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With a delicate touch, Mario Pedone, 53, seems to caress the accordion as he draws out harmonic sounds to make beautiful music. He can play just about anything, from a polka to classical music.

"It's not just an instrument that you play," Pedone said. "You have to give your soul. You have to melt with the music, give life to the music. You need to transmit everything you feel to the minds of the people that are listening."

In an effort to share his love of music with others, Pedone has traveled the world playing the accordion. He also teaches young people the technique for playing the accordion, and he founded the Fort Bend Accordion Club in October 2003 to promote accordion music to the general public.

The club will meet from 2-5 p.m. Oct. 9 at The Terrace at First Colony retirement community, 16900 Lexington Blvd in Sugar Land.

"The accordion is not a very popular instrument," he said. It was popular in the 1950s, but then the keyboard showed up. Now Pedone, who is originally from Italy but lives in Sugar Land, works tirelessly to revive an interest in accordion music.

"Every instrument is wonderful," Pedone said. "But I want people to know that the accordion is still alive."

Pedone's love of music began at an early age, 9, when he first heard his brother play the instrument.

"When I first saw the accordion, I thought, `I think I like this instrument,' " recalls Pedone. "I would watch my brother play, and then when he wasn't using it, I would hide and play for hours. I would try to play everything that my brother was playing, so I learned to play by ear."

Pedone remembers the 26 pound accordion as being so heavy that he had to pick it up and play it while it was resting on the sofa.

One afternoon, his father came in and caught him playing the instrument. Pedone thought he was going to get into trouble, but when his father saw how good he was, he signed him up for lessons with a professional teacher.

Pedone spent his youth taking lessons and practicing. He studied music theory and composition anything he could and practiced about five hours each day.

He^, received his music training in Valencia, Venezuela, where he grew up. He and his parents had immigrated to Venezuela from Italy after World War II when the country was virtually destroyed and few jobs were available.

In his early 20s, Pedone graduated as an accordion concert player and teacher, specializing in high-speed technique.

His professional life began with a band of six musicians that formed part of the Agrupacion Orquestal Los Latinos. They played for important singers that came to Venezuela. Pedone also founded an accordion school in Valencia, where he taught for 12 years.

In 1981, he came to the Houston area with his wife Marbella Pedone, now 53. They have four children and one grandchild.

His first job in the Houston area was at The Old Heidelberg in the Fountainview area where he has played off and on for years. He can be seen in Sugar Land Thursdays at Vittorio's Cucina Italiana, 15295 Southwest Freeway, from 6-9 p.m. He also is a regular concert performer, and has been all over Europe, Latin America and the United States.

Those who have had a chance to play with Pedone describe him as a fabulous musician. Peter Widmark, 55, from Dover, N.H., has known Pedone for nearly 20 years. "I've heard hundreds of accordion players, and he's certainly up with the best," Widmark said.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Milton Wright who also plays the accordion, said "Without any reservations, (Mario Pedone is) the best accordion player and musician I've ever been around. I've never heard anyone with his kind of talent.^"