1 сентября финский аккордеонист Вели Куяла (Veli Kujala) выступит на открытии “Gaudeamus Music Week” в Амстердаме, исполнив премьеру нового концерта для аккордеона композитора Сампо Хаапамяки (Sampo Haapamaki), в сопровождении ведущего ансамбля современной музыки в Нидерландах «Insomnio», дирижер – Ульрих Пёль (Ulrich Pohl).
Этот концерт написан по заказу “Gaudeamus Music Week”, специально для Вели Куяла, играющего на необычном – четверть-тоновом - баяне.
Этот инструмент обладает всеми характеристиками обычного концертного баяна, но с одним исключением: обычные планки заменены такими, на которых голоса располагаются с интервалом в 1/4 тона, формируя диапазон, приблизительно, в пять октав. Автором этого изобретения является сам Вели Куяла, фирма Pigini изготовила инструмент при финансовой поддержке фонда «Wihuri». Настройку голосов произвел Тапио Пелтола (Tapio Peltola).
Сампо Хаапамяки (род. в 1979 г.) – один из самых успешных молодых композиторов Финляндии. За свои произведения он получил премию «Гаудеамус» в 2004 г., премию ISCM-CASH в 2005 г., а также финскую премию «Teosto».
Участники из Китая, Франции и США выступили на юбилейном, 70-м фестивале-конкурсе Американской Ассоциации Аккордеонистов (American Accordionists' Association - AAA), который прошел накануне в г. Александрия (Вашингтон, округ Колумбия).
В рамках фестиваля прошли три международных конкурса, со следующими результатами:
- Международный конкурс клавишных аккордеонистов ААА
1 премия $3 500 – не присуждена;
2 премия $1 000 - Nie Qian (Китай);
3 премия $500 - Anthony Falco (США);
- Международный конкурс виртуозной эстрадной музыки Vivian Vivio Stolaruk
1 премия $3 000 - Jeremie Buirette (Франция);
2 премия $1 500 - Nie Qian (Китай);
3 премия $500 - Anthony Falco (США);
- Международный конкурс эстрадной музыки для женщин им. Маддалены Белфиоре
1 премия $1 000 - Nie Qian (Китай);
2 премия $500 - Danielle Renzi (США);
3 премия $350 - Sun Liqin (Китай);
4 премия $150 – не присуждена.
На фестивале также, помимо конкурсов и семинаров, с успехом прошли концерты таких артистов как Mary Tokarski и Dessie Vaughan; джазового музыканта Joe Cerrito, а также ансамбля ААА и юбилейного фестивального оркестра ААА. Выступление международного гостя – Александра Поелуева – вызвало бурю оваций и восторженных отзывов восхищенной аудитории, которая аплодировала артисту стоя.
Фестиваль был широко освещен в прессе: объемные статьи вышли в газетах The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The USA Today и других.
Ассоциация аккордеонистов г. Каунаса – молодая и амбициозная организация, включающая более 500 членов из числа педагогов и студентов. На фото: президент Grazina Lukosiene (сидит справа), вице-президент Mindaugas Labanauskas (стоит слева), Birute Ruseniene (сидит слева), а также несколько студентов.
4 октября члены ассоциации приняли участие в XIV Аккордеонном Фестивале в Паланге. Концерт прошел с огромным успехом, под шквал аплодисментов восторженной публики. В концерте принимали участие: A.Daucianskas, A.Petraitis, I.Andriukevi?ius, L.Salijus (педагоги G.Lukosiene и B. Rusienene).
С 26 июля по 2 августа, а также со 2 по 9 августа в городке Саурис ди Сотто, неподалеку от г. Удина, проходит 10-й Международный Аккордеонный Лагерь (IMAC). Педагоги – Жан-Луи Нотон (Jean-Louis Noton), Мэди и Питер Соаве (Peter Soave).
Саурис ди Сотто (Sauris di Sotto) – это маленький рай, где отдых превосходно соединяется с музыкальным творчеством, а отель, где живут участники Лагеря, обладает множеством отличных условий для здоровья и отдыха. IMAC приглашает аккордеонистов всех уровней и любых возрастов со всего мира, играющих музыку любых стилей. В рамках Лагеря проходят мастер-классы, семинары, лекции, групповые и индивидуальные занятия. Участники могут рассчитывать на здоровую музыкальную среду, наполненную дружественной атмосферой и плодотворной работой, на фоне захватывающей панорамы итальянских Доломитов.
The prestigious Coupe Mondiale International Competition is to be hosted for the first time in Scotland with musical guests/performers from the four corners of the world, 21st - 26th October 2008.
The CIACoupe Mondiale, recognized as the most prestigious annual accordion competition of international scope, takes place in a different country every year, under the auspices of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes.
To be part of this great event as a competitor, you are reminded that the entry closing date is 31st August 2008 – have you completed your online entry submission at www.coupemondiale.org?
Already the top Coupe Mondiale class has over 20 entrants with the 2008 Coupe Mondiale likely to break the previous record for entries. Its sure to be a hugely exciting event.
If you are planning to attend the Coupe Mondiale, have you submitted your online submission to participate in the CIA World Accordion Orchestra II? Have you made your hotel reservation?
Extra chairs were needed to accommodate the larger-than-anticipated crowd that turned out for the 1st annual "Accordions Now!" Festival held on Saturday August 2nd at the Radisson Manchester Hotel, New Hampshire.
Intended to highlight the versatility of the accordion, this inaugural event was co-sponsored by the New Hampshire Accordion Association and Accordion Connection LLC of Gilmanton. The action-packed, music-filled day included concerts, workshops, an accordion orchestra, demonstrations, an open jam session, door prizes, vendor displays [Arthur Welch photo], and more.
Special guest artist Tony Lovello widely known as “The Liberace of the Accordion," received multiple standing ovations with the audience’s warm enthusiasm extending to the other featured performers: Mary Tokarski, Gary Morin, Nils Lundin, Chad Huval, John Leeman, and the "Accordions Now!" Festival Orchestra, conducted by Donna Maria Regis.
The latter, along with Peter Widmark, accompanied Nils Lundin in playing for the Scandi-Dancers’, emceed by Laurie Widmark. During the day, guest accordionists Mary Gail Duffy, Joe Maciejowski [photo], Bob & Anita Siarkowski, Jerry Tramontozzi, and Carmen Vitanza entertained in the public assembly area, where they drew favorable media coverage to the festival.
Bayan player Efim Jourist was the leader of the Jourist Quartett (Mikhail Kibardin – violin, Andreas Hecht – guitar, Johannes Huth - double bass) until his death in 2007. After Jourist died, well-known accordionist/bayanist Aidar Gaynullin took his position and became soloist with the quartet, which kept its name in the memory of its founder.
The repertoire of the ensemble consists of Argentinean tangos of Piazzolla as well as compositions of Jourist and Gaynullin, and the quartet inspires the public with its ‘Russian interpretations’ of concert tangos, played on the highest artistic level. The Jourist quartet appeared at international music festivals such as Rheingau Musik Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Carinthian Summer and Delft Chamber Music Festival.
On August 28th and 29th the Jourist Quartet will perform Russian and Argentinean tangos as well as film music by Aidar Gaynullin at the prestigious Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany.
Brandon McPhee, from Caithness in the north of Scotland, has just released his first CD: ‘A 'Starr' Is Born’. Brandon plays the 3-row diatonic button accordion, and the CD title pays homage to the memory of the late Will Starr, one of Scotland’s button accordion legends.
Brandon, aged 13, already has that 'magic' in his music that captures people’s attention. Under the tuition of his uncle Daniel MacPhee, Brandon has been playing the button key accordion for only just over a year and has made phenomenal progress.
The tracks on Brandon’s CD include: Scotland The Brave; Mhairi’s Wedding; Thistle Of Scotland/Donald MacLean’s Farewell to Oban, Inveresk House/The Road to Applecross/The Blue Bell Polka/The Shetland Two Step/The Jacqueline; Waltz/The Lewis and Harris Gathering; Laird Of Drumblair; John Keith Laing/Memories of Willie Snaith/Loch Ruan; Leslie Angus; Thomas Saunders/The Glens of Angus; Calin Mo Run Sa;The Road and the Miles to Dundee; My Mother/The Atholl Highlanders; Donald Iain Rankine/ John MacMillan of Barra; Jean’s Reel.
Accordion duo Janina Rüger (Germany) and Massimo Signorini (Italy) together present a programme of transcriptions and contemporary works. The concert dates are:
Friday August 22nd, 9.15pm – Church of the SS. Pietro and Paolo, Square of SS. Pietro and Paolo, Colognole (Li)
Saturday August 23rd, 9.15pm – Waldensian Church, Via Verdi, 15 - Livorno
The 18th annual Cotati Accordion Festival takes place on August 23rd and 24th at La Plaza Park, E Cotati Ave and Old Redwood Highway, Cotati, California. The Cotati Accordion Festival is a two-day event of nonstop accordion music to benefit local youth groups. Highlights include concerts, dance parties in the polka tent, Zydeco dancing, numerous accordion-related vendors, and the annual ‘Lady of Spain’ ring, including the releasing of the doves. Dick Contino is the festival’s special guest.
Performers include The Golden State Accordion Club, Amber Lee and the Anomalies, The Hurricane, Hugh Morrison, Alex Meixner, The Great Morgani, Limpopo, Lady of Spain, Simka, Dick Contino, Polka Freakout, Vagabond Opera, Jessica Fichot, Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers, Motordude Zydeco, The Wild Catahoula's, Steve Balich Band, Tango #9, The Internationals, Monterey International with guest tenor Oracio Aiello, The Georges Lammam Ensemble, Joe Domitrowich/Capricious Accordion, and Big Lou.
Mie Miki, born in Tokyo in 1956, studied accordion in Germany at the Trossingen Academy of Music. She won the first prizes at the International Accordion Competition, Klingenthal, and since 2000 she has been a Professor at the Detmold College of Music, Dortmund. Mainly setting her activities in Germany, Miki is invited often to many significant international music festivals.
2008 marks number 20 in the ‘Mie Miki Accordion Works’ recitals that Mie Miki began performing in the 1980s. The sole standard for the repertoire of these special annual concerts is the music Ms. Miki happens to be most attracted to at the time. The theme of this year’s program is “Dreams, thoughts and horizons,” with works by Mozart, Astor Piazzolla, John Cage, music from the film ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’, and the world premiere of a piece commissioned to world-renowned composer Takashi Yoshimatsu.
Mie Miki’s performance schedule is:
September 13th, 4.30pm - Hall Egg Farm, Space Who (Fukaya, Saitama); performing with Georg Friedrich Schenck – piano
20th, 6.30pm - Kosugi Hoan Museum of Art, Nikko
24th, 7pm - Okurayama Memorial Hall, with G. F. Schenck - piano
27th, 2pm - Hyogo Performing Arts Center, with G. F. Schenck - piano
28th, 2pm - Hamarikyu Asahi Hall; ’Mie Miki Accordion Works 2008’ - performing with G. F. Schenck - piano and Hideki Ikegami - marimba and percussion
October 7th, 3pm and 7.30pm - Hakuju Hall
11th to 13th - Sendai Classical Music Festival 2008
The Eastbourne Accordion Festival takes place From October 10th to 13th at the Cumberland Hotel, Eastbourne, on the south coast of England. Organised by John Romero, the guest artistes include Marco Valenti - Italy, Pearl Fawcett-Adriano, Harry Hussey, Les Girls, and the Crawley Accordion Orchestra (MD Shaun Hunter).
Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen, whose work explores themes such as religion, isolation, sexuality, and complex interpersonal relationships, has been an international cult figure since the 1960s. Cohen’s backing band, which includes accordionist and keyboard player Neil Larsen, is currently on a European Tour, with dates including:
September 21st – Arcul de Trumpf, Bucharest, Romania
24th and 25th – Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria
27th - HC Sparta Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
October 4th – O2, Berlin, Germany
6th – Olympiahalle, Munich
10th - Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland
12th – Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
15th – Globen, Stockholm
17th – Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark
19th and 20th - Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
23rd - Teatro Degli Arcimboldi, Milan, Italy
25th – Hallenstadion, Zurch, Switzerland
27th - Seg Geneva Arena, Geneva
29th – Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
31st - Colorline Arena, Hamburg
November 2nd - Konig-Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen
3rd – Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
5th and 6th – Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
8th - Cardiff International Arena, Wales
11th - Bournemouth International Centre, England
13th - The O2, London
22nd – NEC, Birmingham
24th, 25th and 26th – Olympia, Paris, France
28th - Centre, Brighton, England, UK
30th – MEN Arena, Manchester
Les AMIS Ensemble is a group of Canadian-based classical musicians who often perform together as a group and in various combinations. The ensemble performs contemporary as well as traditional chamber music. Their members include leading accordionist Joseph Macerollo, Lynn Kuo – violin, Rachel Mercer – cello, Marianna Humetska – piano, The Penderecki String Quartet (Jeremy Bell – violin, Jerzy Kaplanek – violin, Christine Vlajk – violin and Simon Fryer - cello), Dennis Patrick – electronics, and Katarzyna Sadej - mezzo-soprano.
In April 2009 Les AMIS Ensemble will visit Europe, and their tour dates include:
April 12th, 3pm – fund raising concert, Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Avenue, Toronto, Canada
20th - Pernik, Bulgaria
21st - Sofia, Bulgaria
23rd, 12noon, 5pm and 10pm – Canada Day at the 25th Music Biennale Zagreb, Croatia, part of the International Festival of Contemporary Music
25th - Bucharest, Romania
25th - International Festival of Modern Art - “Two Days and Two Nights of New Music”, Odessa, Ukraine
27th - Belgrade, Serbia (to be confirmed)
The Confédération Mondiale de l'Accordéon (CMA) who run the Trophée Mondiale competition have updated their web site - entry closing date 1st September 2008.
русско 
1 сентября финский аккордеонист Вели Куяла (Veli Kujala) выступит на открытии “Gaudeamus Music Week” в Амстердаме, исполнив премьеру нового концерта для аккордеона композитора Сампо Хаапамяки (Sampo Haapamaki), в сопровождении ведущего ансамбля современной музыки в Нидерландах «Insomnio», дирижер – Ульрих Пёль (Ulrich Pohl).
Участники из Китая, Франции и США выступили на юбилейном, 70-м фестивале-конкурсе Американской Ассоциации Аккордеонистов (
В рамках фестиваля прошли три международных конкурса, со следующими результатами:
Ассоциация аккордеонистов г. Каунаса – молодая и амбициозная организация, включающая более 500 членов из числа педагогов и студентов. На фото: президент Grazina Lukosiene (сидит справа), вице-президент Mindaugas Labanauskas (стоит слева), Birute Ruseniene (сидит слева), а также несколько студентов.
Саурис ди Сотто (Sauris di Sotto) – это маленький рай, где отдых превосходно соединяется с музыкальным творчеством, а отель, где живут участники Лагеря, обладает множеством отличных условий для здоровья и отдыха. IMAC приглашает аккордеонистов всех уровней и любых возрастов со всего мира, играющих музыку любых стилей. В рамках Лагеря проходят мастер-классы, семинары, лекции, групповые и индивидуальные занятия. Участники могут рассчитывать на здоровую музыкальную среду, наполненную дружественной атмосферой и плодотворной работой, на фоне захватывающей панорамы итальянских Доломитов.
The prestigious 
Extra chairs were needed to accommodate the larger-than-anticipated crowd that turned out for the 1st annual "Accordions Now!" Festival held on Saturday August 2nd at the Radisson Manchester Hotel, New Hampshire.
Bayan player Efim Jourist was the leader of the Jourist Quartett (Mikhail Kibardin – violin, Andreas Hecht – guitar, Johannes Huth - double bass) until his death in 2007. After Jourist died, well-known accordionist/bayanist Aidar Gaynullin took his position and became soloist with the quartet, which kept its name in the memory of its founder.
On August 28th and 29th the Jourist Quartet will perform Russian and Argentinean tangos as well as film music by Aidar Gaynullin at the prestigious Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany.
Brandon McPhee, from Caithness in the north of Scotland, has just released his first CD: ‘A 'Starr' Is Born’. Brandon plays the 3-row diatonic button accordion, and the CD title pays homage to the memory of the late Will Starr, one of Scotland’s button accordion legends.
Accordionist Phil Cunningham and fiddle player Aly Bain are currently touring Scotland, and their dates include:
Accordion duo Janina Rüger (Germany) and 
The 18th annual Cotati Accordion Festival takes place on August 23rd and 24th at La Plaza Park, E Cotati Ave and Old Redwood Highway, Cotati, California. The Cotati Accordion Festival is a two-day event of nonstop accordion music to benefit local youth groups. Highlights include concerts, dance parties in the polka tent, Zydeco dancing, numerous accordion-related vendors, and the annual ‘Lady of Spain’ ring, including the releasing of the doves. Dick Contino is the festival’s special guest.
Mie Miki, born in Tokyo in 1956, studied accordion in Germany at the Trossingen Academy of Music. She won the first prizes at the International Accordion Competition, Klingenthal, and since 2000 she has been a Professor at the Detmold College of Music, Dortmund. Mainly setting her activities in Germany, Miki is invited often to many significant international music festivals.
The Eastbourne Accordion Festival takes place From October 10th to 13th at the Cumberland Hotel, Eastbourne, on the south coast of England. Organised by John Romero, the guest artistes include Marco Valenti - Italy, 
Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen, whose work explores themes such as religion, isolation, sexuality, and complex interpersonal relationships, has been an international cult figure since the 1960s. Cohen’s backing band, which includes accordionist and keyboard player Neil Larsen, is currently on a European Tour, with dates including:
Les AMIS Ensemble is a group of Canadian-based classical musicians who often perform together as a group and in various combinations. The ensemble performs contemporary as well as traditional chamber music. Their members include leading accordionist Joseph Macerollo, Lynn Kuo – violin, Rachel Mercer – cello, Marianna Humetska – piano, The Penderecki String Quartet (Jeremy Bell – violin, Jerzy Kaplanek – violin, Christine Vlajk – violin and Simon Fryer - cello), Dennis Patrick – electronics, and Katarzyna Sadej - mezzo-soprano.
