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Highlights |
IX International Competition of Young Performers on Folk Instruments named after V.V. Andreev in St. Petersburg - Russia
Rik Cornelissen Improvisation Workshop in Arnhem - Netherlands
Stas Venglevski’s Twelve Hot Tango Compositions Released - USA
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
Latest News: Ennio Morricone dies at the age of 91 - Italy
Video: Duo Grayson Masefield and Haein Yujeong Jeon - South Korea
World Café Trio Online Concerts Extended Due to Popular Demand – South Africa
New Compositions for Accordion Orchestra Released by Gary Daverne
Judging a Virtual Competition, the 58th Annual New England Music Festival - USA
Cancelled: AAA Carrozza Scholarship Dinner - USA
A World of Accordions Museum Independence Day Celebrations – USA
Online Teaching by the CNIMA International Accordion School - France
Graeme Mackay Performs Live Online – Scotland
Future events |
Dinner and Music with Accordionist Geoff Berner - Canada
Waldmann Brewery & Wurstery Live Concerts – USA
New and Updated Sites |
New Historical Article by Gorka Hermosa in English and Spanish - Spain
Help Desk, Information needed, Readers CommentsSubmit Your Question, CommentSUBMIT NOW |
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Highlights |
12th International Competition for Diatonic Accordion – Sloveniaby Werner Weibert |
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| The 12th International Competition for Diatonic Accordion (Styrian type) world championships will be held at Terme Olimia, Slovenia from May 13th to 16th, 2021 organised by the HVO - Harmonica Verband Osterreichs (Accordion & Harmonica Association of Austria). The HVO have organised this event since 1999 as a biyearly competition which is an important event for the origin of the Austrian and Slovenian instrument. Large numbers of entries are received in the two age group categories (14-18 years and 19-32 years) from different countries. Competition rules will be available online from October 2020 with entry registrations from January 2021. For details email: office@harmonikaverband.at |
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IX International Competition of Young Performers on Folk Instruments named after V.V. Andreev in St. Petersburg - Russiaby Arseniy Strokovskiy |
 St. Petersburg, Russia will host the IX International Competition of Young Performers on Folk Instruments named after V.V. Andreev (picture left) from October 27th to November 4th, 2020.The competition aims to contribute to the development of the performing arts of young musicians, popularization of Russian folk instruments, promotion of folk, classical & modern music, creation of a new original repertoire for folk instruments, identification of the most gifted and professionally promising performers, and the preservation of domestic traditions of musical education and musical performing schools. Competition categories will be held for bayan and accordion (as well as other instruments) in four age categories and is open to Russian and foreign performers. For details email: vaspb2020@mail.ru Picture below: Ossipov Balalaika Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Andropov. This orchestra has taken part in the event as a special guest at the Gala concert in many of previous competitions. |
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Rik Cornelissen Improvisation Workshop in Arnhem - Netherlandsby Christine Johnstone |
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 Accordionist Rik Cornelissen will hold an Improvisation Workshop at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Arnhem, Netherlands on September 26th, 2020 from 10am to 3pm organised by NOVAM (Nederloadse Organisatie Voor Accordeon en Mondharmonica).Rik Cornelissen is a senior lecturer in the Department of Jazz & Pop at the ArtEZ Conservatory and gives regular workshops on improvisation and guiding. He uses the technique of using hearing and feeling as a starting point instead of note writing. See poster for further details. |
Stas Venglevski’s Twelve Hot Tango Compositions Released - USAby Harley Jones |
  Stas Venglevski has just released:Catalog vstas063 "Twelve Hot Tango Compositions For Solo Accordion" as a pdf book able to be emailed to you: 01. Busy Fingers Tango 02. Elephants Tango 03. Meg Tanguera 04. Invite Tango 05. Tango for Two 06. Lonely Dancer 07. Tango Pasadena 08. Tango Mobile 09. Ecstasy Tango 10. One Tulip 11. Yellow Roses 12. Meg Tango. View music sample pages online for each tango at Catalog vstas063 Price US$25 or Euro equivalent View CD's and mp3 albums and other compositions by Stas at: Stas Venglevski |
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
Frank Busso Jr. Performs With US Air Force Strolling Strings on Social Mediaby Rita Davidson Barnea |
 The United States Air Force Strolling Strings, which includes accordionist Senior Master Sgt. Frank Busso, continues to connect with fans on social media. In these current and unprecedented times of social distancing, The United States Air Force Band has had to temporarily cancel its public performances.However, the organization has found exciting and innovative ways to inspire and connect with audiences and strengthen its international presence through social media performances and outreach initiatives. Its Strolling Strings ensemble is no exception. Already with 40,000 views across multiple social media channels, Jay Ungar’s “Ashokan Farewell” was recorded by each member of the Air Force Strings in their respective homes, and turned into a unique project for the performing group. This piece gained recognition as the title tune to Ken Burns’ 1990 PBS television miniseries, "The Civil War," and has become a staple of the Air Force Strings repertoire. The Video Editor for this project was Master Sergeant Emily Wellington, and its Producer was Frank Busso Jnr. Excerpts from the “Meet Our Players” online: "Frank Busso has been playing the accordion for over 35 years! His vast experience has been an incredible asset to the Air Force Strings since he joined the ensemble in 2005. Rising up through the ranks, he now oversees the group's personnel and scheduling matters, in addition to his performance responsibilities." During his off-duty time, Busso is active as a board member for the American Accordionists' Association (AAA). He enjoys spending his down time with family, giving music lessons, and performing as a freelance musician. The band performed last week at a Tribute to the American Spirit online event on July 4th. Details on poster below. |
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Latest News: Ennio Morricone dies at the age of 91 - Italyby Christine Johnstone |
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  Oscar winner Ennio Morricone (pictured right receiving his Oscar) died on July 6th, 2020 in a clinic in Rome from the consequences of a fall at the age of 91 years. He was a great musician and composer who wrote over 400 scores including some of the most beautiful soundtracks of Italian and world cinema from "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly", "A Fistful of Dollars", "Exorcist II" and "Once Upon a Time in America". His most famous collaboration using the accordion was his arrangement of a Wolmer Beltrami song 'La Fisarmonica', made successful by Gianni Morandi. Video above. His achievements include: an Academy Honorary Award (for his contributions to the art of film music) six Oscar nominations an Academy Award (for his score “The Hateful Eight” - Quentin Tarantino film) three Grammy Awards three Golden Globes six BAFTAs ten David di Donatello eleven Nastro d'Argento two European Film Awards a Golden Lion Honorary Award the Polar Music Prize. In 2010 Ennio was met by a delegation from the Museum Castelfidardo, composed of President Vincenzo Canali, Beniamino Bugiolacchi and Mirco Patarini in Pesaro, before his concert in that city. See news item: http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=17-Dec-2010&lang=en&s=3787 Morricone has been described as "a magician of sound!" |
Video: Duo Grayson Masefield and Haein Yujeong Jeon - South Koreaby Christine Johnstone |
| The Four Seasons, 3rd mvt, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, duet performance by Haein Yujeong Jeon (tutor Korea National University of Arts, South Korea) and Grayson Masefield (tutor Auckland University, New Zealand). Video clips of The Four Seasons, 1st and 2nd mvts are online at: http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=26-Jun-2020&lang=en#art16493 These video clips were filmed in South Korea just before the Corona virus lockdown early this year. |
World Café Trio Online Concerts Extended Due to Popular Demand – South Africaby Christine Johnstone |
 The World Café Trio began their three day online concert on July 3rd and the event was due to finish on July 6th, 2020. However, due to popular demand the group which includes accordionist Stanislav Angelov, Petrus de Beer (violin) and Schalk Joubert (bass guitar) extended their show until July 8th.The “Vivaldi's 4 Seasons” concert was pre-recorded by professional video and sound crew at Drostdy Teater in Stellenbosch, South Africa. |
New Compositions for Accordion Orchestra Released by Gary Daverneby Harley Jones |
 Gary Daverne releases two new accordion orchestra compositions.ED0091a - Bob the Bandsman March for accordion ensemble/orchestra Score ED0091b - Bob the Bandsman March for accordion ensemble/orchestra all parts ED0092a - Hokianga Hornpipe Accordion ensemble/orchestra Score ED0092b - Hokianga Hornpipe Accordion ensemble/orchestra All Parts Free download of the score so the Conductor or the Music Director can view the complete score. |
Judging a Virtual Competition, the 58th Annual New England Music Festival - USAby Harley Jones |
 Rita Davidson Barnea, Editor USA Accordion News wrote the following article:I was very honored to be asked to judge accordion and piano categories by Sam and Peggy Falcetti, organizers of the 2020 58th Annual New England Music Festival. Originally, it was to take place in Massachusetts in April 2020. Because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was prevented from happening as a live event. The Accordion Teachers Association of Massachusetts (ATAM) had to work very quickly and diligently to overcome the difficulties of the pandemic by transforming their annual music competition into a new virtual format which. I feel, they accomplished with great success. For the past 57 years, the annual New England Music Festival had been held during a weekend in April where over 600 students and their families gather to compete and showcase their musical abilities. With categories for accordion, drums, guitar, piano, voice, and violin players, there was a wide variety of musicians represented. Also, just last year, the ATAM added categories for adult musicians as well. Unfortunately, the New England Music Festival, had to be postponed due to the pandemic. While the competition had originally been postponed to July, the members of the association made the difficult decision to convert the live competition to a virtual format. This decision did not come easily, but the ATAM found it to be the safest and most effective way to hold the competition during the uncertain times of Covid-19. With this transition to a virtual competition, the students who had invested so much time and energy to prepare their competition pieces were still able to perform. The ATAM directed their efforts to finding a virtual format that would be efficient and simple, so that all of the original contestants would have the opportunity to remain in the competition. The students cooperated with their teachers and studios to record their performance and post a video for each of their categories onto YouTube. The judges were sent a scoresheet and video for each contestant and scored and critiqued each performance. Over 800 students participated, perhaps making it one of the largest music competitions in the USA. Over the years, I have judged many piano and accordion competitions at all levels. This was my first experience as a virtual judge for a virtual contestant. At first, I was apprehensive. How can this possibly work? How can I judge them from my computer in my home? For the 800 plus contestants, it resulted in a unique and valuable experience. I actually enjoyed the experience of online judging. Each category was sent to me in an email including organized links to each contestant’s competition video, their music, and a score sheet. I judged over 150 contestants in categories ranging from beginner to adult on both accordion and piano. I loved every minute of it! Of course, the best way to judge and compete is live in person. But with the excellent organizational skills of Sam, Peggy, Michael Falcetti and Mike Silvia, the transition to online judging was painless! I might add that having the ability to hear the contestants more than once helped me to fairly determine a decision in cases where the contestants were very close in their performances. Having grown up competing in accordion competitions at an early age through adulthood, makes me feel extremely responsible and also empathetic toward the competitors. I am happy that at least the students were able, after long months of preparation, to compete. All of them were well prepared, poised, and I could tell they tried to do their very best. So, in a sense, all are winners. They learned the importance of lessons, practice, discipline… all which transfers to building good character, confidence, and self esteem. Online virtual judging may not be the best solution for more advanced competitions since the videos, depending on their quality, may not offer a true representation of dynamics and the contestants performance etc. Also, the ability to perform before an audience while under pressure, cannot be determined via a video. Nothing can really replace the excitement of a live competitive performance. I am hopeful that in the near future, we will go back to the traditional ways of musical competitions. I would like to conclude by saying that the excellent organizational skills, hard work, dedication, and the enthusiasm of all involved, made the New England Music Festival and Competition a very worthwhile, successful and positive experience for all the judges and contestants. A huge congratulations and thank you to Sam, Peggy, and Michael Falcetti and Mike Silvia for creating a very successful, educational, and enjoyable event! Picture below: Rita Davidson Barnea |
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Cancelled: AAA Carrozza Scholarship Dinner - USAby Christine Johnstone |
  The American Accordionists' Association (AAA) have regrettably had to cancel this year’s Carrozza Scholarship Dinner which was due to be held on September 13th at the Famee Furlane of NA Club in College Point, New York.Chairman, Dominick Karcic is working on a follow up for this event either later in 2020 or in 2021. Further details will be announced as soon as possible. |
A World of Accordions Museum Independence Day Celebrations – USAby Christine Johnstone |
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| A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) in Superior, Wisconsin celebrated the annual 4th July Independence Day with an outdoor concert. Independence Day is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. Patriotic displays and family events are organized throughout the United States. Performers Marian Syrjamaki-Kuchta, Anne Velasco, Helmi Harrington and Robin Floyd (and two dogs) entertained while seated six-feet apart and masked. The group played a variety of patriotic music. |
Online Teaching by the CNIMA International Accordion School - Franceby Christine Johnstone |
| Video: Menzo Gatte, CNIMA trainee and winner of the Castelfidardo Championship category under 15 / variety in 2019. Excellent value online courses are happening this month and August - apply now. The CNIMA International Accordion School has been successfully offering online teaching for the past two years. This trend has been reinforced with the Covid-19 lockdown, forcing all students at the CNIMA to attend online classes this year. CNIMA founder Jacques Mornet, is well known for his cutting edge teaching, proved by a prize list of 104 first international prizes - a world record! Nathalie Boucheix, Claude Thomain and Franck Angelis are famous names in the accordion world. The coming CNIMA online classes are catered to both professionals and amateurs of all ages and all style (classical, variety, musette, world music etc). Acccordion technique with Jacques Mornet and Nathalie Boucheix July 13th – 18th 2020 July 20th – 25th 2020 July 27th - August 1st 2020 August 3rd – 8th 2020 Accordion repertoire: July 20th -24th 2020 - Celtic music with Alain Pennec August 3rd – 7th 2020 - Music of Franck Angélis, with Franck Angelis August 3rd – 7th 2020 - Music of Claude Thomain, with Claude Thomain In addition, for those who can travel, the yearly program and the workshops are available in France on location at the CNIMA, in central France, Auvergne. For further details phone 04.73.22.27.45 or email: cnima@orange.fr |
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Graeme Mackay Performs Live Online – Scotlandby Christine Johnstone |
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| Accordionist Graeme Mackay performed live from the Ceilidh Cabin in Scotland on July 5th at 3.30pm UK time. This concert was one in a series which featured musicians from around the world. For details email: graeme@mackaymusic.co.uk |
Future events |
Old Time in the Land of JamKazamby Christine Johnstone |
 Jody Kruskal (concertina - picture left) and Cindy Harris (autoharp) will perform a live online concert of mostly American old-time duets and songs on JamKazam youtube on July 13th.Jamkazam uses technology so you can play live music in sync with others in different locations. For concert details email: jody@kruskal.net |
Dinner and Music with Accordionist Geoff Berner - Canadaby Christine Johnstone |
 Geoff Berner will entertain diners at the Tractorgrease Cafe in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada on July 10th from 8pm. This will be his first live performance since lockdown and coincidentally is the same venue as his last performance back in March before lockdown.Geoff will also play a half-hour set at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival online event on July 16th. For details email: geoffberner@yahoo.ca |
Waldmann Brewery & Wurstery Live Concerts – USAby Christine Johnstone |
  The Waldmann Brewery & Wurstery in Saint Paul, Minnesota will hold regular live music entertainment throughout July. Daddy Squeeze (Dan Newton - picture right) will entertain at the Waldmann Biergarten on July 19th from 6pm to 7.30pm with a variety of old European tunes.Facemasks must be worn at all times except when seated at your table eating or drinking and parties are limited to 4 or less. For details phone: 651 222 1857 |
New and Updated Sites |
AAA Archivist Joan Grauman Articles All Listed On AAA Site - USAby Harley Jones |
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 Joan Grauman became the archivist for the AAA in 2008. She has been writing articles on the association’s history and on its members ever since. Many of Joan’s articles were featured in festival journals and online in the Accordion USA News. All these articles are now listed on one page on the AAA site at: AAA Archival Information The articles with titles in red are accessible now, and the others will be linked shortly. Many can also be downloaded and printed as PDFs. These 26 articles with more coming, are an invaluable part of the history of accordion in the USA. Accordion organizations worldwide should consider appointing archivists. Careful research, interviews, photos, videos and articles: all are very important components for documenting the very important history of the accordion. |
New Historical Article by Gorka Hermosa in English and Spanish - Spainby Christine Johnstone |
 New Article: Accordionist Gorka Hermosa (picture left) has written an article in Spanish language on one of the first accordionists on record and perhaps the oldest non European accordion player, José Gonsalvez. In 1836 (with his accordion) he made an expedition up the Indus River to reach Kabul (Afghanistan).Read this most interesting historical article in English and Spanish at: José Gonsalvez |
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