Aldo J. DeRossi, 93, of Fairhaven died Tuesday November 30, 2010 at home. He was the husband of Ida M. (Pires) DeRossi; they had been married for 65 years.
Born in Springfield, the son of the late Emil and Julia (Laurenti) DeRossi, he moved to New Bedford at the age of three. He lived in New Bedford for most of his life before moving to Fairhaven.
Aldo took up playing the accordion in his teens and became an accomplished performer, composer, and teacher. In 1939, he opened DeRossi Accordion School in Downtown New Bedford. The school was expanded to include other instruments in the 1970s. Over the years, thousands of DeRossi Music School students performed and competed in state and national competitions, winning their first national title in 1949 in New York City. This was followed by over 200 national and state band and solo championships.
Over the years, Mr. DeRossi's students performed at a variety of venues which included Carnegie Hall, Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., the New York World's Fair, and the American Accordion Association National Championship held at the Springfield Civic Center where they achieved the only "perfect" score ever given to a band in any national accordion competition.
In addition to being a successful accordion teacher, Mr. DeRossi was also a noted composer. He composed over ten original compositions, many of which have been used as required competition pieces in states across the country. These include "Trickling Keys" which sold over a million copies and the "Whaling City Concerto" which he composed in 1992 in honor of the City of New Bedford.
In addition to playing, composing, and teaching, Mr. DeRossi was the founder of the Accordion Teachers Association of Massachusetts, an organization that is still very active today and which sponsors the annual New England Music Competiton and Festival. He received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the American Accordion Association, and had been honored by placement in the World of Accordions Hall of Fame in Superior, Wisconsin.
He is survived by his wife; two sons, Steven A. DeRossi and his wife Catherine, and Barry J. DeRossi and his wife Judy; five grandchildren, Dr. Scott S. DeRossi and his wife Dr. Katherine Ciarrocca, Attorney Gina L. DeRossi and her husband Attorney Darren I. Goldberg, Kim Walecka and her husband Dr. Kevin Walecka, Todd M. DeRossi, and Jennifer daCosta and her husband Jason daCosta; five great-grandchildren, Noah Goldberg, Sofia and Evie DeRossi, and Benjamin and Lucas daCosta; and a niece, Joan Axtell Anderson.
He was the brother of the late Teresa Axtell.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Thursday from 4-7 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. Funeral Services and burial in Riverside Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. George Greek Orthodox Church Building Fund, 186 Cross Rd., Dartmouth, MA 02747. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.