Dan Witucki
Inducted 2024
Back in 1971, all that Winthrop, Minnesota native Dan Witucki wanted was a chance to see and hold a concertina. His concertina-playing idols at the time were Jerry Schuft, Peter & Paul Wendinger, and Elmer Scheid. His mother, knowing Dan’s love of the concertina, took him to visit concertina master craftsman Christy Hengel in New Ulm. Christy could sense Dan’s excitement and strong desire to play. Hengel graciously invited Dan to see and hold some of the precious concertinas in his young hands. He introduced Dan to teacher Ambrose Kodet from Mankato, who set him on a chair and put a Patek Concertina on his lap. Ambrose gave Dan some lessons and instruction, and he was sent home with that Concertina and some sheet music. Christy made Dan’s mother an offer they could not refuse: Christy said “Try it, and see if Dan can learn to play. If he can and wants to play more, Dan can buy it. If he doesn’t, return it, and you will be out nothing”. As fate would have it, this truly amazing opportunity was a match made in Heaven, leading Dan to a wonderful career.
While in High School, Band Director Jim Rath put together his first band: The Polka Punks. They won The Future Farmers of America (FFA) talent contest, and proudly represented The State of Minnesota in The National FFA Competition in Kansas City, Kansas. While in High School, Dan also joined Lester Schuft and The Country Dutchmen, with whom Witucki recorded five albums. The Country Dutchmen performed at just about every ballroom from Southern Minnesota to the Twin Citiy area, and at The Minnesota State Fair. While performing at Polka Days at the Gibbon Ballroom, Frankenmuth, Michigan’s Marv Herzog heard Witucki play, and offered him a job touring with Marv’s Bavarian Sound of Frankenmuth Orchestra. Dan recorded six albums with the orchestra during this time.
After a number of years of working in other bands, he decided it was time to start his own band. Dan Witucki and The Music Masters were born and eventually recorded six albums. In 1987, on the road while headed to Branson Missouri, The Music Masters band was involved in a terrible car accident. Dan fractured his third lumbar vertebra, ending the group. Fortunately, his story and career did not end there. Dan was not even fully recovered when The Walt Disney Company contacted him to come to work. This fulfilled a dream for him even though his father, Fred Witucki, always said “I didn’t know what kind of a Mickey Mouse Job you will ever get playing that concertina!”. Since 1990 Witucki still performs in The German Pavilion at Epcot Center at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Because of this, Dan Witucki is perhaps the most-viewed concertina player in America– and the most successful.
During his 50+ years performing with the concertina, Dan has been afforded the opportunity to see and perform in 17 countries and 38 states. He has recorded 28 albums with an untold number of fantastic musicians. Dan is forever grateful to the many people who helped make his career a success. They include, but are not limited to, Dan’s mother Lorraine- who took him to see Christy Hengel, Christy Hengel himself- for taking a chance on the young man and letting him try out his first concertina, Ambrose Kodet- for all the instructions and lessons, and Dan’s Grandmother Marie Kuehn- who bought him that first concertina!
