Coupe Mondiale in Norway Attracts Participants from 30 Countries - Norway
Contributed by Harley Jones, CIA Public Relations Manager
Almost 90 contestants and 60 Delegates and International Jury Members will
travel to Asker (Oslo), Norway from October 18-22, 2006 to celebrate the
59th Coupe Mondiale of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes
(CIA). This outstanding International gathering is hosted by CIA Member
The Norske Trekkspilleres Landsforbund (NTL).
CIA President Kevin Friedrich reports that attendees will travel from
Russia, Finland, Italy, China, Spain, Croatia, Norway, Poland, France, USA,
Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Macedonia, Serbia, Belarus, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Germany, Australia,
Austria, United Kingdom, Estonia and Slovakia and throughout Norway.
Contestants will compete in 6 categories during the weeklong festival of
concerts, competitions, meetings and social activities.
If you have any questions concerning the competition or need special visas,
please contact the festival organizer:
From the 1st to 7th August, the International Accordion Seminar was held in Palanga, a most popular health-resort in Lithuania. This is the 12th time the international event has been held and its popularity and international participation is steadily increasing.
Important teachers from Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre including Eduardas Gabnys (accordion professor and rector of Academy), Ricardas Sviackevicius (professor, leader of accordion quintet ”Concertino“, head of accordion class in LMTA), Ass. Professor Zita Abromaviciute (she had a recent 60th birthday – “mother of all accordionists“) Raimondas Sviackevicius (picture left) (lector of LMTA, concert performer), Danielius Rozovas (assistant of LMTA) were tutors.
Additionally, there were: artist and teacher from Russia, Roman Bazhilin, Polish teacher Elwira Sliwkiewicz-Cisak, Vladimir Ushakov from Russia, who gave open lessons and public seminars.
Concerts included:
Quintets „Concertino“, „Modus“ both led by Prof. Ricardas Sviackevicius, „Excelsior“, Orchestras from music school and Conservatories, students of LMTA Marcin Wyrostek from Poland, Roman Bazhilin from Russia and Accordion Duo Povilas Velikis-Dmitrij Mihailovs.
Almost all regions of Lithuania presented their accordion schools with small pupils and older students as well as teachers ensembles. As usual, the Palanga seminar collected many accordionists from Lithuania and this year, there were guests from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Norway, Belarus, Ukraina etc.
Nice, that people start to understand the combination of mixing vacation time and professional work / education plus enthusiastic fun with the accordion.
One very interesting feature of Palanga is that lessons and seminars are free of charge, pupils, students and teachers are welcome to attend lessons, to play in a united orchestra, to listen to seminars or concerts for free. At Palanga, everything happens with large dose of enthusiasm and dedication for our wonderful instrument, the accordion.
The idea is to advertise the accordion in every field and all levels. The enthusiasm is the most important thing in every level. The amateurs should learn more from professional players, professors should always improve their methods and teaching techniques, students can practice during the summer and be ready for the new semester, the public, listeners can discover new music and possibilities, and see the accordion in new ways.
These features make the Palanaga Seminar significant and important for everyone, and it’s a concept, we expect to continue developing in the future.
Future plans are to invite more tutors from different accordion schools to present even more widely the different genres and methods of teaching, offering everyone an ever greater variety of classes and encourage more European professors, to introduce themselves to students who wish to study abroad in the future.
Accordion featured at the Detroit International Jazz Festival – USA
Accordion was in the air at the 27th Detroit International Jazz Festival held September 1st to 4th, 2006. A diverse musical menu included Sergio Mendes, Ahmad Jamal, Diane Schuur, Taj Mahal, Oscar Castro-Neves, Dr. John, and many more.
Three accordionists were also part of the festivities: CJ. Chenier & his Red Hot Louisiana Band rocked the house on Friday. Buckwheat Zydeco (left) kicked up a notch on Saturday getting the crowd dancing with cover tunes like “Hey Joe” and the Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden”. Accordionist Julien Labro (right) took the stage on Monday playing with “The Hot Club of Detroit”, an electrifying and visionary ensemble that takes the traditions pioneered by Django Reinhardt and spins them in a way that's both reverent and refreshingly contemporary. With a newly released CD on Mack Avenue Records, The Hot Club of Detroit got fans stomping and cheering each soloist and was the crowd pleaser of the festival.
On Monday 4th September Tania Lukic-Marx traveled from Sydney, Australia to lead a workshop in Auckland for advanced students and their teachers covering such subjects as: technique, learning methods, music styles, various aspects of bellows and tonal control.
The program aims to increase international competition participation by New Zealand students as part of the lead up to the Coupe Mondiale being held in New Zealand in 2009.
Three major accordion events, occurred at the big hall of Philharmonic Society in Rostov-on-Don during the last few months, influencing the music life of Russia. An article with photographs about these events is now online, contributed by Coupe Mondiale double winner Alexander Poeluev and translator Galina Shishkina.
Read the new Celebrity Interview now online, of Mario Balestra. This interview, in both English and Italian was made by Renzo Ruggieri.
Duo Buenos Aires in Villa Dutoit - Switzerland
Eric Franceries (guitar) and Jérémy Vannereau (bandonéon), experts of the tango music of Buenos Aires are performing on the 22nd September at Villa Dutoit, Geneva area, Switzerland.
In 2003, they first met to pay homage to the bandoneonist Albert HAMANN, and discovered their musical affinities, and especially a mutual interest for the Tango of Buenos Aires.
The DUET Buenos Aires, features much emotion, passion, and happiness to transmit to the public through this style of music to the crossroads of the creole tradition and the immigrant cultural influences. A formidable richness of style, giving to this musical style a very beautiful sense of nobility!
New CD titled “Surfeit of Keys” Sandy Meldrum is a young, talented musician who excels in piano and piano accordion. Quite unusual to hear trad music on the piano but if the lavish endorsements of his peers and his fine array of 14 guest musicians (which includes Stuart Cassells, & Fergie Macdonald) is anything to go by, this new CD should be a winner.
Another new CD release is “A Toe Tapper” Hebridean Ceilidh Vol 2 - Ian Tonkan MacDonald: This is a CD of thirteen tracks of jaunty dance music from Ian and guests. Ian plays accordion and on this CD and has guest musicians, Violet Morrison - keyboards; Alister MacPherson - drums; Andrew MacDonald - pipes .
A concert featuring accordionists to benefit the family of well known accordionist Sammy Thomas will be held at 8pm, September 30th at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Spokane, WA. The concert is sponsored by the Spokane Accordion Ensemble.
The father of Sammy Thomas, Stephen Thomas, died last week while recovering from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. Sammy Thomas, a 17-year-old Spokane resident, is a member of the Spokane Accordion Ensemble and was the recent winner of the AAA National Accordion Competition in Buffalo, New York.
Sammy is scheduled to represent the USA in the Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships in October and will be performing at this benefit concert, all the solos he will play in Norway. Members of the Spokane Accordion Ensemble will also perform. Donations will be accepted.
Orchestras and solists will be performing and the Allan William Jones Memorial Scholarships will be presented that evening too. The scholarships are used to subsidise tuition fees of outstanding students at all levels. Since the inception of the scholarships in 1981, grants for tuition fees now total over US$16,000.
Live Accordion Music Every Sunday - UK
You can listen to jazz accordionist Shane Brogan live every Sunday afternoon from 2 pm to 5 pm at Chai Tea House, 3a Merchant Street, Edinburgh EH1 2QD.
Festival of Accordion in Memory of Leo Ceroni - Italy
Sponsored by the L’Amministrazione Comunale di Castel Bolognese (Ravenna) and the l’associazione di cuori, the Festival of Accordion in memory of Leo Ceroni will take place on 5 to 6 January 2007. The competition is open to all accordionists aged 12 to 45 years. The competition consists of two major categories being Folk music and Classical Music. The prizes will include two sculptures by the famous artist Cesar Ronchi valued at Euro 1,000 each plus a scholarship of Euro 500 value as well as other prizes.
For further information email artistic director Loris Ceroni: info@lorisceroni.com
James P. O'Brien, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, The University of Arizona announces he has just completed over 30 Christmas accordion duets which will be released over the next few weeks on the MusicForAccordion.com site in eSheet format, able to be emailed to your computer.
The list includes: 1. Angels From the Realms of Glory 2. Angels We Have Heard On High 3. As Lately We Watched 4. Away in a Manger 5. Carol of the Bells 6. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus 7. Deck the Halls 8. Ding Dong! 9. Merrily on High 10. Go, Tell It On the Mountain 11. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 12. Good Christian Men, Rejoice 13. Good King Wenceslas, 14. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, 15. Here We Come A-Caroling, 16. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, 17. I Saw Three Ships, 18. I Wonder As I Wander, 19. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear, 20. Jingle Bells, 21. Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming, 22. O Christmas Tree, 23. O Come, All Ye Faithful, 24. O Come, O Come Immanuel, 25. O Little Town of Bethlehem, 26. Once in Royal David's City, 27. Silent Night, 28. The Boar's Head, 29. The First Noël, 30. The Friendly Beasts, 31. The Holly and the Ivy.
Bella Ciao Making History at the Giants Italian Heritage Night - USA
Contributed by Tom Torriglia
San Francisco-based band, Bella Ciao, was selected by the San Francisco
Giants as the musical entertainment for the Giants' Italian Heritage Night
promotion which took place on August 22.
Bella Ciao performed a fun set of retro-Italiano hits for hundreds of
adoring fans (of both the band and the Giants) in front of the ballpark
before the game (Giants vs. D-Backs) and then we were brought onto the
field to perform the Italian National Anthem-and as a result of the
performance, became the first American musical group ever to perform the
Italian National Anthem in a major league ballpark!
The Bella Ciao band had a fabulous time in helping to make Italian Heritage
Night a success and is very proud to have made history in the process.
Pascal Contet accordion performances for September – France
2-3 September
MONTREAL Vieux port Escales improbables.
6 September
France Musique 15:00 hours concert with Wu Wei (sheng) and Carol Robinson (clarinet).
9 September
Abbaye de ROYAUMONT à 15:00 hours and 17:45 hours concert of the session of composition.
16 September
STRASBOURG Festival Musica 18:00 hours Cité de la Musique with the Quartet Danel for Captactions de Ivan Fedele.
27 September
STRASBOURG Cité de la Musique 20:00 hours Music Festival with Accroche Note (Madria de Johannes Schoellhorn).
30 September
STRASBOURG Palais du Rhin 11:00 hours Music Festival with Accroche Note (Madria de Johannes Schoellhorn).
Site Pro News of the USA reports that online advertising is exploding. It is expected, that by 2007, online advertising spending will reach over US$20 billion.
Much of this online advertising spend is banners putting products “in front” of potential buyers who click to an internet site to purchase or banner programs for general brand awareness or promotion of new products.
Gary Dahl - accordionist as well as a composer, arranger, recording artist and music educator, releases 1 new work and 3 updated work for accordion available for purchase online. 'Adios Muchachos', 'Lara's Theme', 'Padam…Padam', 'Champagne Polka'. Samples of these music are available on the site. The music is in eSheet format, able to be emailed to your computer. Purchase with credit card.
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Coupe Mondiale
CIA President 
If you have any questions concerning the competition or need special visas,
please contact the festival organizer:
Important teachers from Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre including Eduardas Gabnys (accordion professor and rector of Academy), Ricardas Sviackevicius (professor, leader of accordion quintet ”Concertino“, head of accordion class in LMTA), Ass. Professor Zita Abromaviciute (she had a recent 60th birthday – “mother of all accordionists“) 
Accordion was in the air at the 27th Detroit International Jazz Festival held September 1st to 4th, 2006. A diverse musical menu included Sergio Mendes, Ahmad Jamal, Diane Schuur, Taj Mahal, Oscar Castro-Neves, Dr. John, and many more.
Three accordionists were also part of the festivities: CJ. Chenier & his Red Hot Louisiana Band rocked the house on Friday. Buckwheat Zydeco (left) kicked up a notch on Saturday getting the crowd dancing with cover tunes like “Hey Joe” and the Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden”. Accordionist Julien Labro (right) took the stage on Monday playing with “The Hot Club of Detroit”, an electrifying and visionary ensemble that takes the traditions pioneered by Django Reinhardt and spins them in a way that's both reverent and refreshingly contemporary. With a newly released CD on Mack Avenue Records, The Hot Club of Detroit got fans stomping and cheering each soloist and was the crowd pleaser of the festival.
The New Zealand Accordion Association had invited 
Eric Franceries (guitar) and Jérémy Vannereau (bandonéon), experts of the tango music of Buenos Aires are performing on the 22nd September at Villa Dutoit, Geneva area, Switzerland.
A concert featuring accordionists to benefit the family of well known accordionist Sammy Thomas will be held at 8pm, September 30th at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Spokane, WA. The concert is sponsored by the Spokane Accordion Ensemble.
The 
Live Accordion Music Every Sunday - UK
James P. O'Brien
San Francisco-based band, Bella Ciao, was selected by the San Francisco
Giants as the musical entertainment for the Giants' Italian Heritage Night
promotion which took place on August 22.
