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2020 Winter Congress and 143rd General Assembly of Delegates - Czech Republicby Kevin Friedrich, CIA Ambassador |
The Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA), President Mirco Patarini, Secretary General Kimmo Mattila, held their 143rd General Assembly of Delegates Winter Congress in Prague, Czech Republic from Friday 28 February to Sunday 1st March. The Winter Congress was hosted by the CIA Voting Member The Prague Conservatory of Music under the direction of Jirí Lukeš. Program of Events: 2020Winter.pdf In addition to the CIA General Assembly meetings, Executive and Music Committee meetings, the three day event included events such as concerts, educational events and social engagements. A highlight was a concert dedicated to the memory of Milan Bláha and Václav Trojan at which the guest of honors included Mrs. Bláha and Václav Trojan Junior. In addition, another concert featured Czech Accordion Music, a visit to the Czech Music of Music, displays by Czech music companies Harmonikas, Delicia and Techgal and an evening river cruise and dinner hosted by the Czech Accordion Association. During the General Assembly meetings, many items of business were conducted including organization for the upcoming Coupe Mondiale festivals and Winter Congress meetings and other business items. Five new voting members were welcomed to the CIA: * Bosnia and Herzegovina - Association of Artists (Bijeljina); * Bulgaria - The Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts (Plovdiv); * France - Centre National et Internationale de Musique d'Accordéon (CNIMA J.Mornet); * South Korea - Korean Accordion Association * Slovenia- Association of Slovenian Accordionists (Starše). The position of CIA Ambassador (an Executive advisory role appointment from 2009) was transitioned to a full voting member of the Executive Committee. Kevin Friedrich who held the initial appointment was nominated by the Accordionists & Teachers Guild, International (ATG) and unanimously elected to continue his Ambassador position in this newly restructured role. Attracting more than 35 delegates from around the world, the three day event was a tremendous success, and many accolades were offered to the Czech CIA Voting Member The Prague Conservatory for their excellent organization and hospitality. Further information regarding the CIA and the Coupe Mondiale are found online, and regularly updated as information and activities are announced. |
Beltango Quinteto Tours Austriaby Dr Herbert Scheibenreif Manager of Friedrich Lips Productions |
The Beltango Quinteto will tour Austria this month giving a variety of popular concerts. Beltango was founded in Belgrade, Serbia in 1998, by professor, bandoneonist and composer Aleksandar Nikolic. Quinteto Beltango perform a variety of tango pieces from traditional tango pieces, compositions of the tango nuevo trend of Astor Piazzolla and modern tango. They also present their own Beltango compositions from "Balkango" opus. They have been equally successful in performing on large concert podiums, symphonic halls, theatre stages, classical chamber halls, tango balls, gran milongas, festivals as well as in other places where the spirit of tango revives. In fact, in their 20 years of artistic activities they have played more than 900 concerts in around 30 countries. Quinteto Beltango also collaborated with Belgrade Tango Association and hosted the International Belgrade Tango Festival for 10 years (2004 - 2013). They have released five CD’s available online at: Beltango Tour dates as follows: March 19th: Viennese Accordion Festival, Ehrbar-Saal, 8pm March 20th: Vaz der Arbeiterkammer NÖ, 7.30pm - 40 Years of International Accordion Concerts in Neunkirchen March 21st: Bad Leonfelden, Haus am Ring, 7.30pm March 28th: Steyr, Pfarrsaal, 9pm March 29th: St. Andrä, Rathausfestsaal, 5pm For further concert details email: info@beltango.com |
Happy Birthday, George Washington! - USAby Harley Jones |
Video: Recent US Air Force Band videos with Senior Master Sergeant Busso: Picture above: US Air Force Strolling Strings, full group, USAF Band, at Mt Vernon. In commemoration of George Washington’s 288th birthday, The United States Air Force Strolling Strings performed at Mount Vernon in Virginia, USA on February 22. Selections included Jay Ungar’s “Ashokan Farewell,” Aaron Copland’s “Hoe Down” from his “Rodeo” ballet, Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” and James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” The Air Force Strolling Strings’ accordionist is Senior Master Sergeant Frank Busso, originally from Staten Island, New York, USA. His next public performances will be with The US Air Force Band’s Celtic Aire ensemble, March 6-8 at the North Texas Irish Festival in Dallas, Texas, USA. |
NOVAM Accordion Orchestra Festival, 22 Orchestras – Netherlandsby Christine Johnstone |
The NOVAM (Nederloadse Organisatie Voor Accordeon en Mondharmonica) Orchestral Festival will be held at the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep (picture above) in Hill Lane, Hilversum on April 26th, 2020. To date, 22 orchestras have registered for the event and registrations are still being accepted. All accordion enthusiasts are invited to attend. |
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
Frankfurt Musikmesse 2020 Postponed - Germanyby Christine Johnstone |
The Musikmesse gathers about 56,000 visitors and close to 1,000 exhibitors annually. "Public-health authorities in Frankfurt for 2020 required a health check to prevent the Covid-19 virus infection spreading and Messe Frankfurt is unable to implement such measures for such numbers" says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. Therefore the Musikmesse 2020 has been postponed indefinitely. The new dates will be announced in the near future. Visitor admission tickets continue to be valid. For further details phone: +49 69 7575-6335 |
Art Bonus Supports the Accordion Museum Castelfidardo – Italyby Harley Jones |
The Accordion Museum Castelfidardo building is currently being refurbished after some 40 years and will reopen on May 9th, 2020. Some 15,000 people visit each year, making the Accordion Museum Castelfidardo one among the most popular venues, of the Marche region. The Municipality of Castelfidardo has organised an Art Bonus which will allow contributors to take advantage of significant tax benefits in the form of a tax credit of 65%, for donations to support culture. Donations can be made as follows: Beneficiary: Municipality of Castelfidardo IBAN: IT11N0200837281000040883886 Purpose: Art Bonus - Municipality of Castelfidardo - International Accordion Museum - Entering tax code or VAT number of the patron / subscriber The refurbishment includes the creation of additional display cases, an updated and modern exhibition, the installation of equipment such as a projector, awning, computer and LED monitor. The musuem writes: If you love the accordion, help us to complete the Museum with the Art Bonus project. |
Successful NAO Thames Area Festival & Special Awards – UKby Alison Worthington |
Picture above, left to right: Eddie Giffney (adjudicator), Alison Worthington (organiser) and John Cumiskey (MC). As the rain once again fell over the UK on February 29th, the NAO Thames Area Festival provided an opportunity to keep dry. On offer was soloists, duets, ensembles and orchestra competitors playing programs ranging from Beethoven, Scarlatti, Galliano to TV shows (Game of Thrones) to Movie Scores (Mary Poppins and Schindler's List). The adjudicator this year was Eddie Giffney, who has recently moved from New Zealand to London, UK. He is a multi-instrumentalist and received his Masters of Music with Distinction from the Royal College of Music. He has achieved considerable success on three instruments: piano, accordion and harpsichord. He has competed at the Coupe Mondiale and has twice been the South Pacific and New Zealand Accordion Association (NZAA) Champion on the classical accordion. There was a record number of orchestras attending this year, with 5 orchestras entering 6 different classes. It provided for an exceptional afternoon of music, with a variety of genres to please everyone. Three awards were presented: Bridget Cumiskey Trophy:- Highest Mark for Solo/Duet - awarded to Ann-Claire Herr The James Mullally Cup:- For outstanding performance and encouragement - awarded to Sylvester Maschi. The London Accordion Cup:- Highest Mark for Ensemble/Orchestra - awarded to Amici. Pictures below: - Amici, left to right - Marion Szuman, Melanie Wright, Ben Smith, Richard Cotmore, Ruth Matthews and Cheryl Beasley. - Kennet Accordion Orchestra |
Future events |
Duo Tutto a Dio plus Neringa Radėnaitė on 29 Concert Tourby Rita Davidson Barnea, Editor USA Accordion News |
Video 1: Tango pour Claude - "Tutto a Dio" Video 2: Augustinas at 2018 Coupe Mondiale 1st Round. The duo Tutto a Dio of Greta Staponkute-Rakau (viola) and Augustinas Rakauskas (accordion) write: "This year (officially on March 11) is the 30th Anniversary of Lithuania independence and we created a special program. One part is Lithuanian music arrangements and original pieces and the second part is mostly Tango including many pieces by Astor Piazzolla. This is why we called this series of concerts "Baltic Tango”. The goal to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Lithuania was to make 30 concert tour that includes concerts in USA, Canada, Switzerland and Lithuania." One club had to cancel at the last moment so this is why you see 29 concerts listed below. "Tutto a Dio" duet has held recitals in California, Meine, Florida, the Consulate General of Lithuania in New York (USA), Switzerland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece. The Duo has achieved international competition sucess at the “Coupe Mondiale in 2017and 2018”. 2020 "Baltic Tango" Performances include: Greta Staponkute-Rakau (viola), Augustinas Rakauskas (accordion), Neringa Radenaite (soprano): 1. February 25th., 6 pm., GSTAAD (Switzerland) 2. February 28th., 12 pm., Nashua Public Library, NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE (USA) 3. February 28th., 6 pm., Rodgers Memorial Library, HUDSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE (USA) 4. February 29th., 12 pm., St. Mass, 13 pm, Concert KENNEBUNK, MAINE (USA) 5. February 29th., 7 pm., Maironis Park, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSSETTS (USA) 6. March 1st., 1 pm., Lithuanian Hall, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (USA) 7. March 3rd., 8 pm., The Resurrection Monastery, TORONTO, ONTARIO (Canada) 8. March 4th., 5:30 pm., Vilnius Manor House, TORONTO, ONTARIO (Canada) 9. March 6th., 1 pm., Private event at the Lithuanian Embassy, OTTAWA, ONTARIO (Canada) 10. March 7th., 2 pm., Dawn Gate Parish Hall, MONTREAL, QUEBEC (Canada) 11. March 8th., 1 pm., Lithuanian Music Hall, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA (USA) 12. March 10th., 4 pm., 5500 Grossmont Center Dr, La Mesa SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA (USA) 13. March 10th., 6:30 pm., 5500 Grossmont Center Dr, La Mesa, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA (USA) 14. March 11th., 8 pm., First Christian Church of North HOLLYWOOD, L.A. CALIFORNIA (USA) 15. March 12th., 7:15 pm., The Runaway Restaurant, NAPA, CALIFORNIA (USA) 16. March 13th., 7:30 pm., Welcome Grange at 3275 Hagen Road, NAPA, CALIFORNIA (USA) 17. March 14th., 2 pm., 1st Congregational Church, SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA (USA) 18. March 15th., 3 pm., Chetcuti Community room, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (USA) 19. March 17th., 5 pm., “The Hamilton” 555 Byron St., PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA (USA) 20. March 19th., 7:30 pm., NAA Convention Hayatt Regency Hotel North Dallas, Richardson, TEXAS 21. March 20th., 7 pm., 280 DonOre Rd., SALT SPRING ISLAND (CANADA) 22. March 21st., 8 pm., UVic Legacy Art Gallery, VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA (CANADA) 23. March 22nd., 3 pm., 1812 9th Ave, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (USA) 24. March 22nd., 7 pm., Ronald United Methodist Church, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (USA) 25. March 23rd., Accordion Workshop, Petosa Accordions, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (USA) 26. March 27th., 7 pm., Accordion Recital, Lithuanian Hall, EDMONTON, (CANADA) 27. March 28th., 5:30 pm., Accordion Recital, Lithuanian Cultural Society, CALGARY, (CANADA) 28. April 2nd., 12.30 pm., Caecilia Hall, GENEVA (SWITZERLAND) 29. April 16th., Gariunai Hall, VILNIUS (LITHUANIA) |
Stas Venglevski Presents 5 Concerts/Workshops in 5 days, Washington, DC - USAby Dan Grauman |
Acclaimed bayanist, Stas Venglevski, will begin a five day, five performance tour this month, starting on March 11th in Maryland. This first concert will be held at a prestigious independent living facility in Sykesville, Maryland. The following day he will perform in Washington, DC at a special event sponsored by the Embassy of Moldova, Stas’s birthplace. On March 13th, Stas will perform at another prestigious independent living facility in Frederick, MD. The weekend will include two concerts/workshops, the first, sponsored by Accordion Renaissance, will take place in Suffolk, Virginia on Saturday, and the second, sponsored by the Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society (WMAS), will take place in Falls Church, Virginia on Sunday. The WMAS concert is open to the public. |
Duo Fisarco Launch Concerts - UKby Rob Howard |
Accordionist Ben de Souza and violinist Chloë Meade are pleased to announce the launch of Duo Fisarco! The pair have been playing together for 18 months but from now on will be performing under their new name. Future concerts are: March 7th: A Musical Medley at 7.30pm at Horfield Methodist Church, Churchways Avenue, Bristol. March 13th: Lunchtime recital at 1.30pm at The New Room, The Horsefair, Bristol. Free entry March 28th: Concert with the Birmingham Festival Choral Society at 7.30pm at The Ruddock Centre, King Edward’s School, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham. For details email: ba.desouza@yahoo.co.uk |
Accordionist Ivan Tecla at Quiosque Do Alemao - Brazilby Christine Johnstone |
Accordionist Ivan Tecla will entertain with vocalist Henzo Delucca at live music venue Quiosque Do Alemao in Praia dos namorados, Americana, Sao Paulo on March 8th. Ivan plays regularly with the popular vocalist. For details phone: +55 19 99234-5351 |
Kosmos Ensemble at Linlithgow Arts Guild Concert - Scotlandby Christine Johnstone |
Video: Libertango by Astor Piazzolla. Kosmos Ensemble with Worthing Symphony Orchestra, Festival of Chichester, Chichester Cathedral, 5th July 2018. The Kosmos Ensemble will perform at the Linlithgow Arts Guild concert in the Linlithgow Academy Theatre on March 14th at 7.30pm. This concert is part of the Linlithgow Arts Guild 50th Anniversary Season of bringing excellence in Live Arts to Linlithgow celebrations. The ensemble includes Milos Milivojevic (accordion), Harriet MacKenzie (violin) and Meg Hamilton (viola). For details email: kosmos@kosmosensemble.com |
Accordionist Pietro Roffi Performs in “Pinocchio” - Italyby Holda Paoletti-Kampl |
Accordionist Pietro Roffi (picture right) will perform in a production of Pinocchio by Dario Marianelli together with the Roma Tre Orchestra (conducted by Ferdinando Sulla). The event will take place at the Teatro Palladium in Rome, Italy on March 17th at 9pm. For details email: roffimanagement@gmail.com |
Mixed Instruments Workshop in Ettrickbridge - UKby Christine Johnstone |
Ian Lowthian (picture right) will hold the first 2020 Mixed Instruments weekend workshop on March 28th and 29th. The weekend will take place in Ettrickbridge in the heart of the beautiful Scottish Borders and will include a concert on the Sunday afternoon. Ian will send out music in advance so you can be prepared to arrange and rehearse on the Saturday and Sunday morning in preparation for the Sunday concert. The locals love these event and all proceeds will go to charity. For details email: ianlowthian@yahoo.co.uk |
Moscow International House of Music Concert – Russiaby Sergey Osokin |
A concert featuring the music of Astor Piazzolla and text by Gabriel Garcia Marquez will be held at the famous Moscow International House of Music (picture below) in Russia on April 22nd, 2020. Musicians performing include Sergey Osokin (accordion), Dmitry Selipanov (piano), Vladimir Troitsky (violin), Igor Ivanushkin (double bass), Alexander Botvinkin (percussion) and Nina Shatskaya (vocalist). |
Victor Prieto Jazz Accordion Master Classes – Spainby Christine Johnstone |
Victor Prieto performs his original "Six Note Samba" live as part of The Checkout - Live at Berklee. Registrations are now open for the VII International Jazz Accordion and Modern Harmony Master Classes with Victor Prieto at Centro Cultural Marcos Varcarcel in Ourense, Spain on July 11th & 12th and 18th & 19th, 2020. There will be an open jam session at the "Cafe Cultural Auriense" jazz club on July 13th so all the participants can play with other instruments, experiment, socialize and have a great time performing in front of an audience. The Master Class will cover Improvisation in different styles and understanding scales (pop, rock, bolero & jazz), comping: How to form chords, close position, open position, Upper structures, Poly-Chords: "Chord Approach on both hands", Styles - How to phrase and comp: Jazz, blues, Brazilian, traditional tango, new Tango and other styles of modern harmony, How to work and what to do in a recording studio when you get only chord changes. Attendees will also watch videos and analyze them. A book with material will be given to each student for further studies and review (to take home) and they will practice and perform with a rhythm section (bass and drums). There are 9 positions available. If interested please send a video recording of your solo or group performance to: info@victorprieto.net You will be notified if you have been selected to participate. |
New and Updated Sites |
ite NZAA mis à jour: Lève de fonds à la journée de l’accordéon, pour les compétiteurs de la coupe mondiale de Nouvelle Zélande – Nouvelle Zélandeby Heather Masefield Secretary, New Zealand Accordion Association |
Site NZAA mis à jour: L’association d’accordéon de Nouvelle Zélande (NZAA) sponsorise la journée mondiale de l’accordéon (World Accordion Day) avec un concert de bénéficiance pour financer les compétiteurs néo-zélandais pour la coupe mondiale 2020, Jessie Chen, Catrina Lin and Angela Chen. Le concert qui aura lieu le mercredi 6 mai, journée mondiale de l’accordéon, débutera à 19h au théâtre Rose, 4 School Road, Belmont. Poster à télécharger: 2020nz-wad.pdf Les groupes qui se produiront pour soutenir la cause sont le Auckland Accordion Symphonietta dirigé par Lionel Reekie, l’orchestre d’accordéon North Shore Music Makers dirigé par Christine Johnstone et l’orchestre d’accordéon North Shore Musicale dirigé par Megan Jennings. Pour la clôture du concert, un invité de marque, Grayson Masefield. Le concert sera filmé et posté sur le site de la” Journée mondiale de l’accordéon” (World Accordion Day) comme de nombreux évènements à travers le monde, pour célébrer la date de fabrication du premier accordéon par Cyrillius Demien le 6 mai 1829 à Vienne, en Autriche. |
Les pages jaunes de l’accordéon / évènements - Cyberspaceby Harley Jones |
On rappelle à tous les organisateurs de concerts, compétitions, festivals de lister les évènements à venir dans les pages jaunes de notre site web. C’est gratuit et vous pouvez le faire vous-même. Vous pouvez aussi changer et mettre à jour votre listing vous-même, au fur et à mesure que vous avez plus d’informations. Les pages jaunes de l’accordéon Future events et son calendrier Evènements à venir, a une icône en haut à droite de notre newsletter accordions.com en 7 langues, et sur d’autres sites tel USA News et les Diatonic News. Un nombre impressionnant de lecteurs regardent chaque année les pages jaunes de l’accordéon Future Events, et donc tout organisateur d’évènement lié à l’accordéon est encouragé à profité de ce service gratuit afin d’informer le monde de l’accordéon. |
Kateryna Pylypenko New Music and Recordings - Ukraineby Harley Jones |
Kateryna Pylypenko, accordionist, poet, artist and composer of Ukraine has released her first publications. Catalog: pylypenko101 Rainbow Animals for accordion composed by Kateryna Pylypenko. Rainbow Animals is an album of modern compositions for accordion designed for elementary school students. The album includes 7 different shaped compositions. 29 pages of music and artwork. Hear the sound samples online. If you order the Rainbow Animals pdf book, you will also receive free of charge the sound files of the 7 complete pieces as performed by the composer. Catalog: pylypenko102 Le Onde for accordion composed by Ludovico Einaudi, transcribed by Kateryna Pylypenko. |
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