Want a symphony job? Go accordion

John Morris Russell wants to be the next music director of the Akron Symphony Orchestra so bad that he's pulling out all the stops. On the musical menu for his audition: An overture to Leonard Bernstein's Candide, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 -- and an accordion concerto.

"I'm sticking my neck out a little bit, using an accordion concerto, which is not usually an instrument for an orchestra concert," Russell told the Akron Beacon Journal.

Russell plans to have the squeezebox soloist, Joseph Macerollo, talk to the audience before the performance. I'm guessing the first words out of his mouth won't be, "What's the difference between an accordion and an onion?"