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http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=12-Nov-2010&lang=en&s=3652
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=12-Nov-2010&lang=en&s=3652
12-Nov-2010
‘14 Years Ago’ – Queensland Accordion Orchestra in Europeby Rob Howard |
 On November 15th 1996 the Accordions Worldwide news published the following account of what must have been an exciting experience for the members of the Queensland Accordion Orchestra…TOUR TO NETHERLANDS, GERMANY AND AUSTRIA, Queensland Accordion Orchestra (Australia) by Bernadette Conlon (picture right) This was the first ever tour to Europe by an accordion orchestra from Australia. Congratulations on such a successful trip. It sounds as though a great time was had by all! Wayne Knights, Editor Our tour began at the ungodly hour of 4.30am on the morning of November 7th 1996. After stopping off for shopping at Bali and Singapore, we arrived in Amsterdam. After more shopping, we moved onto Langenhagen, where we were struck by the warm hospitality of the Langenhagen Accordion Orchestra. I stayed with a family on a dairy farm, that had been in the same family for 600 years!! We had a fantastic concert the next night, after which we were taken out to dinner, which turned into an accordion playing night-fun for all. The next morning it was off to Hof. Here we played in the "Liberty Hall", to an audience of over 600 people. We also played in Wunsiedel and in the competition hall in Klingenthal, where we received standing ovations! From Hof we went to Berlin. After we settled into our hotel, we went to hear the Charlottenbourg Accordion Orchestra rehearsal. At exactly 8pm, everyone put their accordions down and had champagne and nibbles. They told us that they do this every week, because there is always something to celebrate. It was incredible, everyone was at the rehearsal!! In Berlin we had two concerts, one at a nursing home and the other at an enormous University. After Berlin it was onto Salzburg, home of Mozart. Here we played a concert with the Salzburger song and dance group, who played traditional Austrian music and danced. It was great! We also had a great time looking through the Mozart museum. Saalfalden was the next stop, where we played at the famous Kaprun Castle (which is 400 years old). It was quite a haul carrying the accordions up 2000 stone steps, but it was all worthwhile because the acoustics were wonderful. The hospitality in Saalfalden was wonderful. They showed us through the town, including ‘The Eagles Nest’ – Hitler’s mountain retreat. We then proceeded back to Germany, to Baden Baden. Here we played in the Baden-Baden casino, the oldest in Europe. The hall had wonderful acoustics and we were rewarded with standing ovation for our final concert. The next day we drove some of the orchestra (who were going home early) to the airport. We spent the next two days sightseeing in France, before leaving for home. We all had a great time with wonderful hospitality. |