The
Accordions Worldwide news enters its tenth year, having covered a
vast number and range of accordion events from around the world since
1996. Anyone who reads our news coverage will know that there are
many interesting and exciting things happening all the time. Our news
publicity is free, so if you know of anything newsworthy that relates
to accordion or any of its close relatives, please let us know the
details. Have a good 2006.
Gaylord Klancnik Dies in Car Accident, Detroit - USA Contributed
by Rob
Howard
Gaylord
Klancnik, a well-known accordion player in the polka field in Michigan,
died following a car accident on December 19th. He was nominated for
a Polka Grammy in 2005. He was a great accordion player and human
being and I know he will be missed at the polka festivals. Influenced
by Frank Yankovic, Gaylord Klancnik was one of the leaders in the
Slovenian style of polka playing, and was nominated for a Polka Grammy
in 2005.
Joe
Dannon, Rudy Bernick and Matt Pink, the latter who was perhaps the
biggest influence, taught Gaylord Klancnik the accordion. In 1976,
the Klancnik Brothers Orchestra was born, featuring Gaylord on accordion
and brother Ken on saxophone. The Klancnik Brothers Orchestra enjoyed
immense popularity throughout the years and was awarded trophies proclaiming
them 'Michigan's Best Polka Band' and Gaylord as 'Michigan's Polka
King'.
In 1983, the forerunner of today's Cleveland Polka Hall of Fame also
honored Gaylord. The KBO performed all over the USA, including Hawaii.
They also took their music to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and to
Brazil. Gaylord Klancnik, a well-known figure at festivals and with
many recordings and radio and television appearances to his credit,
will be remembered as one of the most acclaimed polka performers of
his era
Evening News Photo by KARI COLLINS A car sits sandwiched between another
car and a garbage truck after an accident on Newport Rd. Monday. Gaylord
A. Klancnik of Carleton was killed in the crash.
Celtic Connections Festival, Glasgow - UK Contributed by Rob
Howard
The Celtic Connections Festival takes place from 11th - 29th January
11th to 29th. This annual event is one of the largest winter music
festivals in the world. The main venues of the festival are Glasgow
Royal Concert Hall, The Piping Centre, The Barrowlands, the Tron Theatre
and Glasgow Cathedral. Bands featuring accordion include the Scott
Harvey Ceilidh Band, Session 9 (Scotland), Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies
(England), Le Vent du Nord (Quebec), Cherish the Ladies (USA), and
Les Yeux Noirs (France); accordionists appearing at the festival include
Sandy
Brechin, Phil Cunningham, Mairearad Green, Gary Innes, Donald
Shaw, and Angus Lyon.
This festival includes concert performances, talks, debates, master
classes, workshops, the annual finals of the BBC Radio Scotland Young
Traditional Musician Awards, a Showcase Scotland weekend for promoters,
a legendary Festival club and much more. On January 28th, in the Clyde
Foyer at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, there will be a workshop
titled 'Come and Try: Accordion', at 11am, and 'Accordion Techniques',
at 2pm.
Anthony
Ettore Passes Away, New Jersey - USA
Anthony
P. Ettore, of Montville, New Jersey passed away on December 20th.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, he lived in Newark and Parsippany
for 13 years before moving to Montville in 1977. He was secretary/treasurer
of the Thomas J. O' Beirne Co., Roseland, New Jersey, since 1994.
A Marine Corps veteran, Tony served during World War II.
He studied accordion from the age of five and in 1952 established
the Ettore School of Music in Staten Island, New York. Many of his
students won awards in solo, duet, combo and accordion orchestra divisions
in state and national competitions. Mr. Ettore performed at Carnegie
Hall, New York City, with his Virtuoso Accordion Orchestra.
He was a member of the American
Accordionists' Association Board of Governors for more than 50
years and served two terms as president. In March of 2005, Anthony
Ettore was honored as 'Man of the Year' by the Accordion Musicological
Society and in November of 2005, he was presented with the key to
Roseland by Roseland Mayor, Michael Paolo. Additionally, Mr. Ettore
was a charter member of the Lions Club of Staten Island.
He is survived
by his wife, Marie, and a brother, Raymond.
Claude
Caron's New CD, Lille - France
Contributed by Rob
Howard
Accordionist
Claude Caron has released a new CD of musette and Latin dance music
titled 'Bienvenue au ch'ti bal'. Claude Caron has appeared on French
television several times, most notably the show compered by fellow
accordionist Michel Pruvot.
55th
Trophée Mondiale, La Bourbele - France
Contributed by Rob
Howard
The
55th Trophée Mondiale competition was held in the spa town
of La Bourbele in the Auvergne region from October 5th to 9th. The
chief organisers, on behalf of the Confédération Mondiale
de l´Accordéon (C.M.A.), were Jacques Mornet and Frédéric
Deschamps. The Trophée Mondiale began in grand style with
an evening concert featuring Jerome
Richard, Alain Musichini, Roman
Jbanov and Domi Emorine. The competition involved sixty candidates
(France, England, Switzerland, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain,
Portugal, Italy), pre-selected during the summer by the various national
associations affiliated with the C.M.A.
The adjudicators were: Franck Angelis (France), Gina Brannelli (UK),
Andreas Nebl (Germany), Cintas Claudine (Switzerland), Sabrina Guislain
(Belgium), Nevio Prenc (Croatia), Vojin Vasovic (Serbia and Montenegro),
Sergei Voitenko (Russia), Nikolai Seyrukov (Belorussia), Gianluca
Pica (Italy), Tomassetti Renzo (San Marino), Jaroslav Vlach (Czech
Republic) and Daniel Rodriguez (Spain).
The competition results were:- Senior Classical
1) Sergei Osokin (Russia)
2) Ivan Sverko (Croatia)
3) Konstantin Tarasenko (Belorussia)
Junior Classical 1) Dimitri Bouelier (France)
2) Marko Stojanovic (Serbia-Montenegro)
3) Marko Sevarlic (Serbia-Montenegro)
Nereo
Flowers (accordion) and Riccardo Marogna (clarinet), known as the
Bube Sapràvie Duet, recently presented a program of songs based
on the impressions of Venetian emigrants to South America in times
gone past. The concert was part of an International festival held
at the Theater in Strada, near Venice.
Alex's
Accordion Center Expansion, New York - USA
Contributed by Jon Hammond
Alex's
Accordion Center will soon be expanding by opening a 2 full floors,
full-service accordion facility for sales, repairs, tuning and testing
on New York City's famous 'Music Row', 165 W.48th St. The extended
premises will include a specially equipped 'Back Room' for players
to try out and compare instruments.
Alex has been a shop owner on 48th St., working with accordions, for
over 35 years. He has 2 veteran repairmen/accordion builders from
Castelfidardo,
Italy, on the premises, who specialize in customer modifications and
are especially noted for repairing numerous sad cases of smashed bass-mechanisms
from rough airline handling.
Alex carries a number of brands of new and used accordions, from Italy,
France and several other countries. He recently took over the 2nd
floor, which was previously occupied by Roberto's Woodwinds, and is
now constructing an in-house 'Accordion Museum' from his extensive
personal collection.
Marie
and Viva's Performances, Sydney - Australia
Contributed by Rob
Howard
Marie
Rappolt, with her Fisitalia accordion, leads her band Viva for a
series of performances at South Sydney Leagues Club, known as 'South
Sydney Rabbitohs', every Friday evening at 7.30pm, commencing on
January 13th until March 8th. The club is located at 265 Chalmers
Street Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales.
Marie and Viva the band are one of Sydney's most popular bands in
the cabaret, Latin and jazz genres. Performances in Sydney include:
Sydney Olympic Park, Darling Harbour, Kings Cross Festival, Manly
International Jazz festival and Jazz in the City at QVB. The band
also performs regularly at festivals at: Thredo, Gold coast, Newcastle
and Kiama. The band is also popular at Local Council's functions,
multicultural events and a host of corporate events.
Marie and the band are well known for their many international performances
throughout Asia, most recently including appearances at festivals
in Taiwan. The music that Marie and Viva the band perform is highly
entertaining, presented in a delightful cabaret style from a diverse
repertoire of: Jazz, Swing, Latin, Salsa, French, Spanish, Gypsy
Jazz and classic show tunes.
Classical
Accordion Duo, London - UK
Contributed by Rob
Howard
Spanish
accordionists Iñigo Aizpiolea and Iñaki
Alberdi perform at the David Josefowitz Recital Hall, Royal Academy
of Music, Marylebone Road, London, on January 20th at 7.30pm. Their
program includes 'Tierkreis' (Karlheinz Stockhausen), 'Imago Interior'
(Carlos Satué), 'Three Pieces' (Luis de Pablo), 'Trencadis'
(Joan Guinjoan), 'Trama de Aire y de Sombras' (Antonio Lauzurika),
and 'Petrushka' (Stravinsky).
Iñigo Aizpiolea, visiting on an Erasmus exchange, and Iñaki
Alberdi, Professor of Accordion at the conservatory in San Sebastian
and Barcelona, perform a recital to complete their two days working
with Academy students on Spanish accordion repertoire.
Accordion
Broadcasts on French Speaking Radio, Lausanne - Switzerland Contributed
by Rob
Howard
The
French-speaking Swiss radio station Espace 2 will broadcast for one
week, from January 16th to 20th, a series of programs presenting classical
and contemporary accordion. The program presenters are:Sophie Valceschini,
Christophe Dufaux, Stéphane Chapuis, Nikita Pfister and Sylvain
Tissot.
Radio Espace 2 broadcasts on 32.4 Kbps. The radio station will, from
January 16th, offer recordings of these programs for sale, and from
February 20th, these transmissions will also be available on the Internet.
North
Central Area Accordion Festival, Yorkshire - UK
Contributed by Richard Smith
This
year's NAO
North Central Area Accordion Festival takes place on February 26th
at the Glusburn Institute, just outside the village of Cross Hills
in West Yorkshire, in the North of England. The competition also includes
keyboard, piano and guitar sections, which take place on February
25th, whilst the Accordion and Ensemble sections take place on the
Sunday.
All competitors, jury and visitors to the competition are invited
to a welcome evening event, which will take place at approximately
8.00pm in a local pub, the Kings Arms in Sutton-in-Craven after the
awards presentation on the Saturday evening.
There will be plenty of food, drink and music to keep visitors entertained.
The competition will include prize money for the accordion, piano/keyboard
and guitar entertainment sections, and also for the highest mark of
the competition. The
closing date for entries is January 31st.
The
Paris - Moscow
Duo, Roman Jbanov and Domi Emorine are to hold a series of master
classes in Gruyère from February 27th to March 3rd. The master
classes are open to all, and there are no age restrictions. The series
ends with a concert at 8pm on March 3rd.
Accordionist
Davide Bonetti and dance teacher and choreographer Marina Rossi are
to run a joint course, lasting 8 sessions, from February 28th, in
Brescia.
Pascal
Contet's website has been recently updated, with a new page of
his repertoire as well as all index pages and concert dates.
James
O' Brien - composer, arranger and performer, releases another
6 new works for accordion available for purchase online. 'A
Bushman’s Song'(traditional), 'As
I Went Out' (traditional), 'Bagpiper’s
Carol' (traditional), 'Bielbie’s
Hornpipe' (traditional), 'Björnborgarnes
Marsch' (traditional), 'Carnival
of Venice' (traditional). Samples of this music are available
on the site. The music is in eSheet format, able to be emailed to
your computer. Purchase with credit card.
MusicForAccordion
is publishing a new music of 'Cristina'.
Samples of the music are available online. The music is in eSheet
format, able to be emailed to your computer. Purchase with credit
card.
A new site selling
a DVD titled '50th
Years Anniversary - Concert At Coupe Mondiale - London 26-10-2001'
with sound samples. Music performed by Alexander
Dmitriev. Purchase online.
Gaylord
Klancnik, a well-known accordion player in the polka field in Michigan,
died following a car accident on December 19th. He was nominated for
a Polka Grammy in 2005. He was a great accordion player and human
being and I know he will be missed at the polka festivals. Influenced
by Frank Yankovic, Gaylord Klancnik was one of the leaders in the
Slovenian style of polka playing, and was nominated for a Polka Grammy
in 2005.
Joe
Dannon, Rudy Bernick and Matt Pink, the latter who was perhaps the
biggest influence, taught Gaylord Klancnik the accordion. In 1976,
the Klancnik Brothers Orchestra was born, featuring Gaylord on accordion
and brother Ken on saxophone. The Klancnik Brothers Orchestra enjoyed
immense popularity throughout the years and was awarded trophies proclaiming
them 'Michigan's Best Polka Band' and Gaylord as 'Michigan's Polka
King'.
Evening News Photo by KARI COLLINS A car sits sandwiched between another
car and a garbage truck after an accident on Newport Rd. Monday. Gaylord
A. Klancnik of Carleton was killed in the crash. 
Anthony
P. Ettore, of Montville, New Jersey passed away on December 20th.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, he lived in Newark and Parsippany
for 13 years before moving to Montville in 1977. He was secretary/treasurer
of the Thomas J. O' Beirne Co., Roseland, New Jersey, since 1994.
A Marine Corps veteran, Tony served during World War II.
Claude
Caron's New CD, Lille - France
BubeSapràvie
Duet Concert, Strada - Italy
Alex's
Accordion Center will soon be expanding by opening a 2 full floors,
full-service accordion facility for sales, repairs, tuning and testing
on New York City's famous 'Music Row', 165 W.48th St. The extended
premises will include a specially equipped 'Back Room' for players
to try out and compare instruments.
Marie
Rappolt, with her Fisitalia accordion, leads her band Viva for a
series of performances at South Sydney Leagues Club, known as 'South
Sydney Rabbitohs', every Friday evening at 7.30pm, commencing on
January 13th until March 8th. The club is located at 265 Chalmers
Street Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales.
Spanish
accordionists Iñigo Aizpiolea and 
The
Paris - 
Accordionist
Davide Bonetti and dance teacher and choreographer Marina Rossi are
to run a joint course, lasting 8 sessions, from February 28th, in
Brescia.
