We have reported in recent news items, increasing numbers of accordionists performing on radio and television all over the world. It is great to see the accordion receiving positive exposure through the media. If you have an upcoming performance on radio or television please send us details for the Weekly News (news@accordions.com) and Future Events section of the Accordion Yellow Pages.

Wayne Knights Webmaster

• International Bayan Competition in Moscow - Russia
• Wedding Exhibition Concert - South Africa
• National Accordion Awareness Month - USA
• Two New CD's by Colombian Accordionist
• "Trek er es Uut" Accordion Weekend - Netherlands
• Accordionist to Perform at World Saxophone Congress - Canada
• CIA Coupe Jeunesse Competition - Slovakia
• "Viva-Accordion" - Japan
• New Fisorchestra Liberina on Tour in the USA
• Tampico Accordion Concert - Mexico
• Summer Party Concert - Germany
• Ruggieri Records as a Special Guest - Italy
• Two New Accordion Videos - USA
• Aberdeen Folk Club Concert - Scotland
• Patrick Brugaliere Performs with Vocalist - Switzerland
• Fifth Annual Squeeze Off - USA
• Orchestra and Choir Concert - New Zealand
• "Chanson Evening" - Japan
• 10th Anniversary Dinner Dance - USA
• Luis De Pablo for Accordion - Italy
• Saengerhalle Music Fest - USA
• Antique Accordion Information
• Accordion Information Required

Contributed by Dr Herbert Scheibenreif Manager of Friedrich Lips Productions

The III International Competition for bayan and accordion players aged between 17 and 32 years will be held in Moscow from December 9th to 18th. This competition which takes place every five years will include cash prizes totalling US$8,000 along with diploma awards. Radio and television will record the competition for later broadcasts and winners concerts will be held following the competition.

The closing date for applications is September 10th, 2000. For further details email: mincult.givc@g23.relcom.ru

Duo 2000 played at the Bridex Exhibition (the largest bridal & wedding exhibition in South Africa) from June 2nd to 4th at the MTN Sundome in Johannesburg. The duo (who were dressed in smart church clothes) occupied a stand, performing the "Wedding March", wedding songs, hymns and psalms to over 5,400 people as they walked by.

June is National Accordion Awareness Month (NAMM) in the USA and sponsor Tom Torriglia has had a number of calls from the media requesting interviews. On June 7th he was interviewed by the Green Bay Radio Station and the Vancouver radio Station. Local stations such as WMAQ in Chicago and Fox Atlanta will include future interviews. Newspapers such as The LA Times (Los Angeles) and The San Francisco Chronicle have also included accordion features.

Six piece polka band "Squeegees" with accordionists Tom Torriglia and Ruth Peckham, performed at the North Beach Festival on June 11th in support of NAMM. This weekend they will play at the Hi-Ball Lounge in San Francisco (June 17th) and at a free concert entitled "Day of the Accordion" at the Cannery, Fisherman's Wharf on the 18th. For further details email: bellows@ladyofspain.com

Colombian accordionist Lácides Romero has released two new CD's. "Contrastes" includes pieces by Piazzolla, Nazareht (Brazil), Cervantes (Cuba), Scott Joplin, Milhaud, and L. Romero (Colombia) with Venezuelan pianist Arnaldo García. The second CD "Acordeón en Concierto solista" (Accordion in solo Concert) includes works by Handel, Haydn, Grieg, Dvorak, Rimsky-Korsakov and Romero. For further information email: lacidesromero@yahoo.com

Contributed by Jock Shaw, photos courtesy of Gert-Jan Kamphorst

An accordion weekend "Trek er es Uut" was held in Nijmegen, Netherlands from June 1st to 4th. Seventeen workshops were held with tutors Carl Eric Lundgaard Jensen (Denmark), Roger Watson (England), Charlie Piggot (Ireland), Karel van der Leeuw (Netherlands), Pia Rask (Finland), Mark Sohngen from the cajun group, "Captain Gumbo" and others from France, Basque, Netherlands and Belgium.

Concerts were given by Bruno Duranti (whose fingers flew over the keys), Benoist Guerbigny and Christiaan Pacher (France) and workshop participants.

Accordionist Dee Langley, Matthew Sintchak and Angela Wyatt (members of the Ancia Saxophone Quartet) will perform as part of an ensemble premiering American composer Peter Blauvelt's "Shadows" for soprano and tenor saxophones, accordion and cello at the 12th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Quebec from July 6th to 9th. The Quartet will also perform "Elusive Dreams" (Carleton Macy) during the Congress.

Contributed by Raymond Bodell

The CIA Coupe Jeunesse competition and festival for young accordionists was held in Dunajska Streda from June 9th to 13th organised by Professor Tibor Racz from the Methodical Centre of Accordion - Bratislava under the auspices of the CIA. The competition aims to bring young accordionists (up to 15 years) together for a series of solo and orchestral masterclasses as well as the Coupe Jeunesse Competition. Competitors from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia took part in the event which was won by Konrad Salwinski (Poland).

Jury members included President - Professor Walter Maurer (CIA Secretary General), Vice President - Raymond Bodell (CIA Vice President), Professor B. Dowlasz (Poland), Professor M. Barackov (Yugoslavia), K. Agnecz (Hungary), Janka Halacova (Slovakia) and N. Koytchev (Bulgaria). Masterclass tutors included Professor Elsbeth Moser (Germany) and Professor Bogdan Dowlasz (Poland).

A series of concerts was also held featuring accordion duo Andrezej Ceglarck & Waldemar Zybala (Poland), Marijana Josipovic (flute) & Dragan Mirkovic (accordion) from Yugoslavia and the Wiener Akkordeon Ensemble (led by Professor Walter Maurer - Austria) who performed at the prize giving ceremony.

Next year's event will be held from June 1st to 5th in Slovakia

Contributed by Toru Katou

The annual "Viva-Accordion" concert was held in Matsubara, Osaka Prefecture recently. Over 190 accordionists joined together to play Irish traditional dance tunes (danced by Jack and Rose in the movie "Titanic") such as The Blarney Pilgrim, John Ryan's Polka, Kesh Jig and The Drowsey Maggie. Guest performers were Tex-Mex band "Conjunt-J" featuring diatonic accordionist Kenji Katsube.

This event, organized by the All-Kansai Accordion Association (AAA) is one of the largest accordion events in Western Japan.

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

The New Fisorchestra Liberina will embark on another tour of the USA from July 15th to 27th after their successful previous tour in September 1999. The orchestra (directed by Pasquale De Marco) will perform in New York, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

A concert entitled "Acordeon a traves del mundo" was held during the 2nd "El Fideicomiso Centro Historico de Tampico" festival in Tampico recently. Performers included the group "Norteño" and soloist Serguei Tibets, who played on piano and chromatic accordions as well as the bandoneon. Their program included Russian folk tunes, Piazzolla works and Mexican tunes.

Contributed by Christine Stiller

The Accordion-Orchestra 1960 Müllekoven e.V held their "Festkommers" summer party concert on June 2nd in the "Mehrzweckhalle" in Troisdorf-Müllekoven. Over 350 people attended the event, which included a performance by special guest and former world accordion champion Christa Behnke. The orchestra played "Fliegermarsch" and music by Jone Miles. Accordionists from visiting clubs also had the opportunity to show their skills. Guest representatives of Troisdorf-Müllekoven, politicians and culture representatives attended the event.

Accordionist Renzo Ruggieri was recently involved in a new project when he was asked to appear as a special guest on the new CD by percussionist Claudio Canzano. The album, entitled "L'amo" (WideSound - WD101) features performances by well-known musicians such as Maurizio Rolli (double bass), Diana Torto (vocalist), Nicola Del Grande (guitar), Gianluca Caporale (saxophone) and Paolo Di Sabatino (piano).

Contributed by Faithe Deffner, President of the American Accordionists' Association

Accordionist Jane Christison has released two new videos. The first "Playing the Accordion for Fun and Fame" includes details of how Jane overcame stage fright and now loves to perform with the accordion. Jane plays over 25 songs ideal for special occasions and shares information on how to prepare for performances, the importance of appearance, overcoming the "butterflies," and valuable tips on becoming a versatile, performance-ready accordionist.

The second video "Squeezing Money out of Your Accordion: How to be a Professional Moneymaking Musician" addresses questions such as: How do you get your first job? Should you join the Musicians Union? Do you need a booking agent? and more. Jane also shares ideas on marketing, publicity, getting referrals, advertising and some tax tips to maximize the profitability of your music business.

For further details email: FDeffner@aol.com

UK group Solan will play at the Aberdeen Folk Club on June 26th. The group which includes Frances Wilkins (concertina), Chris Henderson (acoustic and electric violin) and Richard Chaff (guitar and vocals) will play popular pieces such as Dead Horse, The New Rigged Ship/Full Rigged Ship, Handsome Molly and Tommy's Tarbukas as well as original songs. For further details email:
solan@cds-studio.shetland.co.uk

Accordionist Patrick Brugaliere performed with vocalist Juliette Gréco at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland on June 6th. Over 1,300 people enjoyed their program, which included "Accordéon" (Serge Gainsbourg), "Jolie Mome" (Léo Ferré) and "La Chansondes vieux Amants" (Jacques Brel).

The Fifth Annual Squeeze Off will be held at the West Fraternal Auditorium in West, Texas on June 17th. Sponsored by the West Accordion Association the event will include jamming and an accordion contest. For further information phone: +1 800 458-3518

Contributed by Christine Adams

The North Shore Musicale Orchestra (conducted by Gary Daverne) and the North Shore Accordion Orchestra (conducted by Lionel Reekie and Heather Masefield) travelled by double decker bus for a concert with the Whangamata singers on June 11th. The capacity audience gave the accordionists a standing ovation for their program which included "Sounds of the South" and a Glen Miller medley (arranged by Daverne) and solo performances by winners of the recent New Zealand Accordion Association Championships.

The double decker bus trip was also quite a memorable event with the bus driver getting lost twice on the way to the concert venue in Whangamata. On the trip home the bus broke down and the players were left stranded in the middle of nowhere for some time!

Contributed by Toru Katou

On June 7th, French accordionist Patrick Nugier and Tetsuya Kuwayama (Japan) performed at a "Chanson Evening" at Astel Plaza, Hiroshima organized by the Japan-France Association. Patrick played and sang (both in French and Japanese) a variety of pieces including "Sous Le Ciel de Paris", "My Way", "Love is Blue", "Vie Violence" and "Tango Pour Claude"(instrumental).

Patrick has been living in Japan for over ten years and plays the accordion on commercial television broadcasts.

Contributed by Valarie Morris

The Bay Area Accordion Club 10th Anniversary Dinner Dance will be held at "Patio Espanol" in San Francisco on June 22nd. Current President Lou Soper (club founder) will attend the event with other founders Dominic Palmisano, Jim Holliday, Walter Traverso and Rusty Bartoli. For further details phone: + 1 510 792 8765

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

A work by the well known Spanish composer Luis De Pablo was recently published by Suvini Zerboni Edition (Italy) entitled "Retratos y Transcripciones". The work, which has been arranged for the accordion (with the composer's permission) by Claudio Jacomucci, contains two movements "Allegramente" (an imitation of Brazilian cavaquinho playing) and "Tango". For further information email: hbhiac@tin.it

Ponty Bone and the Squeezetones will perform at the Saengerhalle Music Fest (near New Braunfels) on June 25th. Proceeds from the event will go United Way (a charitable conglomerate, where organizations like Cancer Society and Boy Scouts share the funding).

Other performers including popular local bands "The Sisters Morales", "The Texas Bel-Airs" and "The Groobees" will play to an expected audience of over 200. For further details email: pb@pontybone.com

Kevin Cizio would like details on a "Dolores" accordion made by the International Acc Mfg Co - Detroit. He would also like the name of a repairer in the Plymouth Minnesota area. Please email: chet.cizio@genmills.com

Neill would like information on the pictured accordion, which is believed to be over 100 years old and made in Germany. Please email: NellF@aol.com

Jo-Anne Salisbury would like some information and history on a Hohner Pirola III accordion. Please email: salisbury@zoolink.com

Cheryl Martin wants information on an accordion with the markings "Product of Nilux Made in Italy 870". It is white pearloid with gold trim. Please email: cheryldmartin@hotmail.com

Charlotte Walsh would like details on a Silvio Soprani accordion plus an instruction book if possible. Please email: CharlotteJWalsh@aol.com

Norbert Ebbers is looking for works of an accordionist from either UK or surrounding area that was reviewed on the NPR the week of 05/15/2000. This person played an old ethnic solo style and recorded a CD of Bock's works, titled "Persons name, plays Bock". If you can help please email: nebbers@execpc.com