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NAO Annual Competitions and Festival Includes
Special Award - England
  Contributed
by Kevin
Friedrich and Gina Brannelli
The National Accordion Organization of the United
Kingdom (NAO)
recently celebrated their annual competition and festival in the
lovely seaside Spa resort in Scarborough, UK.
The weekend featured competitions for all levels
including solo, duo, ensemble and orchestra as well as trade shows
with music and instruments, a Ceilidh dance and performances by
international guests. Among these were the recent winner of the
CMA
Competition Mario
Pietrodarchi, 1984 CMA winner Mirco
Patarini who now heads the Paolo
Soprani Accordion Factory in Castelfidardo and Fausto Fabi also
from the Paolo Soprani Accordions. International judges included
Mirco, Mario as well as Joan
Sommers from the USA, Slavko Madgic from Slovenia and CIA
President Kevin
Friedrich who resides in the USA.
 During
the weekend, Miss Pauline Noon was honored for her long service
to the accordion at the NAO UK Championships in Scarborough. Secretariat
of the National Accordion Organization, organizer of the CIA
Coupe Mondiale in London 37 years ago and 2 years ago, Secretary
of the British College of Accordionists, her long career has been
truly astonishing, working long and hard most of the time in the
background, a solid foundation for any organization within which
she operates.
During the festival, Mme. Gina Brannelli was
elected the new chairperson of the NAO taking over from Raymond
Bodell who completed a total of 9 years as Chairperson.
Results of the top classes at the NAO were as
follows:
Virtuoso Solo - Larysa Bodell
Senior Recital - Stefan Bodell
Art Level Orchestra - Colchester Accordion Orchestra (Elaine
Beecham, director)
Accordion Showband Orchestra - Colchester Accordion Orchestra
(Elaine Beecham,
director)
 The
County of Antrim Accordion Orchestra from Northern Ireland won the
Advanced Orchestra sections in both Test Piece and Own Choice while
the Graham Laurie Paisley Accordion Orchestras from Scotland continued
their yearly success winning all Intermediate & Elementary divisions!
Pictured here is Gary Blair Junior, the son
of popular entertainer Gary
Blair who won several awards during the festival, including
the 11 & Under Solo, Scottish 12 & Under Solo, Polka 12
& Under Solo and the Musette 11 & Under Solo. Another of
Gary's students Neal Galbraith is pictured left, who won the Polka
Senior solo and Scottish 16 years & Over solo.
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Accordion Festival Celebrates 55th Anniversary
- Belgium
Contributed by Inge Vrijsen
The Koninklijke Accordeonvereniging De Nachtegaal
in Edegem will hold an accordion festival to celebrate their 55th
anniversary next month. The festival (which is usually held every
five years) will be held on June 7th and 8th in Edegem, Antwerp
and will include performances by a variety of accordion groups,
brass bands and a symphonic youth group.
The aim of the festival is to promote as many
styles of music as possible and encourage participants to jam along
with each other and have some fun! Performers include Accordion
De Nachtegaal, Sinfonische Jeugdorkest Edegem, Accordion Sint Rochus,
Kon. Fanfare Sint Rosalia, Accordion De Notengalm, Ancora, Accordion
Mainz, Accordeonata, Accordion De Decker, Edegems Harmonie orkest
and Accordion Katelijne.
Entrance to the event is free. For further information
phone: +32 3449.97.50
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ATG Festival Orchestra Appears at Arlington Racetrack
- USA
The 2003 Accordionists
and Teachers Guild, International Festival Orchestra will appear
at the Arlington Race Track in Chicago on June 28th.
In addition to following a track full of horses
as they gallop around the racetrack, attendees will get to enjoy
a performance by dozens of accordionists during the short, but very
high profile performance on Raceday.
In addition to this Race Track performance,
the ATG International Festival Orchestra will be performing at concerts
during the annual festival. Conductors will be ATG President Emeritus
Anthony Galla-Rini, Joan
Sommers, Jazz legend Frank Marocco, Gary
Daverne (conductor of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra in Auckland,
New Zealand), and conductor of the Concord Chamber Orchestra Janet
Millard.
For further details email: sommersj@umkc.edu
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"Parisian Waltz" Concert in Honor of
Latvian Accordionist - Russia
 Contributed
by Vladimir Ushakov
On May 7th in St. Petersburg, Russia, a special
event was held in honor of Yuri Peshkov (Riga, Latvia), well-known
accordionist, composer and teacher. Yuri Peshkov's compositions
are popular in all countries of the former Soviet Union and his
music is performed from the Far East to Baltic Sea and from the
White Sea to the Black Sea.
  Yuri
Peshkov was born in 1940 in Leningrad and since the age of six he
has lived in Riga, Latvia. He began his career as an accordionist
in 1957, playing solo and in a variety of ensembles. In 1961 he
began his pedagogical activity, teaching the accordion in music
schools & colleges. At the same time he began to compose and
his compositions became so popular that in the mid 1990's his composition
"Waltz-Mazurka" was accepted as a test piece in the international
competitions held in Denmark.
 The
concert in St. Petersburg was entitled "Parisian Waltz",
it was arranged by the St. Petersburg Musette Ensemble. The event
was held as part of the concert series "Friends Meeting at
the Neva Riversides" in the St. Petersburg Concert Hall. Musicians
from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia were invited to take part including
Yuri Peshkov, Duet Kristaps and Rajvis Gintars (Latvia), Lithuanian
Accordion Duet Eduardas Gabnys and Gennady Savkov (Lithuania), Baltic
International Accordion Quintet (Vladimir Ushakov, Svetlana Stavitskaya,
Gennady Savkov, Eduardas Gabnys & Sergei Likhachov - representing
Latvia, Lithuania and Russia), Server Abkerimov (Russia), soloists
and groups from St. Petersburg - Ivan Medvedev, Sergei Petrov, trio
"Collage", "Aventurine" accordion quartet and
the St. Petersburg Musette Ensemble.
All compositions performed at the concert were
composed by Yuri Peshkov such as Nostalgie, Waltz-mazurka, Greeting
Waltz, Snow-storm, The Moth, Vagabond, Mazurka, Autumn Dreams, Spanish
Imitation, Mazurka-expression, Carnival, Dark Eyes Variations, Parisian
Waltz, Nordic Lights, Moldavian Softly Played, A Post Troika is
Rushing Variations, Argentinean tango, Natalie, Intermezzo, Dedication,
Step, Samba and Boogie-Woogie.
A special issue of five music books containing
all the compositions by Yuri Peshkov was made available at the concert,
published by "S.P.M.E. Editions".
Over 600 enthusiastic accordion lovers attended
the concert, which ended with an encore of all performing musicians
playing "Boogie-Woogie".
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Queensland Accordion Club Honors Accordionist
- Australia
The Queensland Accordion Club will hold a concert
to honor their Musical Director Ossie Mazzei at the Albert Waterways
Community Centre, Gold Coast, Queensland on June 18th. The concert
will celebrate Ossie's 75 years of service to the accordion world
and also celebrate his 90th birthday.
Performers include local and overseas artists
such as the Ossie Mazzei Accordion Orchestra, the Kalander German
Show Band, Bernadette
Conlon, Lachlan Baker, Grant Martin, Annie Chen Gong, Ossie
& Leo Mazzei Duo, Joseph Castorina, Julie Hertel, John Cave
and John Colville. Compere will be Maurice Horsburgh. For details
email: accordionbernadette@bigpond.com
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| Jury |
Jury Members Perform at Klingenthal Accordion Competition
- Germany
Contributed by Holda
Paoletti-Kampl
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Mr.
Gaeber
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| Amelie
Castel |
The "Music Days" in Klingenthal under
the direction of Manfred Gäbler included a program for both
music lovers and specialists from around the world.The
40th International
Klingenthal Accordion Competition saw a variety of accordion
soloists and chamber musicians evaluated by an international jury
consisting of professors, composers and music pedagogues. President
of the Jury was Professor Jürgen Ganzer.
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| Rade
Mijatovic |
The public showed special enthusiasm for a concert
with jury member Tobias Morgenstern and the Orkester LeipJazzig,
plus an accordion/cello concert by Elsbeth Moser and Christoph Marks.
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| Duo
Cieslak/Kolodziejski |
Altogether 94 participants from 18 countries
took part in the competition as follows: category II: 21, category
III: 17, category IV: 23, category VA: 8, category VB: 6, and category
VI: 19.
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| Konstantin
Ischenko |
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| Dimitri
Bouclier |
A final gala concert included performances by
the Vogtland - Philharmonie Greiz Reichenbach Orchestra conducted
by Doron Salomon (Israel) and competition winners.
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| Office
Memebers |
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| Quartet
Expromt |
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Musical Twinning - Germany/Italy
Contributed by Holda
Paoletti-Kampl
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| Mirco
Soprani (left) and right (with the accordion) Reiner Schneidenbach |
The twinning of the towns of Castelfidardo and
Klingenthal was made official on May 9th, 2003 at a signing ceremony
in Klingenthal, a German city known throughout the world for the
high quality of its musical instruments. The document was signed
by Castelfidardo Deputy Mayor Mirco Soprani and by Reiner Schneidenbach,
Mayor of Klinghental.
The sombre ceremony, which was attended by the
highest authorities of the two cities, was introduced by the music
of two young accordionists and was full of joy and significance.
The cities have several important things in common, including an
accordion manufacturing industry, the holding of international accordion
competitions (Klingenthal's
in May, Castelfidardo's
in October), museums
dedicated to the popular instrument, the inventiveness and entrepreneurialism
of their citizens, the will to promote a tourism based on the beauty
of the territory (Klingenthal in particular is situated
in a magnificent geographical location) and the commitment to European
integration.
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Benedum Theater Gala Fundraiser - USA
 American
Accordionist Henry Doktorski and Slippery Rock University faculty
member Warren Davidson performed for a gala fundraising event at
the Benedum Theater for the Fine Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
for the Pittsburgh Opera Company on May 17th.
The duo, specializing in classical and light
classical compositions, performed for a select group of 200 of the
major donors for the Pittsburgh Opera.
Doktorski serves on the faculty of the City
Music Center at Duquesne University as instructor of accordion.
He is currently completing a mammoth project: recording a double
compact disc set of the complete works of the great vaudeville accordionist
Guido Deiro. Doktorski has also written a definitive work: "The
Classical Squeezebox, a History of the Accordion in Classical Music."
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Kimmo Pohjonen at "Festival on the Danube"
- Austria
 Contributed
by Dr
Herbert Scheibenreif Manager of Friedrich
Lips Productions
Accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen performed at the
international "Festival on the Danube" in Vienna on May
11th. Kimmo looks back on 20 years of musical development and can
therefore be called an absolute "Crossover" artist. From
rock to folk, avant-garde, improvisations of all kinds, classical,
dance and theatre music, he presents a performance, which goes beyond
basic accordion playing in a most impressive way and with the support
of special lighting effects. How can such creativity affect an accordion?
Kimmo Pohjonen shows us - giving his audience an unforgettable event
for eyes and ears.
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Cahors Accordeon Course - France
Contributed by Holda
Paoletti-Kampl
Cahors Accordeon will organize a training course
to be held at the Cordeliers Center in Gourdon from July 27th to
August 3rd. The course will be open to all accordionists wishing
to improve their musical style and will cover bellows control, keyboard
use, traditional accordion music, jazz and variety. The aim of the
course is to encourage "Music" and the accordion. Tutors
include Peter Soave, Lionel Suarez, Mady Soave- Dessimoulie, Sylvie
Pulles, Patricia Lafon and Muriel Roques.
For details email: cahors.accordeon@wanadoo.fr
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John Leslie Accordion Tuition Week - England
 The
John Leslie Accordion Tuition Week was held recently at St Audries Bay
Holiday Club, West Quantoxhead in Somerset. The event was organized by
John Leslie and his team of accordion teachers including Edward Jay, Sue
Bennett, Christine Beetlestone and Jill Martin each taking groups and
individual classes.
Numbers were up on last year for this popular annual
event and all participants seemed to mix well and enjoy each others company
as their mutual love of the accordion was shared in serious study and
at times with much fun and lashings of "friendly accordion camaraderie!"
St Audries is a fantastic place to visit and the next
opportunity for accordionists is the Summer Accordion Week from July 19th
to 26th. In addition a Folk/Accordion Week will be held from August 30th
to September 6th. For details email: mrandle@staudriesbay.demon.co.uk
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Accordion Information Required
Jesse would like information on a black Venezia
button accordion which has many decorative birds and stars on it.
It has ten buttons on one side and four on the other. Email: barnetts@ncn.net
Mark would like information (such as age and
possible value) on a 120 bass Noble Grand Deluxe piano accordion,
a pearl off-white in colour. Email: myachasz_3498@fuse.net
Andy Swaim would like information on a 12 bass
Castelli piano accordion, made in Germany, colored white pearl,
with silver bellows, and red trim. Email: swampy27@yahoo.com
Edna Roy would like information on a 24 bass
Ariston piano accordion. Email: ronaldroy@cogeco.ca
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Contributed
by Anica Karakutovska
The
Orchestra Cámara De Acordeones Claroscuros now has a new
and interesting repertoire, which was recently performed in the
Valladolid National Theater. Their repertoire includes Ballet Tango
(Piazzolla), Varietés Music Hall (Würther) and Intermezzo
in Blue (Bui). Future concerts will be held at the Teatro Nacional
"Principal" Zammora (June 5th), Teatro Nacional "Juan
Bravo" Segovia (June 6th) and Auditorio Nacional De Burgos
(June 14th). For further information email: 
Accordionist
Olexiy Suslov performed a variety of baroque, classical and modern
music in the 
"Tango
Forever Trio" Performance - Australia