The Baltic International Accordion Quintet "Excelsior" performed a concert in the beautiful historic Ikaalinen Church.

In 2001 as a result of various creative searches, the new quintet of accordion players was formed combining the accordion schools of Russia, Lithuania and Latvia.

The quintet was called "Baltic International Accordion Quintet", having later added the key word 'Excelsior' pointing not only to the fact that the musicians all use the instruments of the Italian brand Excelsior, but the very essence of the word that has become the slogan of the quintet - 'Intention to be Perfect!'

During recent years, the quintet has gained the status of being a professional musical group and is now regularly invited to perform in such famous concerts halls as the St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Hall, the Concert Hall of Gnesin's Russian Academy of Music and more. The quintet has traveled in Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Bellarus and Russia.

The program consisted of:

• W. A. Mozart - Gavotte from Ballet Music to the Opera "Idomeneo"
  
  
• A. Skulte - Arietta
  
  
• A. Byzov - Concerto Grosso
  I. Allegro, II. Andantino, III. Allegro
  
  
• F. Poulenc - Improvisation No. 15
  
  
• V. Locheris - Remembering Corelli
  
  
• A. Piazzolla - Fuga y Misterio
  
  
• V. Ivanov - Paraphrase on N. Rota Themes from Music to the F. Fellini Movies
  
  
• A. Schnitke - Overcoat, Polka from Music to the Play "Revizskaya Skazka"
  
  
• K. Fontaine - Friendly Musette (arr. S. Stavitskaya)
  
  
• G. M Rodriquez - La Cumparsita (arr. Magnante/Vlasov)
  
  
• A. Astier - La Tempete

The Sata-Häme Soi Accordion Festival in Ikaalinen served as a forum for the very first concert of a Finnish-Italian world-class Jazz project. Italian Renzo Ruggieri, one of the best jazz accordionists today, joined forces for the first time with the Finnish 'Olmarin Unioni' quartet.

Olmarin Unioni, founded in 1998, is a jazzgroup from Tampere, Finland. Their debut CD titled Olmarin Unioni was released in April 2004. The second album titled Peaceful Means came out in November 2005. Both records are products of Alba Records. The individual styles of the quartet's three composers combined with musical inspiration drawn from small group jazz of the 1960s are the main ingredients of Olmarin Unioni´s music. The musicians also enjoy playing the rhythm & blues in various groups, such as Groovy Eyes and Honky Tonk Men.

Renzo has performed in Euopre as well as Brazil, Spain, Germany, U.K., France, Slovakia, USA, Iceland, Russia and Mexico. He obtained a diploma at CPM (Milan) under Franco D'Andrea in 1993 for "piano jazz" and now works as a full time musician including performing and teaching jazz at the "Istituto Musicale Pareggiato G. Braga" of Teramo.

He has written many educational texts for important music publishers and articles for specialist magazines and has worked in collaboration with names such as Gianni Coscia, Art Van Damme, Enrico Rava, Ares Tavolazzi, Peppino Principe, Bruno De Filippi, Gianni Cazzola, Jim Gailoreto, Ada Montellanico, Fabrizio Bosso, Lino Patruno, Michael Supnick, Stefano Cantini, Lello Pareti, Paolo Damiani e ancora Piera Degli Esposti, Antonio Calenda, Germano Mazzocchetti, Davide Riondino, Judith Malina, David Haughton, Paolo Perell Roberto Herlitzka.

The Ikaalinen deubt brought the house down as the capacity audience at the popular Oma Tupa gave several standing ovations in appreciation for the spectacular concert highlighting both Finnish and Italian jazz compositions.

www.satahamesoi.fi