Dan Gruetzmacher
Hall of Fame – 1979
Dan Gruetzmacher of Wausau, Wisconsin started playing the concertina at age 7. He headed the Dan Gruetzmacher Orchestra for more than 30 years, performing all over the world.
Dan started the Central Wisconsin Concertina Club in 1971; the group grew to include more than 20 members from throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The Central Wisconsin Concertina Club maintains a music library of more than 300 songs and plays a variety of musical styles.
Dan took lessons from barber Fred Schaefer in Merrill when he was 7 years old. He said, “I was 9 when I played my first wedding dance.”
He served two terms as president of the World Concertina Congress, taught the concertina to more than 230 students during his career. Three of his former students are fellow members of the Hall of Fame.