NEWSLETTER
VITAK-ELSNIC MUSIC COMPANY
December 1, 2013
WELCOME TO THE VITAK-ELSNIC MUSIC COMPANY NEWSLETTER!
The Vitak-Elsnic (V-E) legacy goes back nearly 120 years to its
founding in 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the heyday of
European ethnic music, V-E music was played by bands from
the plains of the Dakotas to the steel mills of Pennsylvania to
the hill country of Texas. In fact, one of the most well-known
musical artists of the 1930s, Minnesotan “Whoopee John”
Wilfahrt (Whoopee John was the second artist signed by Decca;
Bing Crosby was the first), featured many V-E songs when his
band played. Many things have changed in the music industry
over the years, but the melodies, harmonies and countermelodies
of the “happy music” found in the V-E library are changeless.
V-E MOVES TO MUSIC PUBLISHERS OF AMERICA
In September of this year, Music Publishers of America, LLC
(MPA) acquired the assets of the Vitak-Elsnic Music Company.
The owners of MPA include Todd Harris, who had been the sole
owner of V-E since 2009. Joining Todd in the new venture are
Todd’s brother Steve Harris and cousin Cal Massmann. These
three men all share of love of the music and are committed to
building upon the platform most recently managed by Todd,
carrying on the tradition of all previous owners of the business
going back to Louis Vitak in 1895.
MPA was founded to publish, promote and preserve America’s
historical and cultural music. Over the next year, MPA intends to
continue to improve the customer buying experience on the
website, and to expand its distribution network beyond the
existing website store.
Persons interested in possible commission arrangements in
selling V-E music are invited to email Steve Harris at:
steve@musicpublishersofamerica.com.
NEW MUSIC IN THE VITAK-ELSNIC LIBRARY
The V-E library of “polka” music consists of over 1,000
publications. The vast majority of this music was last published
over 50 years ago. But there’s plenty of good new music and
arrangements out there, and we are seeking out and want to
publish some of the best. Over time, we plan to not only add
new inventory in the polka genre, but also to add other musical
genres to the business. If you have any music you may be
interested in getting published, send details to Steve Harris.
INTRODUCING ERNIE BROENIMAN
Looking for new music for your band?
The first new publication by V-E in over 50 years was this year’s
publication of Ernie’s Old Time Band Folio # 1. This folio
contains 15 new arrangements of classic V-E music, ranging
from standards such as Beer Barrel Polka to new arrangements
of little-known music in the V-E library, such as the Tea Party
Waltz. These old V-E tunes have been rearranged for today’s
modern concert band instrumentation, but can also be scaled
down to fit the instrumentation of smaller polka bands. And a
first for V-E: there is a full conductor’s score!
Ernie is active in the Wisconsin School Music Association as a
clinician and Adjudicator. He is also the conductor and artistic
director of the professional European show band, Dorf Kapelle.
BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE!
We’ve got the perfect Christmas gift for that musician in your
family. For every band or orchestra arrangement that you buy,
we’ll throw in one additional arrangement of a similar type to you
for absolutely no extra cost! For example, if you order 2 polkas
and 3 waltzes, we’ll add 2 more polkas and 3 waltzes (of our
choice) to your order. Our intention is to get bands to play some
little known gems from the V-E collection, which also supports
our objective of preserving our musical heritage.
This special offer does not include any music for instant
download or any band or orchestra folios and expires December
31, 2013.
MPA CONTACT INFORMATION
The MPA website is under development, so we are continuing to
use the V-E website. Visit us at www.vitak-elsnic.com/shop or
call 855-NUMUSIC (toll-free in the United States). Note that all
orders now can only be placed through the website. Payment
currently is accepted only through Paypal, although this is
another area for future development to improve the customer
experience.
Snail mail can be sent to: Music Publishers of America, PO Box
696, White Stone, Virginia 22578.
Email inquiries may be sent to
steve@musicpublishersofamerica.com
We welcome your suggestions and appreciate your commitment
with us to preserving this beautiful music. And we hope you’ll
support us by purchasing some of these classics from the V-E
music library.
If you do not wish to receive future newsletters or special
promotions, please send an email to
steve@musicpublishersofamerica.com and enter
“UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.
Steven Harris, President
Music Publishers of America, LLC
Download this Newsletter as a pdf – December 2013 Newsletter