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Report: ATG 78th Anniversary Festival in Lisle, IL - USAby Kevin Friedrich |
The 78th annual Accordionists & Teachers Guild, International (ATG) Festival was held from July 25 - 28 in Lisle (Chicago), Illinois. Featuring competitions, concerts, workshops, a Gala Banquet, Exhibits and social functions, the well attended event showcased a diverse array of musical genres and events. Featured guest artists included Matthias Matzke (Germany), Leonie Kratz (vocalist, Germany), Cory Pesaturo, Mike Alongi, Stas Venglevski who performed solo and in duo with Joan Cochran Sommers, Donna Dee and Dennis Ray and Petar Maric (Serbia). In addition to the performances, workshops were presented by Joan Cochran Sommers, Cory Pesaturo, Mattias Matzke, Mike Alongi, Helmi Harrington, Murl Allen Sanders, Nick Ballarini and Gordon Kohl. The ATG Festival featured several groups formed specifically for the festival including the Mixed Ensemble directed by Murl Allen Sanders, The Original Music Ensemble directed by Joan C. Sommers, The President's Quintet and the ATG Festival Orchestra under the direction of Joan Cochran Sommers which received a standing ovation for their performance of works by Smith, Halvorsen, Bernstein, Foster & Sager and Ellington. The ATG officially launched its new updated website created by ATG 1st Vice President Kenn Baert. Using state of the art technology including phone responsiveness, the site contains information about the ATG, a members only area and information on upcoming festivals such as the 79th Annual Festival to be held in Denver, CO from July 23-27, 2019 and the ATG 80th Anniversary celebration to be held in Los Angeles in August, 2020. For more information about the ATG and upcoming events, please visit www.atgaccordions.com. |