Accordions Worldwide has received a very interesting article from accordionist Renzo Ruggieri in Italian that will be online soon. The article is an explanation of the process involved in achieving a professional jazz performance, using Weil's "Mack the Knife" as an example. We are looking for someone to translate this item into English and will give away a copy of Renzo's latest CD "Improvvisazioni Guidate" to a volunteer. If you can help please email: harley@accordions.com

Wayne Knights Webmaster

• Sata-Häme Accordion Festival 2000 - Finland
• 1st European Festival of Accordion Orchestras - Czech Republic
• Queen of Jazz Accordion Passes Away
• Accordionist Performs at German Clarinet Association Concert - Germany
• Ensemble De Le Gala Concert - Japan
• Zubitsky Master Class - Andorra
• New Composition - Colombia
• California Traditional Music Society Festival - USA
• FIMU International Festival - France
• "Fin de Cursos" Concert - Mexico
• Boer Music Meeting - South Africa
• Stonehaven Folk Festival - Scotland
• Open Air Festival in Kampen - Holland
• 29th International Festival of the Accordion Society of Australia
• Accordionists from Belarus Perform in Germany
• Jim Payne Tours Ireland
• "Cafe Niebaum" Opens with Accordion Music - USA
• Ganian's Birthday Celebrations - Czech Republic
• Viktor Romanko Tours France
• "South America Express" Concert - Germany
• "Stars in Our Eyes" - New Zealand
• Antique Accordion Information
• Accordion Information Required

Contributed by Kimmo Mattila

The Sata-Häme Accordion Festival 2000 will be held from July 4th to 9th in Ikaalinen (near Tampere), organized by the Finnish Accordion Society, Finnish Accordion Institute and Ikaalinen Municipality. Over 30,000 are expected to attend, which will have the main theme wedding music and traditional Baltic accordion music.

Guest performers include The Concertina Quintet (Lithuania), Daugavpils Accordion Orchestra (Latvia), Dragan Vasiljevic (Yugoslavia), Mika Väyrynen (Finland), In Time Quintet (Finland), Trio Fratres (Finland), as well as 25 Finnish accordion groups and orchestras and a variety of soloists. Main festival concerts include "The Golden Accordion" and "The Silver Accordion" and there will be live television broadcasts on July 7th and 8th.

Mika Väyrynen will perform on July 5th including the world premiere of a new piece by Tuomas Kantelinen. Kantelinen is one of most famous Finnish composers of his generation, composing a lot of music for movies. His new opera about a well known Finnish long distance runner Paavo Nurmi, will be performed and premiered at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium this summer! For further information email: kimmo.mattila@sci.fi

Contributed by Petra Svarcova, CTA Prague

The 1st European Festival of Accordion Orchestras was held in Prague from June 22nd - 25th with forty orchestras from all over Europe. The festival was organized by the Association of Czech Accordionists and Club Tours Agentur under the patronage of the Capital Prague Municipal Authorities and Jaroslava Moserová, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., President of the UNESCO General Conference.

The international jury awarded first prize (in the main competition) to the Stanko Mihovilic Orchestra (Pula, Croatia). Other winners included the Light music category - Accordion Orchestra of the 3rd Municipal Music School Chisinau (Moldova) and Junior Orchestras category - Hersbrucker Harmonika-Orchester e. V. (Germany).

This festival was so successful it will become a regular bi-annual event. The 2nd European Festival of Accordion Orchestras will be held in Prague from March 22nd to 24th, 2002

Contributed by Jonas Aras

Alice Hall known as "The Queen of Jazz Accordion", passed away earlier this month after a battle with cancer. Alice is considered to be the very first accomplished woman jazz accordionist gaining recognition for her jazz style. She is a past-president of the FOTA (Friends of the Accordion) and her promotion of the accordion helped it gain in popularity and success. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her and worked with her. See Memorials for details of others who have recently passed away.

Contributed by Frank Nebl

The Duo Nebl & Nebl (clarinet and accordion) will perform at the annual Symposium of the German Clarinet Association from September 29th to October 2nd in Leipzig. Duo members Andreas (accordion) and his brother Frank (clarinet) were members of the jury and played at the "German Accordion Awards" in Baden-Baden on June 24th. For further details email: franknebl@foni.net

The "Ensemble De Le Gala", featuring accordionist Kaori Onoue, will perform at the Culture Center in Saeki Ward, Hiroshima City on July 1st. Admission is free. For further information email: onoue37@ymg.urban.ne.jp

Accordionist Vladimir Zubitsky will hold a masterclass at the "Harmonia" Accordion club and School of Music from July 3rd to 14th in Andorra (which is situated in the mountains between Spain and France). The masterclass is part of a large music festival with a variety of musical instruments and tutors. For further information phone: + 376 826-501

Colombian accordionist Lacides Romero recently composed six new variations on "The Carnival of Venice" with Colombian Folklore rhythms. The composition, which is available in musical score and CD is 12 minutes long. For further information email: lacidesromero@yahoo.com

The California Traditional Music Society held its 18th Annual Summer Solstice Folk Music, Dance and Storytelling Festival at Soka University, Calabasas, California from June 23rd to 25th. The festival attracted over 5,000 people, who enjoyed a weekend of workshops, jam sessions, master classes and performances. Workshops included "Accordion and Piano" (Marcia Harris), Beginner and Intermediate "Klezmer Accordion" (Isaac Sadigursky) and Beginner and Intermediate "Irish Button Accordion" (Martin Reilly).

Contributed by Michael Bleuel

The LAD Accordion Orchestra (Belarus), under the direction of Vladimir Artimowitsch took part in the "Festival International de Musique Universitaire" (FIMU) held from June 10th to 12th in Belfort, France. This is the third time the orchestra has performed at the annual festival, which included over 2,800 musicians playing classical, folk, jazz and new modern music.

The LAD orchestra performed two concerts, demonstrating their varied program which included works by Tschaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Kalman and Gershwin as well as "Bagatelle" (arranged by Vladimir Artimowitsch) and "Mecanico" (J. Ganzer) with percussion instruments such as rattles, boards and ratchets.

Contributed by Serguei Tibets

The "Fin de Cursos" concert was held during the Cultural Festival in Guadalupe on June 9th. This concert was a final performance that was held to signify the end of the educational term. Among the many performances, an accordion orchestra played polka music to accompany a dance group.

The next Boer Music meeting will be held by the Goudveld Branch in Welkom on August 5th. The meeting gives concertina players the opportunity to play traditional South African Boer Music in front of an audience and thus improve their technique. The Traditional Boer music club has nine branches that hold regular functions and dances. For further details phone Hennie Ferreira: + 27 57 217 3214

Accordionist Sandy Brechin will perform at the opening concert of the Stonehaven Folk Festival in the Stonehaven Town Hall, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland on July 14th. Over 350 people are expected to attend, which will finish with a ceilidh. Sandy will play "The Skye Stromash" (from the CD "Out of His Tree") and "The Drinks Set" (from "Out of His Box").

The following day, Sandy will perform in the town square at lunchtime. For further details email: sandy@squeeze.demon.co.uk

Contributed by Jean-Pierre Guiran

Accordeon Melancolique will perform at the 30th Open Air Festival in Kampen from July 27th to 29th. As the festival’s theme is “France” the duo will play a program of well known French pieces in two concerts on July 27th and 29th including “Rivalité” and “La Vie en Rose” as well as “Parade des poules dressées” and “Café vert” (both composed by Jean-Pierre Guiran). Over 35,000 people are expected to attend the festival each day.

Contributed by Elizabeth Jones

The 29th International Festival of the Accordion Society of Australia will be held at the Royal Coach Motor Inn, Adelaide, South Australia from July 3rd to 8th. The event will feature competitions, workshops, concerts and sight-seeing days. The main concert (on July 8th) will be held at the German Club in Adelaide will feature performances by Ross Maio, Elizabeth Jones, ACE, June and Gary Stratton, a combined orchestra, plus highlights from the week of competition. For further information email: n9921934@scholar.nepean.uws.edu.au

Contributed by Michael Bleuel

The Accordion Harmonists (Vladimir and Galina Artimowitsch) from Minsk, Belarus will perform a concert on July 1st at the Bautzener Kreismusikschule in Bautzen. Their varied program will include Concert for Organ in A Major (Bach) and Tarantella (V. Trojan).

The duo recently performed concerts in Dresden with tenor Viktor Kadela. For further information please email: bleuelm@serwis.com

Canadian accordionist Jim Payne will tour Ireland with Fergus O'Byrne (vocals and guitar) from June 20th to July 5th. Jim also plays guitar, mandolin, tin whistle and violin. The duo will perform a variety of Newfoundland folk culture pieces and songs and dance tunes that have been lost from the Old World repertoire of Ireland and England. Concerts will be held in Dublin, Louth, Down, Antrim, Wexford, Kerry and Newfoundland. For further details email: fobyrne@roadrunner.nf.net

Contributed by Jon Hammond

Film director Francis Ford Coppola recently opened an authentic Parisian style cafe/restaurant in North Beach, called "Cafe Niebaum". Accordion music is presented every Friday and Saturday evening. Last week French accordionist Odile Lavault entertained. For further details email: laterent@webtv.net

Contributed by Vahan Harutyunyan

On July 21st a birthday dinner and celebration for Michael Ganian will be held in a restaurant in Macocha (near Brno), where the presentation of Michael´s last CD took place. Entertainment will be provided by Michael´s fellow musicians who played with him: Rudolf Smahel (bass) and Vitezslav Vavrda (drums). The evening will feature Michael´s music, video clips and dedications to the artist´s memory. For further details email: Miracles@WebMusic.cz

Contributed by Jutta Menn

From May 31st to June 4th, Russian accordionist Professor Viktor Romanko gave several concerts in the Paris area. The climax of this tour was a concert in the protestant Christ Church in Paris, where many people were given the opportunity to experience this special event. In addition to classical works, Viktor played contemporary pieces such as a sonata by Russian composer Vladislav Zolotariev. The audience gave Viktor a standing ovation!

In September this year, Viktor's new CD "Improvisation" will be released. For further details email: JBMenn@gmx.de

Contributed by Marc-Oliver Brehm

Three Orchestras and the Quintet of the "Handharmonika-Spielring Stuttgart-Moehringen" will present a musical treat at the "South America Express" concert on July 1st. The program will include Argentinean tango, Bossa-Nova and swinging Samba tunes. In addition guest performers BEO (Samba Street Percussion Group) and Bossa Alegre will provide the audience with a real South American ambience. For further details email: hsm-online@gmx.net

Contributed by Christine Adams

2000 South Pacific 12 & under champion Kristina Panzic entertained at her school production "Stars in Our Eyes" this week. Multi talented Kristina played "Carnival of Venice" on the accordion, performed with the school orchestra on the oboe and sang the solo "Castle in the Cloud" (from Les Miserables) accompanied by the school choir.

Shelly would like some information on an Anglo German Concertina about 6 1/4 inches long with the letters "F.E. and hr" on it. Please email: moly@iaw.on.ca

Rick Frison has a one row diatonic accordion made by Hohner with "Gold Medal Award St Louis 1904" inscribed on it and 3 "stops" for different sounds. If you can help with information please email: rfrison@home.com

Robert Mohr would like some information on a 12 bass accordion shipped to his grandfather from the Franz Hochholzer Wien Co. XIV. Herklotzgasse 44 in December 1910. It has mother of pearl keys and beautiful wood inlay. Please email: 06062-2111rmohr02@snet.net

Chris would like some information and a possible value on a "Castello" "Soprani Inc." piano accordion, made in Italy with a mother of pearl finish and diamond designs on it. Please email: firedog186@erols.com

Oliver Moss would like to contact someone in the Southern California (USA) area, who can restore a Petromilli Special, Baby Grand Style Accordion. If you can help please email: morgannet@yahoo.com