Editors Note
This week we have updated the General Information section of Accordions Worldwide. This section provides information "About AWW", "AWW History", "Readers Comments", "Contact" information for all Accordions Worldwide staff and "Search AWW".

Wayne Knights Webmaster

Contributed by Dr Herbert Scheibenreif Manager of Friedrich Lips Productions

The international composition competition "Fairy-tale Sounds" will take place in Vittorio Veneto with the collaboration of Veneto regional council, Treviso provincial council, Sarmede city council, "Accademia Musica" Association and San Giuseppe Music School.

The competition is for compositions for children (1 to 5 performers) and is open to composers of any age and nationality. Compositions presented must be inspired by images, events, characters and settings from the fairy-tale Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, which is the principal theme of the 2002 International Exhibition of Children's Books Illustrations of Sarmede (province of Treviso).

Prize money of 6,000,000 Lit (3098 Euro) will be awarded. The three winning compositions will be published by "Edizioni Berben" of Ancona (Italy). Some of the pieces will also be chosen to be performed by students of the Music School of Vittorio Veneto during the 19th International Exhibition of Children's Books Illustrations of Sàrmede in March 2002. The closing date for entries is November 30th, 2001. Competition results will be published in January 2002.

For further details email: pubbistr_vv@hotmail.com

Accordionist Gary Blair (Scotland) began a tour of Iceland on July 8th to celebrate the Icelandic Accordion Clubs' 20th Anniversary. His first concert was at the Reykjavík Accordion Club on July 9th followed by concerts in Búðardalur, Sauðárkrókur, Akureyri and Þingeyjarsýsla. Gary's final concerts will be in Egilsstaðir (July 14th) and Neskaupstaður (15th).

The 17th Festival del mundo celta de Ortigueira (17th International World Celtic Festival Ortigueira) will be held in the Galician town of Ortigueira (Corunna-Spain) from July 13th to 15th. Performers include Sharon Shannon, "Tejedor" (includes accordionist Javier Tejedor), "Fía Na Roca" (includes accordionist Xosé Ramón Vázquez), "Roixiodo", La Bruja Gata (includes accordionistJavier Palancar), Na Lúa (includes accordionist Xabier Debesa) and "La Bottine Souriante" (includes accordionists Denis Frechette and Yves Lambert). For further details email: info@festivaldeortigueira.com

Contributed by Fred and Betty Hegler

Five polka bands will play at the 4th annual "Polka Reunion" held at the Colorado State Fair Grounds in Pueblo, Colorado from August 3rd to 5th. The bands will entertain from noon to 11pm each day. In addition daily jamming sessions will be held and musicians are invited to join in. The jamming director is accordionist Pete Dunda.

Entertainers include "Gary Seibert Polka Power" (with accordionist Gary Seibert), "The Polish Kid" (with accordionist Don Cialkosyewski), "The Top Notchmen" (with accordionist Lois Melgaard), "Rich Eurich Band" (with accordionist Rich Eurich) and "The Alpine Polka Dots" (with accordionist John Stehle). For further information email: bettyh@rmi.net

The 2001 Malton Folk Festival was held on July 7th at the War Memorial Hall, Old Malton in North Yorkshire. Three melodeon, concertina and accordion workshops were held by Moria Clarke entitled "Scottish and Border Repertoire", "French and Continental Repertoire" and "Ceilidh Repertoire".

Contributed by Johan Rycken

An International Music Course for classical instruments will be held at the Kasteel "De Berckt" in Baarlo from August 3rd to 10th. Ludo Mariën (Professor at the Conservatorium Antwerp) will tutor an accordion course which will cover solo performances and chamber music. For further details phone: +32 1481 7898

The "K" Trio will perform at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York on July 28th. Their program will include "Kosovo: Land of Broken Dreams" (by Dr William Schimmel) accompanied by modern dance impression artist Mikki Goodman. They will also perform the first (March), second (Romanza) and fifth (Rondo) movements of the "Serenade, Opus 10" by Ernst von Dohnanyi.

This event, entitled "2001: An Accordion Odyssey" is part of the Accordion Master Class and Concert Series, sponsored by the American Accordionists Association. For reservations and further information phone: +1 212-876-0827

The Duo 2000 regular house concerts held on the first weekend of every month in Robindale, Randburg, are so popular that they are now sold out for the next three months.

The duo also had a successful concert recently at the Maria van Riebeeck Women's Club, which meets regularly for the purpose of organizing fundraising events to assist their local community. For further concert details email: duo2000@global.co.za

Contributed by Li Cong

The 2nd International Accordion Masters Seminar will held from July 15th to 21st at the Tianjin Music Conservatory. Tutors include Professor Elsbeth Moser from the Hanover Music Conservatory, Germany (who is also the Honored Professor), Cao Xiao Qing, Professor Max Bonnay from the Paris Music Conservatory (France), Professor Sergio Scappini from the Pesaro G. Rossini Music Conservatory and Aidar Gainullin (Russia) who is the winner of international competitions in Moscow (Russia), Klingenthal (Germany) and Spanish accordion competitions. In addition, solo concerts will be given by Max Bonnay, Sergio Scappini and Aidar Gainullin.

The seminar is entitled "Button Accordion Beginning Level Teacher's Training Class" and aims to assist accordion teachers with methods of teaching this type of accordion. The event is sponsored by Bugari Accordions in Italy with support from the Tianjin Instrument Factory and the Tianjin Yinyuan Music Shop. For more information, please phone: + 86 22-24160033

Canadian celtic funk band "Mad Pudding" will perform at the Discovery Coast Music Festival held in Bella Coola British Colombia on July 27th and 28th. The band, which includes Amy Stephen (accordion, vocals & penny whistle) have released four CD's including "Grand Hotel", "Rattle on the Stovepipe", "Dirt and Stone" and "Bruce's Vegetable Garden". For further details email: madpud@istar.ca

8th Astor Piazzolla Award - Italy

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

Marko Brdnik

Numerous ensembles from as many as seven countries (Italy, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, Ukraine and France) competed in the 8th Astor Piazzolla Award, which took place in Castelfidardo from July 6th to 8th under the artistic direction of Paolo Picchio. The main square of the city was brought to life under a starry sky by the "Noche de tango y folclore Argentino" (Night of Argentinean tango and folklore), a show featuring seven musicians and six dancers. Performers included bandoneonist Gustavo Toker, a former student of Astor Piazzolla's, and accordionist Roberto Daris. The award was won by the Zero Hour Quintet (Germany), which also received a free web page hosted by Accordions Worldwide. Second equal were the Swiss duo Rossi & Erni and the Nuevo Tango Ensemble (Italy), while third place went to Espace Temps (France).

Lithuanian accordionist Raimondas Sviackevicius will perform a "Church Concert" at the Blessed J. Matulaitis Mission Chapel in Lemont, Illinois on July 29th. The concert is organized by the Lithuanian - American Community, Inc. and the Lithuanian Cultural Council. Concert donations will go towards the restoration of the Lord Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Raimondas' program will include classical, baroque as well as modern contemporary music such as works by J. S. Bach, Scarlatti, Couperen, Liszt, Ciurlionis, S. Gubaidulina, Ganzer and Valanciute. For further details email: sviaraim@takas.lt

Contributed by Elizabeth Jones

The Accordion Society of Australia will hold their 30th Annual International Festival on the Gold Coast from July 15th to 22nd. The week will be filled with competition classes, workshops, concerts and trade displays. Special guests include the Bavarian Youth Accordion Orchestra (conducted by Fritz Dobler) and the Saalfelden Accordion Orchestra (Austria) with Jacob Noordzij and Hubert Kellerer.

The week will conclude with a Gala Concert at the Robina Community Centre on the 21st. This concert will feature award winners from the festival competition, the Bavarian Youth Accordion Orchestra, the Saalfelden Accordion Orchestra, Notable Soundz (New Zealand), Ross Maio, Nerida Farmer & John Cave plus the Combined Orchestra. For further information email: fisaccord@hotmail.com

Contributed by Toru Katou

On July 21st TAM (Tokyo Accordion Mates) will perform a concert at the Tachikawa-shi Josei Sogo Center (Tachikawa Municipal Female General Center) in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The concert will feature accordionists Kyoko Ogawa and Shinya Mochizuki. For further details phone/fax: +81 42 527-9222

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kamp

An enthusiastic audience cheered the traditional end-of-year show recently held at the "Giordani" Technical Institute in Caserta, Italy. The event featured both teachers and students and was organised by the musical workshop which includes Professor Luigi Liccardi (coordinator), Professor Pasquale De Marco (artistic director), Professor Franco Tavano (saxophone), Giovanni Cardone (vocals), Mario Gallotta (guitar), and students Domenico De Marco (percussion), Alessandro Scialla (keyboards) and Giacomo Eremita (technical advisor).

The amplification system was provided by the New Fisorchestra Liberina accordion orchestra and was manned with great patience by Alfonso De Marco, former student of the chemistry class. Tenor Giuseppe Talamo, also a former student of the institute and a prize winner at the Scala Theatre in Milan, performed with the accompaniment of accordionist Pasquale De Marco.

Contributed by Li Cong

A charitable youth accordion concert entitled "Under the Same Blue Sky" was held on June 30th in Kunming, China. Concert proceeds went to help and support talented young artistic children in the poorer area in the far west of China. The event was organized by the Kunming Culture Association, Kunming Culture Department and Kunming Musicians Association with assistance from the Kunming Accordion Association and the Chenzhong Art School of Kunming.

The "Teenagers Accordion Musicale" from the Kunming Symphony Orchestra entertained the audience with pieces such as "Story of West City", "Dance of Clown" and "Bumble Bees". The orchestra (directed by Chen Zhong) consists of 42 players aged under 15 years old. Their performance was well received by the audience of over 1,000 people.

Accordionist Jon Hammond performed for five hours at a successful concert on July 1st at John Lee Hookers Boom Boom Room to over 600 people (many of whom had originally intended to watch the Fillmore Street Jazz Festival which took place outside the club).

Jon's program was dedicated to John Lee Hooker (who passed away recently) and he kept his songs in a Blues theme. Pieces included some of Jon's own Blues originals, such as "No Excess Baggage Blues", "Blues for John Lee" and "Cookin' at the Continental". Members of John Lee's house band joined Jon onstage including Oscar Meyers (pictured) on trumpet, Henry Oden (bass) and Billy Rayford (saxophone).

A new Article entitled "It seems like yesterday." written by Friedrich Lips is now online.

A new edition of the Accordion USA, United States National Accordion News is now online. If you would like to contribute an item for this news either send it via the online submit form or email Kevin Friedrich at: usanews@accordions.com