The year 2000 is nearly over and Christmas is only a few weeks away. We are now receiving details of Christmas celebrations and concerts for the Yellow Pages Future Events and the Weekly News. If you are performing at a special Christmas celebration please tell us about it. Together, let's give people all over the world the opportunity to enjoy plenty of accordion music and goodwill between all.

Wayne Knights Webmaster

• Sergei Voitenko Tours Spain
• Yorkshire Concertina Club Christmas Meeting - England
• "Once Upon A Sleigh Ride" Documentary - USA
• Ensemble Perform Christmas Benefit Concerts- Italy
• Duo 2000 Concert in Pretoria - South Africa
• Harmonika Spielring Böblingen Concert - Germany
• "Winter Days of Harmonicas" Competition - Russia
• Uda County Concert - Japan
• "Italian Month" Concerts - Italy
• Mystical Tour - England
• Accordion and Saxophone Concerts - USA
• Days of Ukrainian Art - Germany
• Duo Atma Concert - Italy
• Beer Tasting and Carol Singing - USA
• Christmas Music in Nottinghamshire - England
• Folkvoice Concert - USA
• Christmas Entertainment - New Zealand
• Blues Festival - Germany
• Antique Accordion Information
• Accordion Information Required

Contributed by Olga Kopylova

Contributed by Jane Edwards

The Yorkshire Concertina Club will hold their last meeting of the year entitled "Share a Seasonal Tune" in West Yorkshire on December 17th. The 1999 "Share a Seasonal Tune" was so successful that they are repeating the idea this year. Players are asked to bring along a few seasonal tunes to share. For further details email: jedwards@wrenbeck.u-net.com

Contributed by Jane Berkovitz

A documentary entitled "Once Upon A Sleigh Ride" will be broadcast in late December on many PBS Public television stations in the United States. The program is about the life and music of American composer Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), who has written many works frequently performed by accordion orchestras. Featured pieces include Blue Tango, Fiddle-Faddle, Jazz Pizzicato, Sleigh Ride, Syncopated Clock, Trumpeter's Lullaby, and The Typewriter.

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

The Ensemble di Musiche Possibili will perform a benefit concert on December 20th at the Hospital Hall in Alessandria. The concert will raise funds for cancer research. In November the ensemble performed at the "Palazzo Robellini" in Acqui Terme (province of Alessandria), which was a benefit concert against the demolition of the Garibaldi Theatre.

The ensemble will perform works by Bach, Piazzolla, Verdi, The Beatles, Sting and Metallica. For further concert details email: ensemble@virgilio.it

Duo 2000 performed at the High School Gerrit Maritz in Pretoria on November 27th. Their program included popular pieces from their repertoire such as Aragonaise (from Le Cid Ballet by Massenet), Liebestraum (Liszt), Spring Song (Mendelssohn) and The Glow Worm Idyll (Lincke).

The Harmonika Spielring Böblingen (HSB) (conducted by Günther Stoll) will present an evening entitled "Showtime" which will include a great light show on December 9th at the newly renovated Congress Hall "Europa Room". This venue offers superb acoustics and one of Germany's most advanced lighting networks with many new effects. Their program will include "Starlight-Express", "Udo Jürgens Medley", "Bohemian Rhapsody" as well as "American Pie" and "Final Countdown". For details email: Guenther.Stoll@t-online.de

Contributed by Vladimir Kapkan

The "Winter Days of Harmonicas" festival and competition will be held from December 14th to 17th in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Region, Russia. The event will include the Junior International Competition of Accordion Ensembles and Accordion Orchestras. For further details email: kapkan@uraltelecom.ru

Contributed by Toru Katou

On December 3rd accordionist Norimichi Nagasaka will perform at Kagirohi Hall, Ouda Town, Uda County, Nara Prefecture. For concert details email: ngsk@interlink.or.jp

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

The Italian Institute of Culture in Messico (Italy) has organized "Italian month in Messico City" which will include Italian specialties and music. Castelfidardo, which is well known for the accordion, will feature concerts by Giuliano Cameli, classical accordionist Mirko Patarini and Valentino Lorenzetti on MIDI accordion. There is great enthusiasm for all three artists.

The Kathryn Tickell Ensemble will begin their "Mystical Tour" of England on December 2nd in Lichfield with Julian Sutton on melodeon. Further concerts will be held in Newtown, Nettlebed, East Grinstead, Brecon, Worcester, Blackheath, Southampton, Keswick, Alnwick, Wiltshire, Dartington, Derby with a final concert in Hexham on December 17th. For further details email Karen Tweed: karen@cutting-tweed.demon.co.uk

Accordionist Guy Klucevsek will perform two December concerts with Phillip Johnston (composer and saxophonist). This first is on December 7th at the BAM Cafe, Brooklyn Academy of Music and the second is on December 9th at The Buttonwood Tree, Middletown, Connecticut. The duo will play their own compositions such as "Diggin' Bones" (by Phillip) and "Tulips Are Better Than One" (by Guy). For further details email: Guysqueeze@aol.com

Accordionist Vladimir Zubitsky performed (with his trio) at the "Days of Ukrainian Art" festival held in the "Auswartiges Amt / Lichthof" concert hall in Berlin recently. The trio played "Omaggio ad Astor Piazzolla" for accordion, piano and orchestra with the "Kiev Camerata" orchestra conducted by Valerij Matiukhin as part of a symphony concert entitled "New music from Ukraine".

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

On November 30th Duo Atma (accordionist Patrizia Angeloni and flautist Maria Laura Deponte) performed at the Villa Pecori Giraldi, Borgo San Lorenzo organized by the Comune di Borgo San Lorenzo. Their program included works by Cisternino, Battiston, Corelli and Piazzolla.

On December 20th Patrizia will perform Piazzolla works with pianist Sabrina Paoli at Chiesa di Galceti, Prato organized by the Circoscrizione Prato nord. For further details email: ivanobattiston@tin.it

The J.T. Orchestra (German polka band) will perform at a Beer Tasting event on December 20th and at a Carol Singing concert on December 23rd, both at Otto's Brauhaus. The group, which includes Dino Jakovasic (accordion & keyboards), Clara Fabian accordion & keyboards), Fred Eyrich (trumpet), Maria Titz (drums) & Joe Locastro (drums) play German-American Music. For further details email: Info@JTOrchestra.com

Accordionist Heather Hawthorn will play Christmas music as part of a fund raising event in Victoria Park, Ilkeston, Nottinghamshire on December 3rd. Her program will includes pieces like White Christmas, Sleigh Ride and When a Child is Born. Heather will play solos and also accompany a female vocalist. Other performers include the local Salvation Army band.

For further details email: heatherhawthorn@totalise.co.uk

Folkvoice which includes Birgit Teuwen (accordion) and Phil Ages (concertina) will play December concerts at the Swedish Cultural Center and at the Bayview Hall for the Whidbey Island Folk dancers on the 15th. Their program will include mostly Scandinavian pieces. For details email: folkvoice@email.com

Contributed by Christine Adams

Three sisters, Kristina, Stephanie and Olivia Panzic (aged from 6 to 12 years old) will entertain at the Red Beach Village old folks home on the Hibiscus Coast beach resort (north of Auckland) on December 6th. The trio will perform a variety popular pieces and Christmas songs.

Contributed by Christiane Blum

A Blues Festival will be held in Erich-Gopfert Stadthalle, Unna, Germany on December 2nd entitled "Chicago Blues at its Best". Musicians include Magic Slim and Lil Ed Williams. For details email: c.blum@handwerker-promotion.de

Joan Mace would like information on a 120 bass piano accordion with a coat of arms emblem that says Royal Standard, such as its age and possible value. Email: jomace@webtv.net

Linda would like information on a "Ditta Tomati & Comp" accordion made in Italy in the early 1900's, made of wood with pearl inlay and all of the wood is done in parketry. Email: lstigall@povn.com

Jane Dugan has a 72 bass Weltmeister chromatic accordion and needs to learn to play the right-hand without using the thumb as she has arthritis. She believes the "four finger" right-hand technique is very common in Europe. Please contact Jane if you can help with information on instruction books preferably in English but possibly in French or German. Email: dugan@iaxs.net

Andy Bell would like information on a 10 bass Francesco Modello piano accordion made in Saxony. Email: Andy.BELL@EU.RHODIA.COM

David has a Marrazza Concert Grande accordion (imported from Italy and stamped by Marrazza) and would like to contact Marrazza Music who used to have a store in Montreal. David believes Marrazza Music used to import Excelsior and Accordiana accordions. Email: squeeky@pacificcoast.net