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by Christine Johnstone
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![]() Kevin has hosted many such shows in his home town of Dargaville, and always attracts a sellout crowd who enjoy the variety of performances in many musical genres. This particular concert was offered as a thank you to all the Essential Service workers in numerous capacities as well as the friends, family and community as a whole for uniting together during the ever changing challenges faced in dealing with the global pandemic. The shows always feature the accordion in a variety of settings accompanied by guest artists. For this concert, Kevin was joined by Thomas Koloi (piano), Jone Yelcich, Ros Gilmour and Lynn Walters (Vocalists) and the popular local vocal sextet ‘Take Six’. A highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of one of the newest additions to Kevin’s Accordion Gems accordion exhibition, a stunning Maga Ercole Dimascio Florentino double keyboard,160 bass accordion (picture above). Maga Ercole is one of the oldest continuing accordion companies from Stradella, Italy dating from 1895. Performing a work by New Zealand composer Gary Daverne, Kevin gave a glimpse into the century old history of this unique and beautifully designed instrument. Another feature of the show was a moving tribute to the late Dame Vera Lynn who recently passed away at age 103. Vera Lynn gave her life to supporting the armed forces and other causes such as Disabled Children and Breast Cancer and the cast and audience joined together for rousing performances of two of her signature pieces ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’. As is customary for the Dargaville shows, the concert concluded with a finale of New Zealand traditional pieces with audience participation. Kevin’s next scheduled accordion show is on November 29th when he will present his Christmas Extravaganza. |
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