportunity to introduce Genie to the accordion. She was five years old when she began private lessons and playing in band, all led by her first teacher, Mary DelVecchio. She entered her first competition at 6 years of age at the Rocky Mountain Accordion Society competition, held in Denver. She placed first in her division. She was the youngest contestant that year. |
| Genie performed at the Accordionist & Teachers Guild International (ATG) convention here in Orlando, June 2002 |
| Genie entered the Little Miss Denver pageant at age 9 and won ‘Miss Entertainment’. By the time she was 13 she had earned 27 trophies from various contests and festivals. |
| 1966 |
| 1973 |
| Several years later her training continued with the Fred Miller Studio. She continued to perform at various functions, band practice every Tuesday night, etc. At age eight she also began to play violin and organ. She was often found performing at her church, nursing homes, and even played on TV once with “Bozo the Clown.” |
| As her interest in music grew, so did her desire to be a music teacher. So under the careful eye of her instructor, Fred Miller, she began teaching at age 13. During the rest of her teen years she continued to teach, compete in Band competitions, and to play her other instruments (piano, organ, violin, voice). Once she completed high school she continued her education at Rockmont Christian College with a psychology degree. Teaching was always her first love, though, and has remained her primary career for over 30 years. She currently carries a teaching load of about 25 students. |
| 1968 |
| Genie warmly acknowledges her gratefulness to her early and ongoing exposure to accordion music. “This is where I learned all my classics and so much theory. I was introduced to all kinds of ethnic music and jazz. I will always be grateful for the place accordion has played in my life.” Genie has been happily married to her husband, Steve, (who plays cello and sings) for over 22 years. They have over 30 years of church musician experience in various capacities and currently play their string instruments and sing as part of their church worship team. They reside in East Orlando near the University of Central Florida. |
