Share
NAO Area Festivals and 70th Anniversary NAO UK Championships – UKby Rob Howard |
The National Accordion Organisation of the United Kingdom (NAO) Area Festival dates for 2018/19 have been published – see the list above. Each Area Festival is a qualifying stage for the important 70th Anniversary Celebration NAO UK Championships 2019, which will again take place at The Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, April 26th to 28th 2019. The NAO was founded in 1949, as the result of collaboration between Dr Otto H. Meyer, HJ Bridger and James Black, as a means of administering the regional and national accordion championship festivals of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1950, the NAO was admitted to the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA), thus enabling UK representatives to enter the CIA Coupe Mondiale compeitions. The first NAO President was Toralf Tollefsen, and Jack Emblow currently holds this office. The current NAO Chairperson is Raymond Bodell who was first elected to this office in 1992. Raymond Bodell has also served many years as a CIA Vice-President and then 8 years (2009 - 2017) as President of the CIA. The UK Accordion Championships is the NAO’s annual flagship and as the Organisation celebrates its 70th anniversary in Liverpool - a number of International guests as well as a number of special activities are planned including a Vintage Orchestra, special workshops, a historical look back at the 70 years of the NAO as well as the traditional competitions throughout the fun packed weekend. Further information will be published at: NAO |