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http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=13-Nov-2020&lang=de&s=17015
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=13-Nov-2020&lang=de&s=17015
13-Nov-2020
by Christine Johnstone
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  It is with great sadness that the New Zealand Accordion Association (NZAA) has learned of the passing of Life Member Wallace Liggett. As a young man he met with the "father of the accordion" in New Zealand, teacher Allan Jones. His teaching introduced Wallace "to a level of technique and musical interpretation, although more common in top accordionists of today, was unknown in NZ at that time." The realisation of this motivated Wallace to practice hours each, so that within about five years, he had established himself as the leading New Zealand concert accordionist of the day. He was the first New Zealander (circa 1958) to play and record using free bass accordion on National Radio and transcribed a number of the works of the great masters for free bass accordion. For some years he enjoyed a dominance in the concert accordion field in NZ, such that when an early winner of the NZ Solo Accordion Championship was asked in a radio interview about his further accordion ambitions, he replied, "To become as good as Wallace Liggett". Wallace Liggett recorded for both the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Commission. In 1990, the NZAA New Zealand Accordion Association commissioned Wallace Liggett to be the author of the book "The History of the Accordion in New Zealand) , to ensure that information about the early history of the accordion in New Zealand, the individuals and their struggle for the wider acceptance and appreciation of the accordion by musicians and public alike, was not lost through the passage of time. Three years of research has resulted in a book that had grown from a projected maximum 100 pages to over 270 pages of text, information lists and photographs to become a major reference work for the accordion. Some 545 New Zealand associations, orchestras, and accordionists are included in the book. Wallace was an Associate of the Institute of Registered Music Teachers and a Registered Secondary School Teacher. He was an admired accordion teacher, school teacher, regular judge at the NZ Accordion Championships and was appointed an examiner for the Accordion Examination Board of New Zealand in 1992. In 2011, Wallace Liggett was made a Life Member of the NZAA for all his services to the accordion in New Zealand at the 40th Anniversary of the NZAA. An update to the book "The History of the Accordion in New Zealand" was completed for this event, the update being in digital pdf format and provided free with the original book. In September 2011, Wallace Liggett moved to Australia to be with family members and into semi-retirement, then full retirement. He passed away 18 October 2020 in Coramba NSW, Australia. Below picture: NZAA Secretary Heather Masefield and Wallace Liggett |
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