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Highlights |
Accordionist John Jones Awarded M.B.E. in New Year's Honours List, Macclesfield - UK
Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition and Festival - Italy
Accordion-YellowPages.com Free Listing of Accordion Events - Cyberspace
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
Italy's Accordion Industry: Tiny And Thriving, Syndicated News Report - Italy
Rita Davidson Leads Pleasantdale School International Festival with Accordion - USA
Merv Conn Passes Away, Maryland – USA
Marco Lo Russo’s New CD ‘Modern Accordion’, Rome – Italy
Argentine Tango Milonga, Axiouploi – Greece
‘14 Years Ago’ – Joan Sommers in Puerto Rico
Future events |
10th ‘Ascoltate 2012’ International Competition, Kaunas - Lithuania
‘Accords des Montagnes’ Festival, La Bresse – France
RAM Accordion Students Perform, London – UK
Entries Closing for Montrond les Bains International Competition – France
VAMÖ Accordion Competition, Vienna – Austria
Guy Klucevsek and Alan Bern Concert, New York – USA
SAO Gurtweil Concert, Höchenschwand – Germany
Balkan Accordion Workshop Afternoon, Istanbul – Turkey
New and Updated Sites |
Karen Fremar - accordionist, composer releases three new compositions
Gary Dahl updated music
Paul Chamberlain selling his new CD
CD Reviews |
Help Desk, Information needed, Readers CommentsSubmit Your Question, CommentSUBMIT NOW |
Random video 4UWatch the video |
Highlights |
2012 Coupe Mondiale Rules and Regulations Online - Italyby Harley Jones |
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 The Rules and Regulations for the 2012 Coupe Mondiale Competition and Festival being held in Spoleto, Italy from August 21st to 25th 2012 are now online on the Coupe Mondiale website.There are 8 competition categories: - 64th Coupe Mondiale - Masters Coupe Mondiale - Junior Coupe Mondiale - International Virtuoso Entertainment - Junior International Virtuoso Entertainment - International Competition for Ensemble Music - International Competiton for Digital Accordion - Best New Original Work (classical) The major change for 2012 is the expansion of the International Piano Accordion Category to include all accordions. This is renamed as the Masters Coupe Mondiale. The rules remain the same, 1 round, 15-20 minutes playing. This category is designed to be a stepping stone between the Junior Coupe Mondiale category and the lengthy programs required for the Coupe Mondiale category. The 2012 Coupe Mondiale is being hosted by the Italian Accordion Culture (IAC) in the beautiful cultural city of Spoleto, famous for its many annual music festivals. The event features very attractively priced accommodation for competitors and supporters. Full details will be online nearer the time. Entries will be available online from the May 1st and entries close on July 15th 2012. CIA President, Raymond Bodell looks forward to welcoming you to the to the 65th Coupe Mondiale and the 128th CIA International General Assembly of Delegates Congress in Spoleto, Italy, hosted by the Italian Accordion Culture (IAC) association headed by Mirco Patarini (Artistic Director IAC - picture left), Gianluca Bibiani (President IAC), Federica Celesti (IAC Executive) and Ilaria Bellini (IAC Communications). Full competition and festival information is on the Coupe Mondiale website. |
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Accordionist John Jones Awarded M.B.E. in New Year's Honours List, Macclesfield - UKby Rob Howard |
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 Accordionist John Jones has been awarded the M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire) in the New Year's Honours List 'For charitable services'. John Jones has spent much of the last 20 years playing for charities in Macclesfield General Hospital and other locations, and has to date raised over £200,000 for the East Cheshire Hospice, Macclesfield Hospital Scanner Appeal, Macmillan Nurses, Cancer Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and many other good causes. In the process of his long term fund raising John, a member of the Stockport Accordion Club, has also proved to be a great ambassador for the accordion, entertaining countless members of the public with his music. Born in 1942, John Jones was a civil engineer, building bridges during the day, and a pub pianist at night. In the 1980s he began playing his late father’s 1936 vintage Ranco, joining Stockport Accordion Club in 1987. Playing the accordion took over John’s life when he retired from the day job, and by 1990 he had begun his marathon charity fund raising. For further information email: robaccord5@hotmail.com |
Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition and Festival - Italyby Harley Jones |
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 The 37th International Castelfidardo Accordion Competitions and Festival will be held from 19th until 23th September 2012 by the Castelfidardo Municipal Administration in collaboration with the Pro-Loco Tourist Association with Paolo Picchio (Artistic Director - picture rght) and Ideazione Eventi.The 2012 festival starts with a Grand Opening Gala at the Astra Theatre and will end with a Closing Party on Sunday 23th September. The program of the Festival includes gala performances at the Astra Theatre, live concerts day and night, the Baby Club Music to entertain children, master classes, presentation CDs, exhibitions and display areas and a new Music Reality Show broadcast by live streaming web TV. The International Accordion Competitions "Città di Castelfidardo" is open to soloists and accordion bands for classical and light music. Download the Rules and Regulations at: 2012castelfidardo Entry closing date is 26 August 2012. Entry form download: 2012castel_entry Classical Music Section Cat Premio for accordion concert-soloists (no age limit) Cat. A Soloists up to the age of 12 Cat. B Soloists up to the age of 15 Cat. C Soloists up to the age of 18 Cat. D Soloists (no age limit) Cat. E 2-9 members accordion chamber music orchestras Light Music Section Cat. G Soloists up to the age of 18 Cat. H Soloists (no age limit) Cat. I Orchestras and groups without age limit, repertoire predominantly light music, jazz and compositions by Astor Piazzolla. For further information view the Castelfidardo website. |
Accordion-YellowPages.com Free Listing of Accordion Events - Cyberspaceby Harley Jones |
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| All concert, competition and festival organizers are reminded to list their Future Events for 2012 in the Accordion-YellowPages.com website. Its free to list and you can do it yourself. You can also change and update your listing yourself as further information becomes available. The Accordion-YellowPages.com Future Events calendar displays at the top right hand side of this Weekly News of accordions.com in all 7 languages and also on the USA News, Diatonic News and Russia News. Huge numbers of readers, more than 50,000 per week, view the Future Events calendar display, so all accordion event organizers are reminded to take full advantage of this free service to keep the accordion community informed. Any internet challenged organizers may email their event details: harleyaccordion@yahoo.com |
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
Lácides Romero TV Broadcast, Bogota – Colombiaby Rob Howard |
 Leading concert accordionist Lácides Romero performed in a live TV broadcast from the Teatro de Ballas Artes, Bogota, on New Year’s Eve. Lácides as guest soloist with the Teatro de Ballas Artes Symphony Orchestra, under guest conductor Uros Lajovic, from Slovenia. His accordion solos included the Waltz from the film ‘Amelia’ by Yann Tiersen, Monti’s ‘Czardas’, ‘Brise Napolitana’, by Guerino/Peyronnin, the premiere of ‘De Paseo’, for accordion and symphony orchestra, by Colombian compser Juancho Valencia. Music Educator graduated of the “Universidad Pedagógica de Colombia” in Bogota (2003), folklore researcher, composer and concert accordionist. He currently is professor for harmonic keyboards and accordion at the “Universidad Pedagógica Nacional” in Bogota, and for the “Colombia Creativa” Iniciative at the University of Antioquia. He is also working in his own recording studio. |
Italy's Accordion Industry: Tiny And Thriving, Syndicated News Report - Italyby Harley Jones |
 ‘Italy's Accordion Industry: Tiny And Thriving’ is a syndicated news article written by Christopher Livesay, published on January 9th 2012, and reproduced here for your interest. … 2012Tiny |
Rita Davidson Leads Pleasantdale School International Festival with Accordion - USAby Harley Jones |
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| Photo above of Rita Davidson (accordion) and Deborah Rees (guitar). On December 15th, 2011, 56 fifth graders, members of the Pleasantdale School Chorus, New Jersey, presented their Annual Fifth Grade International Festival for family, friends, and members of the West Orange, New Jersey, public school system. The annual Fifth Grade International Festival is a Pleasantdale tradition that goes back about 15 years. Read the full article by Rita Davidson at 2011Pleasant. |
Merv Conn Passes Away, Maryland – USAby Rob Howard |
 Washington-based veteran accordion entertainer Merv Conn died aged 91 on December 20th at the National Lutheran Home in Rockville, Maryland.Merv Conn was born Mervin Aaron Cohen on Febuary 19th 1920 in Washington DC. He took the Conn surname later as a musician. He began playing the accordion as a teenager, and started as a professional musician playing local events and on radio programs. His repertoire was enormous, and he could play just about any kind of gig - bar mitzvahs, Oktoberfest fetes, Washington Senators baseball games, weddings, dances, concerts on cruise ships, Christmas parties, etc. His fame was such that he performed private recitals for US Presidents Truman, Johnson and Nixon. From the mid 1940s, Merv Conn gave accordion lessons, and his students included President Richard M. Nixon’s daughters. At one point he employed five instructors who taught more than 300 students a week. During World War II, he worked as an auditor for the Treasury Department. It was there he met Rhoda Silverman, whom he married in 1942. She died 1989. Merv Conn is survived by two children, Robert Conn of Silver Spring and Maria Cohen of New York. AAA Historian Joan Grauman has written a very nice article for the Accordion USA News titled "Memories of Merv Conn". http://www.accordionusa.com/default.aspx#art948 Washington Post obituary: MervConn |
Marco Lo Russo’s New CD ‘Modern Accordion’, Rome – Italyby Rob Howard |
 The very accomplished accordionist Marco Lo Russo, in collaboration with pianist Simone Sciubata, has released ‘Modern Accordion’, a CD featuring 17 of his compositions, published by Flippermusic.The tracks on ‘Modern Accordion’ are: Moments in Life, Taksim Accordion, Solemn Promises, Big Fun, Dernière Valse, Flamentango, Bajo La Piel, Eastern Fiesta, Dreamers, Moon Over Catarmarca, Luces De La Ciudad, Deep Tango, Obscurity, Pulaciones, Evoluciones, Morning Star, Punjab Tango. For further information email: stampa@marcolorusso.com |
Argentine Tango Milonga, Axiouploi – Greeceby Rob Howard |
 A Tango Trio from Macedonia, with Toni Pecanov (accordion), Plamenka Trajkovska (violin), and Ajhan Kibord (piano), played for a highly successful and well supported annual milonga in Axiopoli, Polikastro, Greece on January 7th.The event took place at the Taste Archontaki restaurant in Axiopoli, and involved members of the local Argentinean Tango Club plus visitors from Thessalonika and other areas. Present was the Deputy Mayor Anastasios Derventis and municipal consultant Elena Liakopoulou. The highlight of the evening was a dance display by Diego Mastrantzelo and Evi Risen. For further information email: tpecanov@yahoo.com |
‘14 Years Ago’ – Joan Sommers in Puerto Ricoby Rob Howard |
 Towards the end of 1997 Professor Joan Sommers, from the USA, visited Puerto Rico. The first news on Accordions Worldwide for January 1998 included a report of her visit to a place we rarely hear from in terms of accordion activity. JOAN C. SOMMERS, GUEST OF HONOUR - PUERTO RICO Contributed by Kevin Friedrich Joan Sommers, professor of Accordion at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, recently returned from San Juan, Puerto Rico where she directed a series of accordion orchestra workshops and master classes for the Puerto Rican Accordion Association. The accordion in Puerto Rico has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and they were keen to benefit from the expertise of Joan Sommers. During her visit, Joan met with the Chancellor of the Casals Conservatory in San Juan, to discuss the importance of the Accordion in the music field today and was received with great enthusiasm. While a guest of the Puerto Rican Accordion Association, Joan delivered master classes, private lessons and lectures on the accordion related activities found at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music. Joan Sommers was recently pictured in newspapers across the world when she conducted an accordion orchestra on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, DC during the AAA (American Accordionists' Association) National Festival. |
Future events |
Roland V-Accordion - Check it out at NAMM 2012by Luigi Bruti Roland V-Accordion Division & Marketing Director |
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| Roland V-Accordion - Check it out at NAMM 2012, 19-22 January 2012, LA, USA |
10th ‘Ascoltate 2012’ International Competition, Kaunas - Lithuaniaby Rob Howard |
 The 10th International Accordion Competition ‘Ascoltate 2012’ takes from April 3rd to 5th at the Kaunas J.Gruodis Conservatory concert hall, J.Gruodis str. 6, Kaunas, Lithuania. The organizers are the Kaunas Accordion Society, Kaunas Music School, and the Kaunas J.Gruodis Conservatory. The competition is open for young accordionists of different ages, as soloists or as the members of an ensemble or an orchestra. There will be Classical and Variete categories. The number of the participants will be limited. The organizing committee will admit the first 100 application forms of the candidates in both categories. Entries close 15 February 2012. For the Classical sections, competitors must perform not less than 2 compositions: a) Baroque, classical or classical style composition(s); b) Free choice program. The program should consist of pieces reflecting different moods. The competitors in the Variete sections must perform not less than 2 compositions in variete style. Rules and Regulations: 2012ascoltate For further information email: mindaugas@akordeonas.lt |
‘Accords des Montagnes’ Festival, La Bresse – Franceby Rob Howard |
 The ‘Accords des Montagnes’ accordion festival takes place from January 15th to 20th at La Bresse, Vosques. Guest accordionists include Jacques Besset, Phil Bouvier (picture left), Dorothée Lhoir, Sylvie Pulles, Jérémie Buirette and Frédéric Buch, The festival organizer is Frédéric Buch.For further information email: accordsdesmontagnes@gmail.com |
RAM Accordion Students Perform, London – UKby Rob Howard |
 Lithuanian-born Martynas Levickis (picture left) is one of several young instrumentalists performing in concert at the Purcell Room, Southbank Room, on Friday January 13th, 7.45pm. Polish-born accordionist Bartosz Glowacki, also presently a student at the Royal Academy of Music, is in the final of the RAM Patrons Wigmore Award competition on January 17th, 1pm, in the Wigmore Hall, London. Accordion students from the RAM (accordion tutor Owen Murray) have participated in this event for the last 4 years. |
Entries Closing for Montrond les Bains International Competition – Franceby |
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 Entry Closing Date is Saturday 14 January 2012. The 15th edition of the International Montrond baths (France) will be held this year on 14 and 15 March. Photo left: Alexander Kolovski (Macedonia - left) Pavel Zyabko (Russia - right) along with Frédéric Deschamps, who had prepared for the event the first and second places of the 2011 Concours International de Montrond classic category. A total of € 5,100 will be divided between the junior and senior classic and variety categories. New for 2012, is the very international jury composed of Crystal Wang (China), Gorka Hermoza (Spain), Alexander Selivanov (Russia), Grayson Masefield (New Zealand), Andreas Nebl (Germany), Franck Angelis and Albenach Bernard (France). The International Concert includes a new work "Ka Mate Ka Ora" composed by Gorka Hermoza (composer of the first successful "Fragilissimo") on the theme of Haka New Zealand which will have its world premiere by Grayson Masefield (picture right) at this concert, with the composer in attendance. Andreas Nebl lead the World Hohner Accordion Orchestra and Alexander Selivanov interpret some great works of classical repertoire. The entire event will be broadcast live on the CMA Channel, and Mike Rossi, son of the famous French accordonist "Joé Rossi" will be responsible for producing and broadcasting the event on the Web. With the new formula for the jury, we know that many candidates have already sent their entries to participate in this major event that aims for accordionists of the highest level. This is the first competition of the year in the international calendar. The deadline for entries is January 14: Download 2012 Montrond Rules and Entry Form For further information email Gérard Chassagneux: jeunes-talents@montrond-les-bains.fr |
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VAMÖ Accordion Competition, Vienna – Austriaby Rob Howard |
| This year’s VAMÖ Competition for solo accordionists of various age categories takes place on February 26th at the Waldmüllerzentrum, Hasengasse 38, 1100 Vienna. The closing date for entries is January 14th. For further information email: kaleta.hermi@aon.at |
Guy Klucevsek and Alan Bern Concert, New York – USAby Rob Howard |
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| Guy Klucevsek (accordion - picture left) and Alan Bern (accordion and piano) perform in concert together on January 15th, 8pm, at The Stone, Ave. C/2nd Street, New York. Their program will include selections from their 2008 CD ‘Notefalls’. For further information email: gklucevsek@mac.com |
SAO Gurtweil Concert, Höchenschwand – Germanyby Rob Howard |
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| The Schlüchttal Accordion Orchestra Gurtweil perform in concert on January 22nd, 10am, in Höchenschwand, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Above is the very nice New Year message from the Schlüchttal Accordion Orchestra, artwork by Uli Ebner. For further information email: vorstand@sao-gurtweil.de |
Balkan Accordion Workshop Afternoon, Istanbul – Turkeyby Rob Howard |
| A Balkan music workshop involving accordions and other instruments featuring Fati Fehmiju and Ertigul Senturk takes place on Sunday January 29th, 2pm. The venue is Caferga Mh, Agabey Sk No: 12, A Kadikay, Istanbul. For further information email: ibeka@mynet.com |
New and Updated Sites |
Orchestra Lad Updated Website - Belarusby Orchestra Lad (Belarus) |
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| Orchestra Lad (Belarus) for talented youth with artistic director and conductor Galina Anikeeva, winner of the Belarus Special Presidential Fund has an updated website. |
Karen Fremar - accordionist, composer releases three new compositionsby Karen Fremar |
 Karen Fremar - accordionist, composer, releases 3 new compositions for accordion, available for purchase online. ''That's The Limit', catalog:kfremar305, 'Vast Mountain', catalog:kfremar306 and 'Whatever You Do', catalog:kfremar307. The music is in eSheet format, able to be emailed to your computer. Purchase with credit card. |
Gary Dahl updated musicby Gary Dahl |
 Gary Dahl - Author, composer, arranger, recording artist and music educator announces the following updated music titles for purchase on-line. 'Tea for Two (Virtuoso Grade)', catalog:DH0101 and 'Lover', catalog:DH0157. Samples for this music is now available at the Music For Accordion web site. The music is in eSheet format e-mailed directly to your computer. Easy purchase with credit card. |
Paul Chamberlain selling his new CDby Paul Chamberlain |
 Paul Chamberlain selling his CD titled 'Classical Accordion', catalog: cpaulCD201 with sound samples. Music performed by Paul Chamberlain. Purchase online. |
CD Reviews |
Accordéon liturgique CD by Philippe Borecekby Alessandro Mugnoz |
 CD Reviews Index for the Review of Accordéon liturgique CD, reviewed by Alessandro Mugnoz. Artist is Philippe Borecek. |
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