Contributed by: Kevin Friedrich

Top classical accordionists from all over the world will assemble in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 22nd to 25th, 2004 to participate in “The Galla-Rini Centennial Competition” sponsored by The Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International (ATG). The competition will celebrate the 100th birthday of noted accordionist, arranger, composer, conductor and President Emeritus of the ATG, Anthony Galla-Rini. Prizes for the competition are:

First Prize - US$3,000.00 plus a Promotional Web Site ($500 value),
Second Prize - US$1,500.00 and Third Prize - US$500.00.

The Anthony Galla-Rini Centennial Competition program requirements are:
Round I - one complete original work for the accordion (a large concert work such as a Sonata, Suite, or similar).
Round II – an own choice program consisting of three (3) or more pieces of different styles and characters with a playing time having a minimum of 20 minutes to a maximum of 30 minutes.

For further details, please visit: www.accordions.com/atg
 

Contributed by: Holda Paoletti-Kampl

From March 2004 Claudio Jacomucci will teach accordion at the Accademia Internazionale di Musica "Tema" in Milano. The course is open to graduate students or high level accordion players. The aims of the academy include a focus on Contemporary Music and exchanges with other instrument classes, performing chamber music.

"Teachers of the academy are famous soloist performers such as Stefano Scodanibbio (double bass), Elena Casoli (guitar), Maria Grazia Bellocchio (piano), Marco Rogliano (violin), string quartet Prometeo, and composers Stefano Gervasoni, Alessandro Melchiorre, Bernhard Lang.

Students will be selected by audition by the teacher. Foreign students may send a demo-tape or CD and a biography.

From January to April, Claudio Jacomucci will hold 7 masterclasses at the Instituto Musicale Pareggiato "G.Briccialdi" di Terni (near Rome). Every masterclass develops a "theme" such as Contemporary Music I - II, Alexander Technique, Baroque Transcription, Technique Resources I - II and III.

For further details email: hbhiac@tin.it
 

Contributed by: Kevin Friedrich

On 15th November 2003, concert accordionist Mika Väyrynen will perform the complete Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach at the "Lux Musicae - Festival" in Siuntion, Finland. This high-profile music festival features top artists from around the world.

Recently, Mika was featured in a four page article in the internationally distributed Magazine "Finish Music Quarterly." This English language publication is the most important magazine profiling the Finnish music life on the International scene.

Mika Väyrynen, who received his Doctoral Degree from the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki) where he now teaches, has recorded twelve CD's which include over 90 compositions on world famous labels such as Finlandia Records/Warner Classics, JVC Victor Japan and Naxos. In addition to this impressive series of recordings, Mika is scheduled to release several CD's in 2004.

Mika's repertoire is exceptionally broad, including contemporary accordion music, transcriptions from various periods, new tango, concertos and chamber music. His latest CD entitled "Transcriptions" was released on the NAXOS label (8.555910 FIN) and includes works by Mozart, Couperin, Rameau, Bach-Busoni, Franck, Mushel and Stravinsky.

For further details please visit www.accordions.com/mika
 

Contributed by: Sergey Tchirkov

Six new chamber operas by Alexander Radvilovitch, Anatoli Korolev, Leonid Rezetdinov and Svetlana Lavrova which include accordion parts, will be premiered at the XV New Music "Sound Ways" Festival in St. Petersburg from November 13th to 19th. The premiere will be performed by the soloists of the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sabrie Bekirova, with Andrey Slavny (tenor), Angelina Dashkovskaja (soprano), Ludmila Shkirtil (mezzo-soprano), Vadim Radvilovitch (tenor) and the accordion parts performed by Sergej Tchirkov.

For further details email: tchirkov@inkin.de
 

Piano Accordionist Performs At The Sydney Opera House – Australia

Contributed by: Tania Lukic-Marx

Well known Serbian accordionist Bojan Jovanovic performed at the famous Sydney Opera House on the 4th of November. Bojan is part of a Serbian Folk Band including Bora Dugic (frula) and others. The frula is a popular Serbian folk woodwind instrument. Bojan comes from the Serbian town of Kragujevac and had studied accordion there with Radomir Tomic, a school where so important accordionists have come from. Bojan graduated the Russian National Music Academy (Gnessin Institute) majoring in accordion and has resided in Moscow for the past 12 years, specializing in folk music performance.

The Australian Accordion Teachers Association is organizing a second concert at the Serbian Club during his stay in Sydney.
 

Contributed by: Francesca Benvenuti

Accordionist Pascal Contet will be playing in Caen (France) on the 19th November as part of “Festival Impark Nordik”. He will also be recorded for the Japanese film “Les Gosses de Tokyo 1932” by Ozu Yazuhiro.

On the 20th of November Pascal will be playing in Bordeaux (France) for the famous Bordeaux Jazz Festival.

For further details contact Francessa Benvenuti: Tel: +33 1 56790289
 

Contributed by: Edmund Schwar fur Duo-Popolzin

At the end of October, Duo Popolzin’s autumntour in Germany has concluded after 25 appearances in different parts of Germany. The compositions of Vladimir Popolzin were a feature that was enthusiastically received and a future tour is planned for next year.

Contributed by: Karen Selman

Alex Selman (North Shore Accordion Orchestra) recently performed his own composition on piano at the National Education Awards at the Aotea Centre, Auckland cities premiere concert venue. Alex was accompanied by two members of the Aotea Youth Orchestra on violin and cello.

Alex Selman with friends Jono and Andrew and the band Microfiction recently won the Shore Youths Bands Competition. The prize included three days in a professional recording studio to record a single for radio.
 

Accordionist Performs for Double Concerto – France

On the 26th, 27th and 29th November, accordionist Frédéric Deschamps will be taking part in the creation of the double concerto for Baritone, Accordion and Symphony Orchestra composed by Philippe Capdena (Professor of Composition at the Academy of Paris). This symphonic poem was created at the request of the state and based upon the poem Le condamné à mort” (Condemned to Die) by the French poet Jean Genet.

The role of the musicians is multiple as in addition to playing their instrument, the director Michel Faux asks them to be actors. Deschamps acts the part of the prison warder. The utilization of the accordion in such compositions is a true promotion of the instrument within the world of music.

For further details email Deschamps: FrdDesc@aol.com
 

Contributed by: Dr Herbert Scheibenreif Manager of Friedrich Lips Productions

The group “Dobrek Bistro” Krzysztof Dobrek (accordion) Aliosha Biz (violin) Achim Tang (double bass) and Luis Ribeiro (percussion and drums) is the only ensemble which has participated in all four Viennese Accordion Festivals. This year they took the oppportunity of their appearance at the Viennese Accordion Festival to also record their first CD. That CD is now released and the group are delighted by the number of advance orders they have received so far.

For further details email: herbert@accordion-cd.co.at.
 

“Caramba” CD Release - Puerto Rico

Contributed by: Nilsa E,. Rivera Vilanova

The Orchestra of Accordions of Puerto Rico announces for sale its first CD titled Caramba. It is the first CD of an accordion orchestra, and the first time in Puerto Rica that an accordion orchestra has made international level recordings of Latin music. The CD includes a varied repertoire of Puerto Rican, and Hispanic-American music like Dance the Coquí, the Cumbanchero, Fantasy In My Old San Juan, “La Boricua” and others.

The CD includes a “bonus track” remix of “La Boricua” by the producer/remixer Pablo Flowers, who has worked over the years with Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Madonna, Hill Smith and others.

For further details please email: nilsa051@hotmail.com.
 

The Paris-Moscou Duo held a master class in Châtillon sur Seine in France (region Bourgogne) from 29th to 31st October. This master-class was organized by French accordion teacher Elisabeth Petot. In the first day, they recorded a video of the 12 students and made another recording on the last day, showing the progress they had made.

The master class covered such topics as: instrument position, musical interpretation, sound quality, bellows technique, French touch and technical exercises.

At the end was a concert in the theater of Châtillon sur Seine attended by some 450 people, the first part being classical music and the second part, a musical trip between Russia and France. Composers performed include: Buxtehude, Mozart, Rossini, Rachmaninov, Semionov, Angelis, Thomain, Larcange, Azzola, Astier, Baselli, Rossi, Besov, Chalaïev.

This event will certainly lead to a future collaboration and students participating in the CNIMA in Larodde.

 

Contributed by: Shiela Bower

Frank Morocco will be making a concert tour to Northwest Canada in December. He will perform in the Vancouver Jazz club “The Cellar”, on the 4th and 5th with the great Canadian sax player Cam Ryga, and a rhythm section. There will be a live CD recording made from both of these performances.

On the 7th December, Frank Morocco will be featured at the Victoria Accordion Club and on the 8th at the Seattle Accordion Club, where Frank will be joined by two other notable accordionists, Ken Olendorf and Mural Allen Sanders.

On the 9th they will be in Nanimo at "Dizzy's", the10th in Duncan, and the 11th at the Cowichin Theatre in Lake Cowichin, where the tour will conclude.

For further details email Shiela Bower: smillerbower@telus.net
 

The Artistes Hohner Junior are celebrating all their competition successes in 2003. Under the teaching direction of Frédéric Deschamps, they have had a very successful year and seem to be following in the footsteps of previous Artistes Hohner stars like Vincent Peirani, Jérôme Richard, Frederic Baldo Marielle Roy and Vincent Carenzi.

Concours International de Morro Doro (Italy) 18 to 20 July
Virtuoso Entertainment for 14 years, 1st: Laura Choffé
Virtuoso Entertainment for 16 years: 1st: Simon Gachez Mauroz

Trophée Mondial (Italy) – 1 to 5 October
Virtuoso Entertainment Junior: 1st: Julien Gonzales

International Concorso di Castelfidardo (Italy) - 8 to 12 October
Virtuoso Entertainment Junior: 1st: Simon Gachez Mauroz
Another performance of note was Phil Bouvier who came second by a mere 0.08 marks behind the very talented Amélie Castel.
What about the next year!
 

The accordion orchestra, ensemble and quintet "Accordimento Stuttgart Moehringen" will present a Musical Bits concert on the 22nd November in the Peter and Paul Church, Leinfelden-Echterdingen and on the 23rd in the Martins Church Stuttgart-Möhringen. The varied repertoire to be performed extends from Bach to Rossini to Piazzolla. The program will also premiere a new work for accordion orchestras - "Fantasia Festival" by M.O. Brehm. A large audience is expected for these free concerts.

For further details email: info@accordimento.de.
 

Group On An Entertaining Tour – Sweden and Norway

Contributed by: Frode Haltili

Accordionist Frode Haltili and his group “POING” will be performing in concert at Nybrokajen on the 18th of November. The concert includes works by composers Sandgren and Xenakis. The group will also be on tour to Rusk, Norway later this month and in Oslo on the 17th of December for a Christmas concert at Parkteateret. For further details email: haltli@hotmail.com
 

Contributed by: Holda Paoletti-Kampl

Professors: Gianluca Pica (Italy) and Miljan Bjeletic (Serbia) will be conducting a course for accordion training from the 2nd to 6th of January 2004 in Anagni-Fiuggi, Italy. Closing date is 10th of December. For further details call the +39 339 3905506.
 

Contributed by: Pat Philips

Accordionist Ludovic Beier will be performing next week in Paris. He is only about 26 years old and a terrific player. All Parisian accordion enthusiasts are invited to attend this show and enjoy this excellent player.
 

New CD Review - Lars Karlason Insipiration – Sweden