My name is Elena Fainshtein and I have over 30 years of experience performing and teaching music around the world. I am an accordion performer, conductor, and accordion teacher for both button and piano accordion. I also teach piano. If you are ready to begin lessons or are an established musician looking to hone your craft, you have found the right spot!
Here at Musical Expressions Accordion school, I have mentored and taught numerous up-and-coming young accordion players. Many have gone on to win serious Accordion accolades such as The Big Squeeze contest and have gone on to perform at the best Accordion conventions in the United States such as the Las Vegas Accordion convention, The Accordionist and Teachers Guild Annual Festival and The National Accordion Convention. Additionally, many students go on to independently perform at churches, weddings, Oktoberfest, various musical and theatrical productions, retirement centers, and much more! My students come to me with raw talent and the enthusiasm to learn, and I turn them into confident, polished, and proficient players who are ready to entertain the world.
Not only do students benefit from individual lessons, but we host two recitals each year where all students get the opportunity to perform their prepared pieces on stage and with a real audience.
Aside from teaching, I established the Fainshtein Accordion Ensemble in 2013 which has grown to become a regularly performing Accordion group that is comprised of current and formers students from all over the United States.
Please enjoy a video of our most recent performance at the Kawai Piano Gallery in January, 2024.
Finally, when I am not teaching my students I enjoy collaborating with other accordion players and performing duets! My first duet partner was my beloved husband Gregory. We first met at the Music College of Belarus in 1978 when we were both 15 years old and first year students studying button accordion. I won’t go into too many details, but fast forward to 1986 and we were married and traveling the world as a professional Accordion duo! We started playing in Belarus and then our performances took us to Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Israel, and finally…to the United States!
And you wont even believe this, we were then invited to do a TED talk where I shared the story of how the Accordion changed our lives.
Unfortunately, since 2021 I have not been able to play with Gregory due to an illness that has affected his ability to perform. However, he encouraged me to continue playing duets with others so now I am performing frequently with both students and other professionals.
Here are some links to some of my recent exciting duets with various musicians:
A few pages from the forthcoming volume 3 of our art-book/glossy magazine accordion STARS ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE NEW YORK, available in 2 weeks. Elena Fainshtein is honored in the magazine....read carefully her narrative on her philosophy in and about life...it is a piece of literature emerging from a heart made in heaven...this is as great lady.
Thank you Time Square Press, New York for the wonderful book “From The Shadow Of An Accordion To Eternity”. What an honor to be included in this book among such an Accordionists!
...Thank you Rita Barnea for organizing a concert for us in New Jersey! It was a great pleasure to play for you and your guests!
It was a surprising moment to meet in person with my Skype student James Bouchard who drove from Connecticut to our concert. We also were happy to make new friends there!...