Editors Note

We currently have over 100 listings in the Employment section of our Yellow Pages. This section includes Situations Vacant and Jobs Wanted. If you would like to hire an accordionist please check out this section. Alternatively if you require full or part time work please submit your details via the online submit form.

Wayne Knights Webmaster

Contributed by Christine Adams

The New Zealand Accordion Association International Championships & Festival held from May 30th to June 1st in Auckland was once again a great success. The event began with a Welcome Evening which included a performance by special guest Alexander Poeluev (Russia), winner of both the Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championship and the International Piano Accordion Competition held in Copenhagen (Denmark) in October 2002. Alexander played an extensive program which included works by Semionov, Vlasov, Piazzolla, Bach, Paganini, Grieg and Bouvelle.

The Welcome Evening also included the world premiere of "Gem of the Kaipara" by Gary Daverne performed by an accordion orchestra with soloist Kevin Friedrich. The work was originally commissioned by Kevin for accordion and String Orchestra, in honor of long time accordion and arts supporter and lifetime member of the New Zealand Accordion Association, the late Mrs. Jenny Maioha Cocurullo. A respected and loved citizen of Dargaville, Jenny always promoted the Kaipara as the 'Gem of the North', however, she in turn was considered 'The Gem of the Kaipara' thus the title of this new work.

The official "World Premiere" of this new work was performed in May 2002 by the Auckland Symphony Orchestra Strings with accordion soloist Kevin. However, the performance this past weekend was the first time the work has been performed with an accordion orchestra.

The competitions included a wide variety of solo, duo, trio, ensemble and orchestra classes. Competitors aged from 6 to 76 years took part in these classes, including some special categories where competitors dressed up in the style of their music. These classes were most enjoyable with a variety of music from tango (complete with red rose) to James Bond (007) to Elvis Presley entertaining the enthusiastic crowd!

Competition Results:

South Pacific Accordion Solo Competition: 1st - Hilary Thwaites
South Pacific Accordion Solo Competition, 15 years and under: 1st - Kristina Panzic
South Pacific Accordion Solo Competition, 12 years and under: 1st - Stephanie Panzic
Open Solo Championship: 1st - Roseanne Rosario
NZ Accordion Orchestra Championship: 1st - North Shore Accordion Orchestra (conducted by Lionel Reekie)

Special Awards:

Samantha Rutherford Memorial Trophy: Roseanne Rosario
Cecil Smith Trophy: Joanna Irving
Cocurullo Family Trophy: McWalter Family
Doreen & Ben Emmett Memorial Rosebowl: Mylie Thwaites
Ben Emmett Accordion Orchestra Commendation Trophy: North Shore Junior Orchestra

Contributed by Tsvetana Kojuharova

The 2003 Accordion Spring International Competition, held in Plovdiv from May 15th to 17th ended with a splash of champagne! At the final gala concert and ceremony, competition winner Zlatko Madevski (Macedonia) opened up a bottle of champagne on the stage.

The spectacular statuettes were presented to the competition winners by Bulgarian accordionist Keti Stoyanova (laureate of the 1980 Trophee Mondiale). The large audience experienced unforgettable moments during the two concerts that featured Polish trio "Ars Harmonica" and Bulgarian accordionist Maria Dimitrova. Their programs included premieres of new arrangements and transcriptions for the accordion. The competition ended with a "music feast" and the excited audience was reluctant to leave the hall at the completion of the gala concert.

Competition Winners:
Category V: Zoran Kiriakovski (Macedonia)
Category IV: Ventsislav Kolev (Bulgaria)
Category III: Sergei Melnik (Bulgaria)
Category II: Vidin Andonov (Bulgaria)
Category I: Tsvetomil Angelchovski (Bulgaria)

Statuettes for the Chamber Ensembles were awarded to:
Category VII: Quartet (conducted by Antoaneta Prodanova - Bulgaria)
Category VIII:
Duo - Zoran Kiriakovski & Fhilip Stamevski
Trio - Zoran Kiriakovski, Goran Stankoski & Kosto Todorovski

Diplomas for best teachers of the competition were given to:
Zorica Karakutovska (Macedonia)
Antoaneta Prodanova and Iliana Chervenakova (Bulgaria)

The Accordionists and Teachers Guild International will hold its annual competition and Festival from June 25 to 29th at the Chicago Sheraton NW in Chicago, Illinois.

Guests include former US Champion Jeff Lisenby and Jazz legend Frank Marocco. There will be numerous performance opportunities with guests being invited to be part of the ATG International Festival Orchestra under the direction of New Zealander Gary Daverne, conductor of the Concord Symphony Orchestra Janet Millard, Frank Marocco and ATG President Joan C. Sommers.

The work "Gem of the Kaipara", composed by Gary Daverne will be performed at the festival by the Concord Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daverne. This work was premiered in New Zealand by Kevin Friedrich with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra in Dargaville, New Zealand in 2002. Kevin then played it with the Musicale Accordion Orchestra for the first time at the annual South Pacific International Accordion Festival held in Auckland, New Zealand on May 30th.

Also appearing with the Concord Symphony Orchestra at this concert will be Lidia Kaminska (Poland) and Stas Venglevski. For further festival information email: SommersJ@umkc.edu

On May 30th, accordionist Ian Watson performed with the London Sinfonietta at the Bath International Festival. The concert entitled "Edgy Brits" was conducted by Martin Brabbins and showcased the amazing variety of concert music emerging from the UK in the 21st century. Ian played 'Quartet' for Accordion, Clarinet, Double Bass and Piano by Rebecca Saunders. The concert took place at the historic Assembly Rooms in Bath and was a sell out.

The Times said "...the London Sinfonietta were agile, full-bodied and in the groove". The Independant describes the orchestra as 'the pre-eminent champion of new and innovative music in the UK'. Works by other composers were also performed such as Fitkin, Barret, Hayes and Berio in the form of a tribute to the influential composer.

National Auditorium of Madrid Concert - Spain

On June 23rd, Angel Luis Castaño will perform at the prestigious National Auditorium of Madrid. His program will include two new Chamber music pieces by C. Camarero for solo accordion - "Luz Azul" and "Camara Lenta". For concert details email: ANGELLUI@teleline.es

Jazz accordionist Renzo Ruggieri maintained a busy schedule over the last few months, with performances with different groups in a variety of prestigious venues.

In February Ruggieri played in duo with guitarist Moreno D'Onofrio at the well-known Gilgamesh in Turin and then at the "Hopstore" jazz club in Ivrea. In April he gave a very successful concert with the Trio Namaste (which includes Genderian on vocals and Arbonelli on clarinet) in the San Francesco hall in Faenza, followed by a "Solo Accordion Project" concert (modern accordion performance based entirely on improvisation) at the "Plastico" in Teramo. Finally on May 9th Ruggieri played with Massimo Manzi (drums), Paolo Di Sabatino (piano) and Maurizio Rolli (double bass) at the "Kabala" jazz club in Pescara.

His future plans include the participation as a jazz accordion teacher in two important seminars held in Italy, from July 22nd to 26th (Arcevia Jazz) and from July 29th to August 2nd (Barisciano, province of l'Aquila).

Contributed by Rick Corrigan

The PickPocket Ensemble will tour the Netherlands from June 20th to 30th, beginning with a performance at the Pleintheater, Amsterdam. Further concerts will take place at De Onderbroek, Nijmegen (21st), Overkant, Wageningen (25th), ORKZ, Groningen (27th), Cafe Averechts, Utrecht (28th), an afternoon concert at Kadens Theater, Haarlem (29th) and a final midnight concert at Winston Kingdom, Amsterdam.

The group will play mostly pieces from their latest CD "If I Were A Highway", including "Granada," "Packed Her Things" and "The Gift of Water." They are also continually writing and unveiling new material and will do so in the Netherlands. For details email: rickcorrigan@earthlink.net

Argentinean bandoneonist Norberto Vogel will tour Europe with his tango quartet "Milongueros viejos" during June. During the tour, they will take part in the "Berlin Tango Festival" (Germany), perform concerts in Holland, Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Stockholm (Sweden).

Norberto will also give musical workshops covering "Tango arrangements, and ensembles" during the tour. For further information email: norbivogel@hotmail.com

New Series of Accordions - Italy

The Ranco Accordion Company (Italy) has introduced a new series of accordions in honor of the great pioneer of the accordion - Guido Deiro (with the consent of his family). A limited edition of only 99 accordions will be available. For further details see Ranco Accordions.

Contributed by Tania Lukic-Marx

The International Accordion Festival and Championships "The Days of the Accordion" took place recently in Smederevo (Serbia) with great success. Participants from Serbia, Monte Negro, Slovakia, Russia, Macedonia and Bulgaria attended the 5 day event. An impressive number of competitors: 350 soloists, 7 accordion orchestras and 7 accordion ensembles (650 competitors altogether), ensured a great variety of performances.

2001 Coupe Mondiale winner Branko Dzinovic performed as a guest artist in duo with cellist Alan Tomic. The Jury consisted of leading Serbian accordion teachers such as Radomir Tomic, Vojin Vasovic, Zoran Rakic, Jelena Grebovic and others.

During the festival, a selection competition was held where competitors were selected to represent Serbia at the upcoming Coupe Mondiale and Castelfidardo International Accordion competitions.

Texas Folklife Resources Show Begins - USA

The Texas Folklife Resources Show will be held on June 6th and 7th at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. The event will include two nights of dancing and accordion madness!

Performers include Cedryl Ballou and the Zydeco Trendsetters, Andrea Villela, Texavia, Max Baca and the Texmaniacs, Robert Casillas, The Vrazel's, Cerronato and the Gulf Coast Playboys.

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

Ivano Battiston has begun work towards a special project which is a tribute to Luciano Fancelli on the 50th anniversary of his death. He is currently preparing a program of works by Fancelli (1928 - 1953) such as Pupazzetti, Cartoni animati, Il presepe and others plus his own arrangements like Omaggio a Fancelli. From September this year Battiston plans to perform these works. For details email: ivanobattiston@tin.it

A CD by the Zydeco-Playboys entitled "Superficial Satisfaction?" was released recently in Germany. The group, which includes Oliver Kraus (accordion and vocals), Holger Blösch (guitar, washboard & vocals), Richard Schwarz (washboard, percussion, vocals & drums), Will Lindfors (drums, percussion & vocals) and Uwe Jesdinsky (bass & percussion) play a mix of zydeco, cajun, blues, Latin - R&B, and Rock 'n' Roll. For CD information email: info@zydeco.de

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

Pictured in the article on the NAO Festival in our May 23rd Weekly News was Gary Blair Junior (right), who won several awards during the festival, including the 11 & Under Solo, Scottish 12 & Under Solo, Polka 12 & Under Solo and the Musette 11 & Under Solo.

The article should have been mentioned that Gary Blair Junior is a student of world class accordion artist Djordje Gajic from Yugoslavia who now makes his home in the United Kingdom. We apologize for this omission.

The picture also showed one of Gary Blair's students Neal Galbraith (left) who won the Polka Senior solo and Scottish 16 years & Over solo.

The F. Gigante musical association of Palagianello (province of Taranto), the Palagianello City Council and the CDMI (Italian centre for musical teaching) have organized the 1st National Accordion Competition "Trofeo Città di Palagianello". The event will take place on September 6th and 7th in the local Municipal Hall.

The competition is open to all accordionists who were born or are currently residing in Italy, and to instruments of all types and brands. Winners will receive diplomas, trophies and money prizes. The jury will be presided by Francesco Palazzo, holder of the chair of accordion studies at the "N. Piccinni" Conservatory in Bari.

For further information please email: tannoya@libero.it

Andy Turner & Mat Green will perform English traditional song and dance music on anglo-concertina and violin at "Folk At The Royal Oak" in Lewes, East Sussex on June 12th.

Prior to this, Paul Hutchinson will conduct an accordion workshop at the above venue on June 7th. This is part of a series of Saturday daytime instrumental workshops in Lewes.

For details email: tinvic@globalnet.co.uk

A new work for accordion and orchestra by Murl Allen Sanders will be performed at the Meany Theater for the Performing Arts, University of Washington, in Seattle on June 6th. Performers include Murl Allen Sanders (accordion), Duo Patterson (violin and viola), Brian Box (baritone) and the Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers (conducted by George Shangrow).

Their program will include works by Brahms, Mozart and Vaughan Williams, followed by the world premier of the Accordion Concerto by Sanders. For details phone: +1 206 682 5208