Accordions Worldwide
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The Squeeze
5th September 1997

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Editors note:
Accordions Worldwide has recently moved server. This is so we can provide a better service with faster download times for Northern Hemisphere accordionists. At the same time, we have been busy updating the look of the site, with further changes to be made in the near future. Please give me your comments and suggestions, they are always welcome.

We have also done a thorough check of the site, but this can be very hard as there are in excess of 6,000 pages to check. If you happen to find any bad links or pages, please let me know. We had some initial problems with the Yellow Pages submit forms for approximately 12 hours last Friday. If you submitted information to us around that time and it doesn't appear this week, please submit the information again and I will ensure it is put on the site next Friday.

Wayne Knights


This weeks titles:

  • 9th Accordion Contest in Kantou, Japan
  • Silfverberg Accordion News - USA
  • 2nd Saxon Accordion Competition - Saxony, Germany
  • 7th Annual Cotati Accordion Festival
  • Michigan Accordion Society to Honour Tony Dannon – USA
  • Preparatory Meeting of Accordion Competition in Kunmin City, China
  • Accordion Trio Fratres, Finland
  • Master Class and Concert Weekend Sponsored by AAA in NYC
  • "Coupe de Wupp" in Germany
  • Birthday Celebrations for Myron Floren - USA
  • 3rd International Folk Instruments Performers Competition – Russia
  • Accordion Beatles Goes Underground! – Canada
  • "All'aperto A Roseto" Accordion Festival – Italy
  • American Dance Weekend at Buffalo Gap – USA
  • Bay Area Beginners Accordion Support Group – USA
  • Saskatchewan Chamber Orchestra to Feature Accordionist
  • Eighth Annual Galla-Rini Music Camp in Oregon, USA
  • Milwaukee Accordion Club News - USA


  • 9TH ACCORDION CONTEST IN KANTOU, JAPAN

    Contributed by Toru Katou

    The 9th Accordion Contest in Kantou, Japan will begin on September 7th at 10am with the solo section in Higashi Murayama City, Tokyo

    Classes include: under 18 years, to over 50 years as well as a beginner class for less than 3 years playing experience. Competition music is own choice, but may not exceed 5 minutes duration.

    The ensemble section commences on September 21st at 10am in Akabane, Tokyo. Classes include:

    • Class A ensemble of accordions
    • Class B small ensemble of accordion and other instruments, without a conductor
    • Class J large ensemble of accordion and other instruments, with a conductor
    Music in these classes is also own choice but must not exceed 6 minutes duration.

    The judges will include nine professional accordion teachers: Noboru Emori, Yushi KawaguchI, Sonki Kinoshita, Hideo Nakayama, Tadashi Nishio, Masaaki Hamana, Yuji Matunaga, Hideaki Yamaoka, Tsuneko Ogawa.

    For further information email: ken4425@ka2.so-net.or.jp ( Mr Ken Ikeda, Japan)


    SILFVERBERG ACCORDION NEWS - USA

    Contributed by Julie Silfverberg

    The Silfverberg Family, Juha, Julie, Jessica and Janne, were recently awarded the "Most Musical Family" of 1997 by the Missouri Music Teachers.

    Juha and Julie are both Executive Officers of the Accordion Teachers Guild International and members of The International Trio (with Kevin Friedrich) who have performed in many countries of the world. Julie is also a graduate of UMKC.

    Our congratulations to the family on receiving this award.


    2ND SAXON ACCORDION COMPETITION - SAXONY, GERMANY

    Contributed by Andrea Rautenberg

    The 2nd Saxon Accordion Competition will be held on October 4th at the Heinrich-Schütz-Conservatory in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. The organiser is Mrs Bärbel Claus, head of the accordion section at the Heinrich-Schütz-Conservatory and President of the Saxon section of the German Accordion Teachers' Association. This competition is intended to become an important component of the local accordion activities.

    More than 90 competitors from Saxony have registered (64 last year). Because of the many inquiries from out of Saxony it is being considered to open the competition for national or even international competitors.

    Mrs Claus and her youth accordion orchestra have won many international competitions including the 1st prize in Insbruck 1995 and the 3rd prize in Copenhagen 1996, both in the "main section".


    7TH ANNUAL COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVAL

    Contributed by Blair Hardman

    The 7th Annual Cotati Festival was a huge success. Dick Contino showed he is still a master of the instrument and his popular performance included bellows shakes and a patriotic medley. Those Darn Accordions and Polkacide amazed the audience with their offbeat performances. There was plenty of dance music such as mazurkas, polkas, tangos, waltzes and rhumbas. A wooden floor was erected especially for the polka dancing.

    The Jim Boggio memorial statue was unveiled in honour of Jim who was instrumental in establishing the Cotati accordion festival. The statue is a wonderful addition to the park.


    MICHIGAN ACCORDION SOCIETY TO HONOUR TONY DANNON - USA

    Contributed by Faithe Deffner, President of the American Accordionists' Association

    Jazz accordionist and all-time great musician and teacher Tony Dannon is being honoured by the Michigan Accordion Society on Sunday, October 5th at a Tribute Dinner in Warren, Michigan. Society President Steve Stolarik said "We want to honour Tony for his monumental accordion accomplishments. Members of the accordion community are welcome to join us at this wonderful event." The celebration in Dannon's honour will include dinner and an accordion show, priced at US$25 at the Arriva Restorante, Twelve Mile Road, between Mound and Van Dyke. Due to Dannon's great popularity, the event promises to be a sellout and advance ticket purchases are recommended. For information, telephone: + 1 248-853 1500 and ask about the Tony Dannon Tribute Dinner and Show.


    PREPARATORY MEETING OF ACCORDION COMPETITION IN KUNMIN CITY, CHINA

    Contributed by Wu Jie

    On August 28th an accordion meeting was held in Yunnan Art College in Kunmin city with Presidents and Directors of Sichuan Accordion Association, Guizhou Accordion Association, Chongqing Accordion Association, including Mr Wu Shouzhi, Mr Zhu Chunsheng, Mr Ying Qi, Mr Tao Ran, Ms Zhao Xun, and Mr Chen Zhong and others.

    This meeting was held to make initial preparations for the "First Three Provinces and One City's United Accordion Competition". The three provinces will be Sichuan province, Guizhou province and Yunnan province; and the city is Chongqing city.

    The participants discussed details such as the site, which was decided to be Kunmin city; and date of the competition which will be in August next year. They estimate that there will be over 1,000 contestants participating in this event. The second preparatory meeting will be held in January 1998.


    ACCORDION TRIO FRATRES, FINLAND

    Contributed by Raimo Vertainen

    The Accordion Trio Fratres was founded in 1994 in Finland and members Raimo Vertainen, Heikki Jokiaho and Toni Hämäläinen all graduated from the Conservatory of Central Finland (Jyväskylä).

    They have commissioned various works for the accordion including works from Finnish composers. This year they released a CD called "Assahra" which has been given a very good reception. The repertoire of the trio Fratres is very unconventional and includes pieces like Ballet Tango (Astor Piazzolla), Judgement Day (Van Halen), Englishman In New York (Sting), The Art of Fugue (parts) (J.S.Bach), Speed King (Deep Purple), Arara (Kimmo Hakola) and Pictures At An Exhibition (Mussorgsky).


    MASTER CLASS AND CONCERT WEEKEND SPONSORED BY AAA IN NYC

    Contributed by Faithe Deffner, President of the American Accordionists' Association

    The Third of a series of annual Master Class and Concert Weekends moderated by accordionist-composer Dr. William Schimmel and sponsored by the American Accordionists Association took place at the Tenri Institute of the Guggenheim Museum in the SoHo area of New York City from August 29th to 31st. The event was very successful and featured talks and concerts by many well known accordion personalities. Some of the highlights were an "accordion-toting" Elvis Presley played by Ray Rue, details of AAA music commissions discussed by commissioning chairperson Elsie Bennett, and accordion performances by Joanne Arnold and Stanley Darrow, Henry Doktorski, Will Holshauer, Dr Robert Y. McMahan, Dr Thomas Massucci, Patricia Tregellis and others. There were accordion performances with a number of other instrumentalists and several new compositions were introduced by their composers, two of whom received special grants for their work.


    "COUPE DE WUPP" IN GERMANY

    Contributed by Martin Frey

    The "Coupe de Wupp" will be held on September 14th at the Gesamtschule, Florian Geyer Str. 9, 42329 Wupperthal-Vohwinkel in Germany. The solo competition will start at 9am with 6 categories and 19 performers, including virtuoso entertainment music.

    The final concert and prizegiving will be held at 4pm. For further details contact the competition organiser - Markus Matuszewski: Tel/Fax: + 49 202 510313


    BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR MYRON FLOREN - USA

    Contributed by Rennie Guenther

    There will be a special celebration on November 2nd for Myron Floren's birthday. Any one wanting to play their accordion can contact the Wurstfest office at + 1 830 625 9167 and you will be sent tickets. You can also call toll free on: + 1 800 221 4369 It is planned that everyone will perform on stage with the accordion band and then when Myron comes out we will play Happy Birthday for him. You will also be able to catch his 3pm performance inside the Wursthalle and get him to sign your autographs.

    Wurstfest 1997 starts on Friday October 31st and runs for 10 days. At the grand opening you will get to see Myron come up the river with the Wurstfest Navy.


    3RD INTERNATIONAL FOLK INSTRUMENTS PERFORMERS COMPETITION - RUSSIA

    Contributed by Tatiana Lanchtchikova

    The 3rd International Folk Instruments Performers Competition "Cup of North" will take place from October 20th to 30th in Tcherepovetz, Russia.

    This competition, organised by officials of the Tcherepovetz and Petrozavodsk State Music Conservatory, is for accordion solo and ensembles, folk strings instruments, such as domra, mandolina, balalaika and guitar, and for orchestra conductors.

    Players of all ages can take part in the competition, which will include three sections with various styles of music.

    Leaders of the organisation committee and jury are:

    • Evgueni Pokatilov
    • Vladimir Soloviev
    • Alexandr Tzjigankov
    • Nikolai Kalinin.
    For further information see Future Events


    ACCORDION BEATLES GOES UNDERGROUND! - USA

    Contributed by Domenic "the Accordion Beatles guy" Amatucci

    Domenic Amatucci has passed an audition for the Toronto Transit Commission's Subway Musician Program. Beginning in October, he will be playing in various subway stations all over Metro Toronto. The $100 license entitles him to a year of underground squeezing.

    225 acts were chosen to audition at the Canadian National Exhibition's Community Corner stage from August 15th to 17th and of these, only 75 were granted licenses. Domenic says "What harried commuter wouldn't be soothed by the sweet sounds of "Here There and Everywhere" or "And I Love Her" coming out of the Bellini? And those great acoustics - pure, natural reverb forever!"


    "ALL'APERTO A ROSETO" ACCORDION FESTIVAL - ITALY

    Contributed by Holda Paoletti-Kampl

    On August 13th an open air accordion festival was held in Roseto degli Abruzzi (Teramo, Italy) which was organised by Mr Ezio Talamonti, with the help of the local City Council.

    Many great Italian accordion artists performed different music styles such as:

    • Aldo Maglietta (acoustic accordion on pre-registered tapes)
    • Giancarlo Di Giovanni (classic accordion)
    • Angelo Cardinali (acoustic and electronic accordion)
    • Gervaso Marcosignori (electronic accordion)
    The audience appreciated the difficult but sparkling program of the soloists, who managed to get many cheers and the promise for a future edition of the event.


    AMERICAN DANCE WEEKEND AT BUFFALO GAP - USA

    Contributed by Wendy Morrison

    Wendy Morrison's group, Klezmos, will be teaching and playing for workshops at a music and dance camp at Buffalo Gap in Capon Bridge, USA from September 12th to 14th. Individual members of the group are also leading other vocal and instrumental workshops. The focus for the weekend is on squares and contras, waltzes and other popular couple dances such as jitterbug, tango, schottish, polka, hambo, zwiefacher, etc. Accordionist Jeremiah McLane will also be there.


    BAY AREA BEGINNERS ACCORDION SUPPORT GROUP - USA

    Contributed by Jane the Cat

    Having Strange dreams of Squeezin'?

    Found IT in the attic and wanna play?

    Got one for your birthday and now it's time for revenge!?

    At first it may look quite simple...

    A few keys on one side a few buttons on the other and a vacuum pump thing in the middle.... But the First Squeeze sounds more like a Donkey with the flu!

    The Bay Area Beginners Accordion Support Group is for accordion players who have about three years or less experience, and would like a supportive environment to get used to playing in front of other people. The group plans a meeting on the last Thursday of each month to squeeze together for a few hours and then spend time talking about it all. These meetings will be held in the Soma area of San Francisco!

    For further information please email: cat@prolific.com


    SASKATCHEWAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA TO FEATURE ACCORDIONIST

    Contributed by Faithe Deffner, President of the American Accordionists' Association

    Peter Slominski will perform on September 14th at the national convention of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, as accordionist with the Saskatchewan Chamber Orchestra. He will play the first of five Astor Piazzolla tangos, which were arranged in 1988 by the orchestra's new conductor Earl Stafford. The instrumentation is violin, piano (played by Maestro Stafford), bass, 2 percussion and a very prominent and challenging accordion part. Accordionist Slominski has added his own registration to better "capture the bandoneon sound as well as to showcase other sonic possibilities of the accordion." The entire set of five tangos is scheduled for concert in January of 1998.


    EIGHTH ANNUAL GALLA-RINI MUSIC CAMP IN OREGON, USA

    Contributed by Tom Collins

    John Simkus, President of the Chicago Accordion Club, has recently reported on the Eighth Annual Galla-Rini Music Camp, which was again held at Silver Falls State Park, located 30 miles east of Salem, Oregon. "It was another wonderful program with special guest, Jorgen Sundeqvist, who conducted some enlightening workshops and added to the success of this grand accordion affair. Due to the travel involved from Maestro Galla-Rini's home, it was determined to move the site nearby to his residence in California. Next year it is contemplated to be located in St. Luis Rey, California at the Mission St. Luis Rey Retreat Center, which is located near San Diego. More definite details will be forthcoming in the near future."


    MILWAUKEE ACCORDION CLUB NEWS - USA

    Contributed by Tom Collins

    The Milwaukee Accordion Club has recently held their bi-annual election. Those officers finishing a term of grand accomplishment included Ken Plewa, Lenny King, Jonie Malino and Dan Sacharski. They will be replaced by a new team consisting of Tony Gorenc, Ed Vidmar, Shirley Barry, and Larry Wysocki.


    EMAILS (ACCORDION TO THE EDITOR)

    Subject: Coupe Mondiale list update

    Hello!! I just send you this mail to say you that in the list of the winners of the COUPE MONDIALE, I was the winner in 1990 and you wrote my name "Inati Castano"=it´s wrong. My name is ANGEL LUIS CASTANO. Please if you can change it I think it´s important for people to have the correct dates. Thank you.

    A. L. Castano

    Thanks for the information! We got the information from the CIA, but somehow your name must have been spelt wrong. I will change it today, as I do think it is very important ( I understand the level you must get to, to win the Coupe Mondiale). A very belated congratulations!

    Best wishes,

    Wayne Knights
    Accordions Worldwide


    Subject: Magazine listing

    I recently submitted a request to be included in your Magazine section. There was no place on the form to include a URL, so I send it along here as a separate mailing: RootsWorld's FreeReed: http://www.rootsworld.com/freereed.shtml

    Cliff Furnald

    Thanks, I have your submit form. There is also a section on our site called "Other Sites" which lists all websites to do with the accordion. I will check, and if yours is not there, I will add it.

    I'm glad you are enjoying the site.

    Regards,

    Wayne Knights
    Accordions Worldwide



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