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Highlights |
World Accordion Day Broadcast 23rd May - Internationalby Harley Jones |
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![]() One final broadcast 6th June 2020 Broadcast WAD2020 Starting: * Rome 7.00 PM * Moscow 8.00 PM - * New York – 1.00 PM - * LA - 10 AM *Auckland – 5.00 AM (June 7th) * China - 9.00 AM broadcast (June 7th). |
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94 Musicians Perform Moto Perpetuo by N. Paganini - Internationalby Arseniy Strokovskiy |
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Players from different parts of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Sweden, Serbia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, united to perform Moto Perpetuo by N. Paganini! 94 performers took part in the creation of the "Eternal Movement" video which united 29 Russian cities such as: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok, Vologda, Yoshkar-Ola, Krasnodar, Chelny, Omsk, Orsk, Arsk, Tula, Ufa, Vologda and Nadym. The performance also had the help of our friends from other countries: Minsk, and Gomel (Belarus), Kherson (Ukraine), Stockholm (Sweden), Valevo (Serbia), Krakow (Poland) and Uglevik (Bosnia and Herzegovina). |
2020 South Pacific and New Zealand Accordion Championships - New Zealandby Heather Masefield Secretary, New Zealand Accordion Association |
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![]() Head of Jury is CIA Ambassador Kevin Friedrich (picture right). A video of the competitions and the results announcement will be placed online at 5pm New Zealand time on the NZAA website. Past events reports at: South Pacific Daily Reports |
Corey Purcell Quarantine Video Clips - USAby Christine Johnstone |
![]() Talented multi-instrumentalist, Corey Purcell spent his time in Covid-19 quarantine working on learning some video editing skills which he has put into practise as you will see in the video above. Corey is an award winning Irish step-dancer and musician, currently residing in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. |
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
Video: Duo Grayson Masefield and Haein Yujeong Jeon - South Koreaby Harley Jones |
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Video: Duo Haein Yujeong Jeon (South Korea) and Grayson Masefield (New Zealand) video clip of the accordion duet version of Hommage a Paco composed by Franck Angelis. This was filmed in South Korea just before the lockdown. Music available online, Catalog: ang557 - Hommage A Paco (Duet) Sample page available. |
“Bach in Lockdown” from London - UKby Christine Johnstone |
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England has uploaded a video of some of their former accordion students performing their fun version of “Bach in Lockdown” The four Academy alumni were Ilona Suomalainen, Bartosz Glowacki, Iñigo Mikeleiz Berrade & Katariina Ahjoniemi who played Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.3. Enjoy! |
Mario Tacca at Special Assumption Church Concert, New York - USAby Christine Johnstone |
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On May 13th 2020, Mario Tacca (accordion) and Mary Mancini (vocals) performed at a special online concert streamed from the Monsignor Francis Ansbro Adoration Chapel at Assumption Church, Peekskill, New York in commemoration of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. The duo performed for an hour, playing some of the most loved Marian Hymns, from the 1700’s to the present. |
Quaranstream Fridays by Scythian - USAby Christine Johnstone |
![]() The group had seven partners who cross-streamed the performance to their pages for a potential audience of up to 1 million viewers! As their touring shows have been cancelled indefinitely, the band hopes to entertain you with future “Quaranstream’ Fridays. For details email: scythianmail@gmail.com |
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First World Web Festival 2020 "Weltmeister Wednesdays"by Arseniy Strokovskiy |
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Video: May 20th performers To celebrate World Accordion Day (May 6th), Weltmeister Akkordeon Manufaktur GmbH organised the World Web Festival 2020 "Weltmeister Wednesdays". The event takes place in an online format of a virtual concert series and is designed to bring together musicians (who love accordion, bayan or harmonica) from different countries at this difficult time of Covid-19. This week's video on May 20th included a performance by the “Crazy Accordion Trio”. Band members Marcin, Pawel and Piotrek (Poland) played a variety of pieces and enjoy showing the versatility of the accordion. Other performers this week included Weronika Sura (Poland), Cristian Rabi (Argentina) and Georgiy Kononov (Russia). The event will continue to be held every Wednesday at 7 pm German Time Zone for one hour. Festival organizers encourage participants of all ages. Videos should not be longer than 10 minutes. For details email: amy@weltmeister-akkordeon.de |
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Gwenda Wilkin (1933-2020), London – UKby Rob Howard |
![]() Educated at Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow, London, Gwenda was expelled when her headmistress saw her on television performing in a music competition, and declared it to be “conduct unbecoming of a young lady”! Gwenda studied the accordion in London with Adrian Dante, and also was a highly proficient pianist and violinist. In 1948 she became BAA British Junior Champion at the British Association of Accordionists Championships held at St Pancras Town Hall in London. At short notice, due to the sudden withdrawal of the British entry, she entered the 1949 CIA Coupe Mondiale in Belgium, achieving sixth place. The following year Gwenda came third in the 1950 Couple Mondiale held in Milan, after which she turned professional. She performed on ‘Opportunity Knocks’ on Radio Luxembourg, on television, and many times on the BBC Light Programme, on such shows as ‘Workers Playtime’, ‘Accordion’, and ‘Music While You Work’. She worked frequently with the singers Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn, and many other stars of show business. By the 1980s Gwenda had grown tired of performing, and had a career change when she studied animal husbandry and worked in a veterinary practice. In 1993 she obtained a pilot’s licence, and then learned to fly a helicopter. Gwenda Wilkin was widowed, had a son and daughter, and passed away on May 6th at the age of 86 in hospital following complications during surgery. |
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New Article: ‘An Audience with the Accordion Champions’ CD, Scotland - UKby Rob Howard |
![]() http://www.accordions.com/articles/audience.aspx It is not intended as a review, though it may come across as one. The standard of playing is top class and the sound quality is really good for a live recording. To win an All Scotland title you have to be better than just good! The organiser of the concert was Leonard Brown, who is a young man of extraordinary energy, talent and vision. In a short time of a few years he has accomplished more than most do in a lifetime, with numerous tours, CDs and DVDs to his credit. He also organises concerts, including special tribute events for players, including one for the late Tom Alexander. There is also an article about Leonard Brown in Rob Howard’s book 'Accordion Anthology'. |
“Akkordeon-Duo Fink” Covid-19 Lockdown CD - Switzerlandby Christine Johnstone |
![]() ![]() Tracks include Crazy, Funiculi Funicula, Tango Bolero and many others (see picture above right). For details email: info@ame-lyss.ch |
Future events |
20’s, 30’s and Jug Band Music with Daddy Squeeze Online - USAby Christine Johnstone |
![]() On May 28th at noon CT they will run an All Requests presentation and on June 1st at noon CT they will entertain you with French Tunes. For details email: daddysqueeze@yahoo.com |
Online Concert with Accordionist Valdemiro Gomes de Sousa - Brazilby Christine Johnstone |
![]() The concert is organised by Look Som e Eventos and will be available on Youtube. |
Brooklyn Accordion Club Meetings - USAby Rob Howard |
![]() The club asks "If you are interested in performing a piece or two during the open mic, please let us know by email so that you are on the program! Also, if you have a question about accordion playing in general, email us your questions. Your questions will be answered by the presenter or your peers in the audience." Sunday, May 31st from 2pm to 3.30pm (EDT - NYC time) Guest presenter: Will Holshouser Sunday, June 14th from 8pm to 9:30pm (EDT - NYC time) Guest presenter: JP Jofre (bandoneonist) For details email: brooklynaccordionclub@gmail.com |
Virtual Accordion Camp in June 2020by Christine Johnstone |
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A Virtual Accordion Camp is planned for June 27th, 2020, which will include a variety of workshops and concerts. Whether you’re an experienced accordion player or just starting out, you are invited to join the fun, camaraderie, and inspiration of a camp setting from the comfort of your own home. The day will feature an afternoon of workshops culminating in a meet-the-artist-style concert with camp staff. You will have the opportunity to learn new skills and expand existing ones in multi-level Zoom classrooms, with topics ranging from repertoire-building to bellows control to techniques for the left hand. The camp is geared towards piano accordion players, though other accordions are welcome. Tutors include: Rachel Bell (accordionist, performer, tunesmith, and music educator) who will run workshops on Breton Repertoire and Left Hand Techniques. Alex Cumming (traditional singer, accordionist, pianist and dance caller) who will give workshops on English Repertoire and Bellows Techniques. Jeremiah McLane (composer, accordionist, pianist, and educator) who will give workshops on Right Hand Techniques and Bal Folk Repertoire. All participants will gather together to recap the day and have time for some Q&A's. The concert will include 90 minutes of music and fun with the camp tutors in an informal "chance to meet" style concert. For further information email: info@virtualaccordioncamp.com |
CNIMA Online Distance Programmes - Franceby Christine Johnstone |
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![]() The first is a Celtic music workshop with Alain Pennec (picture left) from July 20th to 24th, 2020. Alain is a specialist in Celtic music, and he will introduce you to a repertoire of Breton, Irish, Welsh, Asturian and other music. This repertoire will induce technical work on ornamentation, phrasing and bellows. The different styles related to this music will also be discussed. The course open to diatonic and chromatic accordion players For further details email: cnima@orange.fr |
New and Updated Sites |
Report: 9th May World Accordion Day - Worldwideby Christine Johnstone |
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![]() WAD2020 9th May includes: An introduction by Xu Xiaonan (China) speaking about his experience at the CIA Coupe Mondiale where he was the first Chinese Coupe Mondiale winner in 2012 in Spoleto, Italy. He then performs his own composition “Breeze in Summer” with pianist Xu Gehui. A performance by Matthias Matzke (Germany) who won the Coupe Mondiale Junior Virtuoso Entertainment class in 2011 and the Digital Accordion class in 2014. Matthias performs Ghost Love Score – Nightwish. An interview with DHV Vice President Georg Hettman who gives information about the DHV such as what the organisation offers, where they operate and members of the organisation. He then presents a performance by the HUMI Accordion band (Poland), 1st place winners of the Mixed Instrumentation Orchestra Youth division at the Innsbruck Festival. Georg Hettman is then joined by CIA Music Committee member Andreas Nebl and the CEO of the Hohner Konservatorium, Bernhard van Almsick who give interesting interviews regarding musical styles and how the school assists students to find their own musical style. This is followed with a video performance by Felix Fritschi. A performance by past Coupe Mondiale winner Valerio Russo, who performs a composition by Renzo Ruggieri. An interesting interview and performance with Vincent van Amsterdam from NOVAM (Netherlands) and performances from their 90th anniversary celebration concert. This is followed by information on the accordion in The Netherlands. Interview and performance with the Royal Danish Academy of Music Professor, Geir Draugsvoll who talks about the Academy, teachers, programs etc. along with various performance videos. Interview and performance with Mikk Langeproon from Eesti Akordioniliit (Estonian Accordion Society) who talks about their society, members and events organised by them. The broadcast finished with the winners of the Coupe Mondiale International Ensemble World Music 2018 - The Pillers (Austria). Plus much more for your enjoyment at: WAD2020 |
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Report: 6th May World Accordion Day Broadcast - Worldwideby Christine Johnstone |
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![]() WAD2020 includes: An introduction and performance by 2019 CIA Coupe Mondiale winner Kirill Rusinov A welcome by Grayson Masefield (New Zealand) and Kevin Friedrich (USA) Information and plans for the 2020 73rd CIA Coupe Mondiale hosted by the Accordion Association of Algarve, Portugal from October 5th to 11th, 2020 Information and performances from the Czech Accordion Association – accordionist Milan Rehak likes to entertain by playing something different, performing a fascinating arrangement of “Bach Meets ACDC” Interview with Motion Trio and world premiere of a new work by Motion Trio and the Ratingen Kammerchoir entitled “Helicopter” to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Motion Trio playing together. The CD will be released soon. Performances at 2019 CIA Coupe Mondiale (Shenzhen, China) by winners and concert performers, plus 2019 Shanghai Spring International Accordion Festival and a new composition by Nova Wan were all featured in the China Accordion Association segment. Article below with further information. The final performance is Radu Ratoi playing Dance Macabre by Saint-Saens. Radu is the winner of the 2019 CIA Coupe Mondiale Masters Category 6th May broadcast: WAD2020 |
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