Arleigh Baker
You are invited to visit
my MP3 Site at:
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The accordion
has been one of Arleigh's favorite musical instruments since boyhood. When
he was eight, a neighbor gave him a very old, diatonic button accordion,
just made for polkas. A few years later, he borrowed a piano accordion
and figured out how to get a few polkas out of it, as well.
The trumpet was his main
instrument in the Claremont, MN High School Band. At the age of 15 he joined
the Owatonna Musician's Union Band as a trumpet and accordion player. About
the same time, he and his brother Greg organized a dance band known as
"The SixTeens". The youthful band played for local social events. Arleigh
also played for other area bands when asked to fill in as sideman. He played
mostly with "The GraydonBurow Orchestra" which
was also known as "Brother Burr and the Burros".
From 1964 until 1998, Arleigh
was an Electronics Engineer specializing in Radio and Radar design. He
worked at E.F. Johnson Co. until 1974. Then he brought his family to Orlando
and worked for Martin Marietta. For many years, music became only a background
in his life. However, in recent years, retirement allowed him to rekindle
this interest.
Recently, Arleigh restored
a few vintage accordions. In the process of doing so, some of his long
lost playing ability seemed to renew itself. While these new hobbies are
rewarding, Arleigh is primarily interested in music production, composition
and arrangement, specializing in MIDI. His main genre are Polka, Waltz,
Pop and Christian Music. |