Jim Rice
Accordion
Jim Rice, a retired Army officer, former public school teacher and guidance counselor, musician and entertainer, is the founder of the Williamsburg Accordion Revolution Club and the Virginia non-profit corporation, Accordion Renaissance, which promotes the accordion through performances, education, and training with a focus on youth. He has been actively involved in the greater Williamsburg community since 2003 playing annually at the Williamsburg Colonial Italian American Organization (CIAO) Festivals and weekly at Sal’s by Victor Italian Restaurant on Friday nights.
Jim has performed at many other local venues including the Blue Talon Restaurant, Aromas, Patriots Colony, Verena on the Reserve, the Harrison Opera House lobby, as well as weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, and other significant occasions. He is a member of Clan MacCool, an Irish/Celtic band that performs annually at Williamsburg’s First Night, Second Sunday in December, Cozzy’s Comedy Club (Newport News) for the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the Blackbeard Pirate Festival and International Children’s Festival in Hampton.
As a founding member of the patriotic band, "Stroke of Luck," Jim plays at retirement homes, the Murfreesboro NC Watermelon Festival, and Accordion Renaissance concerts in Williamsburg, Richmond and Virginia Beach. He recently co-founded Russian Samovar, a traditional folk music band, that performed at the Chrysler Museum of Art in support of the Norfolk Sister City Association, Accordion Renaissance concerts and recently with the William and Mary Russian Music Ensemble.
Jim supported members of the Fort Eustis Warrior Transition Unit in its last year, 2015 with instruments and music instruction. He is a member of the American Accordion Association, the National, Virginia and Peninsula Music Teachers Association, Williamsburg Music Club, and the Peninsula and Williamsburg Area Music Teachers Association where he has performed at scholarship benefit concerts. He has introduced the accordion instrument to students at both Waller Mill Elementary School and Providence Classical School.
In addition to teaching the accordion, Jim collects, rescues, restores, repairs, and, on occasion, sells accordions. His favorite Eastern European song is "Smuglianka."