Marlene Meissner (Keizer) has been playing accordion since she was 9 or so. In 1966, when she was 16, her hometown of Mt. Angel hosted their first Oktoberfest. Meissner, who is of German descent, played in her first Oktoberfest the next year and has played every year since.
Bio
Marlene Meissner has been playing accordion since she was a child. She started lessons in the 1960s, after her father sparked her interest. At the time, she didn’t know many other accordion players and felt alone in her musical world. Then, in 1966, her hometown of Mt. Angel hosted their first ever Oktoberfest to celebrate the town’s German heritage. Meissner played her first Oktoberfest the next year and has played every year since. It was through Oktoberfest that she met other accordion players. Over the years since that first Oktoberfest, Meissner has been in a number of musical groups including the Tyrolean Village Band and the Bavarian Echoes band. They played popular polka tunes like Liechtensteiner Polka but never restricted themselves to just one type of accordion music. She is involved in the local accordion community and a member of the Rose City Accordion Club, a group that hosts an accordion camp in Silver Falls each year. Marlene also plays weekly for mass at the Mt. Angel Catholic Church. Through Oktoberfest, Meissner fell in love with playing traditional dances—polkas, waltzes, and schottisches (partnered dances which are like slower polkas). Meissner has seen the culture of Mt. Angel change since the 1960s. While not everyone knows how to do the traditional dances anymore, those that come to Oktoberfest still love the lively music.
