About The Mirko Pressler Band
The beginning of Mirko Pressler's life is reminiscent
of The Sound of Music. Mirko started to play accordion at age
two but his family had to sell his little accordion to get money to flee their
beloved country of Slovenia which had become part of Yugoslavia and came under
communist control. The family set out climbing over the Karavank Alps ending up
in Southern Austria then making their way from Austria to the United States,
eventually settling in Southern California.
Soon Mirko "Mike" had another accordion and he
continued his musical studies with some of the top accordion instructors in
America and the world. Mirko studied continental music under the instruction of
Leo Kostka, progressing to study Classical and Jazz idioms under world-renowned
instructors Tito Guidotti and Tommy Gumina. Mirko's first television
performance came in 1957 on a show called Rocket to the Stars, an
early version of today's talent shows.
In 1964 Mirko turned professional and started to tour
worldwide from Los Angeles to Sun Valley, Canada to the Grand Canyon and
beyond. Mirko has been a featured soloist and has led his own orchestra. He has
played restaurants, nightclubs, ski resorts and has been the featured performer
at many an Octoberfest, with a musical repertoire that includes American
Standards, Musicals, Light Rock and European Folk, making Mirko a favorite of
all age groups.
Mirko continues to give back to the music he loves by
tutoring, teaching and conducting studios as well as master classes.
