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This is the story of Bart Beninco; the Accordion Teacher who once performed with Pavarotti, and who now tries to outperform Parkinson's Disease.
There was this one night in October of 2001, when over 12,000 people packed into Sacramento's ARCO Arena. On that night there were all of the "usuals" like spotlights, an expansive stage, even a 65-piece Orchestra with a Conductor, but there were two "unusuals" that should be remembered... A guy named Bart with an Accordion and a Tenor named Luciano Pavarotti. Bart Beninco, sat in the front row, center seat of the orchestra. "This has been a lifelong dream of mine," Bart will say. "I've always wanted to perform as part of a symphony orchestra. I never would have dreamed that I would also accompany Luciano Pavarotti! At first I was concerned how the other musicians were going to react to having an accordion in the orchestra. This is very uncommon." Bart's expression seemed to underplay the moment. "But I found out I didn't have to worry, because while I was comparing tunings with the oboe player, the bassoon player asked if I was the accordion player. When I said that I was, he was delighted and stated that he had an accordion at home and loved to play it. This gave me the courage to take the instrument out of it's case. At this point one of the cello players saw it and got a big smile on his face. He said, "In my country, everybody loves the accordion." Bart Beninco knew the secret as to why... He'd taught it for years. The orchestra had one day of four hours sessions to perfect the music prior to the concert on Friday night, and only one afternoon session was spent working with Luciano Pavarotti. "He [Pavarotti] is extremely serious about how everything is to be presented," Bart said. "It is important that all the musicians in the orchestra understand the mood and story of the music. He had a magnificent way of getting the musicians to understand what he wanted. For example, I had a solo that was the introduction to one of the pieces. He was standing about five feet directly in front of me, it appeared that he was almost in a trance, he closed his eyes and almost inaudibly sang the part. I played it back to him on my instrument while he conducted using his hands and facial expressions. When I finished, he raised his right thumb and said good, and turned to another musician for yet another part that was vital to the piece." Bart had performed at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York, and Orchestra Hall in Chicago. Even with all this experience under his belt, Bart impresses that it wasn't easy. "This was the most challenging and intense preparation I believe I have ever been through. Right now I'm really tired. But, it's a good kind of tired. You know you've really accomplished something when you're spent like this." Bart's efforts and passion paid off because the evening's performance was an amazing event. Pavarotti performed song after song with the effortless skill of a master musician. "It was an incredible sound." Said Bart, "The concert went very well and I could hear the accordion over the PA system in the arena. I was surrounded by incredible music and incredible musicians. It was an unforgettable night!" Perhaps Pavarotti himself best described what it means to bring the most from yourself when he said "The rivalry is with ourself. I try to be better than is possible. I fight against myself, not against the other." For Bart Beninco, the Parkinson's Boxer who once played his accordion with the great Luciano Pavarotti, his fight is not so much "against" himself, so much as it is a fight within himself, against his condition, but rest assured, Bart always shows up when the spotlight is on him.
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