Editors Note
Many readers are advising us of their success in selling or buying an accordion through the Accordion Yellow Pages Buy & Sell section.

You can list one instrument in the Buy and Sell sections free of charge. This section also offers Silver and Gold listings with extra benefits plus a section for businesses selling used accordions.

Large numbers of accordions are now changing hands through the medium of the Accordion Yellow Pages.

Wayne Knights Webmaster

The Las Vegas International Accordion Convention will be held from June 23rd to 26th at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas for the third consecutive year. Over 500 attendees from North America, Europe and as far away as Australia are expected. The convention offers concerts, events, master classes and workshops. Many exhibitors of accordion instruments, both conventional and electronic (digital), will be present. Performers include Myron Floren, Anthony Galla-Rini, Dick Contino, Frank Marocco, Art Van Damme, Peter Soave, Tony Lovello, Gina & Romany Rye, Mady Soave, Julian Labro, AbsoluteAccord, Joe Vento, Mirco Patarini and a surprise guest from Italy.

Each evening will begin with a Las Vegas-style dinner concert. The sponsor of the convention is Paul Pasquali. For further information email: lasvegas@accordioninfo.com

Contributed by Angel Russo

Since the foundation of the A.I.D.A. (International Accordionists Association of Buenos Aires, Argentina) in 1993, the President of the association has been Julio Herman (Gasparin) who is now retiring from the position. In the near future a new President will be elected. The association is grateful to Julio Herman for all the work he has done to promote the noble accordion.

The A.I.D.A. now has its own radio programme, entitled "Eternal Accordion Melodies", which is broadcast every Friday on Radio Folclorisimo. Every session will feature live accordionists. For further details email: maquinapastarusso@fullzero.com.ar

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

On June 22nd Renzo Ruggieri, Musical Director of SEM accordions, will perform on the first channel of the Italian state television network alongside famous singer Antonella Ruggiero, for whom he composed the arrangement played by the RAI Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Giuliano Cavicchi). Accordionists Mario Pietrodarchi and Osvaldo Guarnieri will also take part in the performance.

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

The C.N.I.M.A. and Jacques Mornet have organized four training courses open to all ages, styles and levels in Larodde. Course dates are: July 22nd to 27th, July 29th to August 3rd, August 19th to 24th and August 26th to 31st.

The courses will include "Instrumental Perfection", "Special Ball", "Accordion Orchestra" (with Claude Thomain), and to complete these activities organizers offer an initiation to the relaxation therapy (sophrology) with Bernard Josset. This relaxation therapy allows you to overcome stage fright and to master feelings, increasing your chances of performance success.

Tutors include Jacques Mornet, Nathalie Boucheix, Aurélien Noel, Nicolas Massoutie, Domi Emorine, Roman Jbanov, Franck Angelis, Christine Rossi, Pascal Meurge and Yves Busato. For further details email: CNIMA@Wanadoo.fr

Accordionist Entertains on Overnight Train - USA

Accordionist Jon Hammond entertained passengers in an impromptu performance on the overnight sleeper train "Lakeshore Limited" from Chicago to New York City. Jon couldn't resist playing "New York New York" and "Midnight Special"!

Contributed by Francisco José Dávila Dorta

On June 30th two accordion concerts will be held at the Federation of Associations "The Union of Geneto". The first will include 10 year old child prodigy Carlos Javier García Alemán (Canary Islands), accompanied by his brother in one of the performances. The second concert will be by Felipe Gadea, a teacher well known in the region for the quality of his performances in the south of Tenerife Island. The concerts are organized by the Superior School of Accordion of Tenerife. For details email: fj.ea8ex@teleline.es

Accordionist Paul Chamberlain will perform at the 6th Festival of Scottish Culture in Moscow from June 25th to July 5th with his group "Scotbox Ceilidh Band". This is a huge festival, which includes events taking place in venues all over Moscow and an opening ceremony in Pushkin Square.

The Ceilidh band, which consists of two accordions, violin and drums, will playing in various venues including Rosie O`Grady`s Bar, B-2 Club, Svalka Club and Tochka Club. The Sixth Moscow Highland Games will take place on June 30th, followed by a special concert where the band will play in the Central House of Artists.

From July 1st to 4th they visit the city of Lipetsk (south of Moscow) to take part in a Festival of Russo-Scottish Friendship. Their tour ends in Moscow with a performance at a Scottish Ceilidh show, held at the Vermel Club on July 4th. For further details email: Theaccordionist@aol.com

Popular Latin American group "Tierra Mestiza" (which includes accordionist Matt Nozzolio) will give a series of free performances this summer in Hartford, Connecticut. The group also includes international flamenco guitarist Val Ramos, Clodomiro Falcón (South American harp), Jennice Vélez (flute), Andrés Yambó (Puerto Rican cuatro and guitar), Graciela Quiñones Rodríguez (vocals) and group founder Carlos Hernández Chávez (guitar, Mexican guitarrón, bajo sexto and bass). The concerts are free and open to the public, thanks to the Evelyn Preston Memorial Fund, the Charter Oak Cultural Center and the City of Hartford. On June 22nd and August 16th they will play at the Charter Oak Cultural Center, and on September 13th at the Connecticut Historical Society.

The ensemble reintroduces Spanish musical traditions, as well as African and Indian ancestry including cumbias, polkas and rancheras. For further details email: matt-nozzolio@cox.net

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

A Musical Marathon entitled "Music is for Everyone" took place on June 1st at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan. The event, organised by Amadeus Magazine in conjunction with the G. Verdi Music Conservatory and the Lombardy Regional Education Department, aimed to highlight the problem of the introduction of music teaching in all levels of the Italian school system.

The Musical Marathon featured well known musicians such as Ivano Battiston, Bruno Canino, Luisa Castellani, Rocco Filippini, Mario Marzi, Gianni Basso, Franco Cerri, Maurizio Ben Omar and Antonella Ruggiero.

Battiston performed pieces by Bach, di Gesualdo and Piazzolla in front of an enthusiastic audience that included several teachers of the conservatory (which recently instituted a chair of accordion studies), as well as personalities such as former Minister Luigi Berlinguer, a strong supporter of the need to introduce musical education in the school curricula, with the same dignity as all other disciplines. During the event a booklet on the subject with contributions by Gaetano Santangelo, Sandro Cappelletto, Carlo Delfrati, Johannella Tafuri and Guido Salvetti was distributed among the audience.

Accordionist Ian Watson has just completed a two month tour of a new production of "The Threepenny Opera" (by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht). The show played to sold out theatres across the UK including the Salisbury Festival, Richmond Theatre, Brighton Festival, Basingstoke and Huddersfield. Ian played within the orchestra and also in costume on stage. Many newspaper critics commented on Ian's sensitive playing during his on stage performance. The production will move to London's West End later in 2003.

Ian also played at the "Spitalfields Festival" in London on June 14th. This is a very high profile festival with many performances being broadcast live and attracting top soloists and chamber musicians. Ian's program consisted of pieces by Israeli and Arabic composers, with music from the ancient to the contemporary. The concert was recorded by BBC Radio 3 for future broadcast and also for CD release on the BBC's 'Late Junction' label. For further concert details email: ianwatson99@lineone.net

Accordionist Performs Live on FM Radio - USA

Guy Klucevsek will perform live on Soundcheck, WNYC-FM, New York on June 26th from 2pm to 3pm. Klucevsek will play selections from his new recording "The Heart of the Andes" (Winter & Winter CD), and will be interviewed by the program's host, John Schaefer. For details email: Guysqueeze@aol.com

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

The town of Courmayeur (Valle d'Aosta, Italy) will host an International Music Meeting featuring courses including individual and group classes as well as a chamber music workshop from July 14th to 20th. The event also includes a series of conferences that participants will be able to attend free of charge. The accordion course will be tutored by Giorgio Dellarole. For further information email roccaropoel@libero.it

Stanley Darrow and Joanna Arnold were married in a private ceremony held in St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Bridgeton, New Jersey on June 6th, presided over by the outstanding jazz accordionist and Priest, Monsigneour Stanley Kloskowski.

The couple enjoyed a brief honeymoon at an undisclosed location before returning to resume the operations of the Acme Accordion School. Joanna will be going by the name of Joanna Arnold Darrow from now on.

This week the 5th Annual RootsWorld Free Reed festival featured Amy Denio (USA) who presented a unique 'concert' recorded in The Cistern at Fort Worden in Washington. Her solo accordion and vocals were recorded at the bottom of a 2 million gallon subterranean dry-well!

Also featured was USA accordionist Guy Klucevsek who recorded the score of "Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight", a puppet theatre piece by Ping Chong that weaves together three Japanese ghost stories, merging poetry, shadows, music, and bunraku puppets. Other performers included Jarle Fjeldheim (Norway) & "Sukke" (German klezmer trio).

A special feature included Jeff Kaliss who talked with some of the musicians of Texas and Louisiana about the impact of the accordion on the music of the American south and southwest, including Steve Jordon, Brian Marshall, Marc Savoy and Flaco Jimenez. For further details email: freereed@rootsworld.com

A series of five films produced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) highlighting music that is frequently ignored on television, will shown in the UK on BBC 4 during June. On June 25th the film "JPP - The Incredible Finn Band" will be broadcast. The film is a portrait of one of Finland's longest-established and most important folk bands and includes accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen along with a variety of other musicians and a cast of thousands.

Dr William Schimmel's piece "Empty World" received a great review by Allan Kozinn in the New York Times on June 10th. The piece was premiered last week at Christ and St. Stephen's Church at the close of the North/South Consonance players 22nd season.

Allan Kozinn wrote: "The most fascinating of the pieces, and the one that lingered longest after the program ended, was the quirkiest, William Schimmel's "Empty World" (2001). Mr. Schimmel is a virtuoso accordionist whose own concerts and recordings can be both entertaining and provocative, not least because the musical connections he makes are surprising and fresh. "Empty World," an accordion concerto, is well within that tradition.

Some of the thematic material in "Empty World" comes from the old Supremes hit, "My World Is Empty Without You," but there are also references to Elton John's "Sixty Years On" and broader allusions to the styles of Bach, Scarlatti and Brahms. Often, the allusions are either included within longer melodies or rendered in an odd stylistic context that veils the source material.

Mostly, Mr. Schimmel's agility on the accordion, and the interplay between his instrument and arching solo lines for cello and violin, create a constantly shifting musical ground."

Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kamp

On July 19th the agricultural tourism resort "Il Rustico" in Lapedona (province of Ascoli Piceno) will host the first "Organetto d'oro" diatonic accordion competition. The event is organised by Excelsior Accordions (Cemex Srl) in collaboration with Il Rustico and the Radio Aut Marche radio station.

The competition jury will include Giuliano Cameli and Euro Teodori. An award ceremony will take place in the evening and will be attended by prestigious guests such as Roberto Lucanero, Giuliano Cameli, Valentino Lorenzetti and Sergio Castelli. The event will be hosted by Beniamino Bugiolacchi, director of the International Accordion Museum of Castelfidardo. The first prize will be a wooden diatonic accordion offered by Excelsior. Participation in this event is free of charge. For further details email: cemex@indi.it

"Cerronato" (which includes accordionist Mike Maddux) will perform at a fundraising concert for PAPA (Political Asylum Project of Austin) at Miguel's La Bodega on June 21st. The group will play in between two other popular bands "Cataventa" and "Ojos Del Sol".

The following week (28th) "Cerronato" will entertain at Waterloo Ice House. For further concert details email: mike_maddux@rocketmail.com

Norwegian group "Flukt" (which includes accordionist Øivind Farmen) recently released their new CD entitled "Spill". The music has its roots in Norwegian and international folk music, and all the arrangements and some compositions are by members of the group. Tracks include "Melvin", "Reel-potpurri" and "Spelemannsbryllup".

"Flukt" have just completed a successful concert tour to USA performing in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Prior to their tour they performed at a large concert in Trondheim for the Princess of Norway who got married on May 23rd. The event and concert was broadcast on television by NRK, the national television company in Norway.

For further CD details email: farmen@farmen.net

www.imc-accordions.com New Site for the International Music Company srl based in Castelfidardo, Italy and producer of the Piermaria brand of accordions

www.fisitalia.com Updated information on Fisitalia accordion manufacturers including new information on working and tuning processes with new images and sound files.

Dr. Hugo Néstor Lemos would like information on a Horch accordion which is possibly made in Germany. Email: hlemos@intramed.net.ar

Antique Accordion Information

Donald Cawthra would like information on an antique Novitat button accordion (pictured). Email: Jannylu3@aol.com