John Onak
Hall of Fame – 2002
John F. Onak (1928-2010) of Crete, Illinois, started playing the concertina at the age of seven and played for over 50 years. He purchased concertina equipment and repair manuals and learned the mechanics and tuning concepts of the concertina.
John’s interest in music theory prompted him to study both the left and right-hand keyboards of the concertina. This resulted in numerous charts, pages of data and exercise routines, professional licks and tricks, etc. His mission was to maximize the musical potential of the concertina.
John was a pioneer in the application of MIDI to obtain electronic orchestral accompaniment, allowing the concertina to stay current with musical innovations.