"Doc" Severinsen, a favorite musical director of media entertainment productions, conducted his annual musical celebration, "'Doc's' Holiday," with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra featuring young accordion virtuoso, Stas Venglevski, who accompanied tenor Joseph Wolverton.

The concert series, six performances each attended by crowds exceeding 3,000, was held at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee. Stas was showcased when he was joined by "Doc" himself on trumpet and also the orchestra's brass section in an unplanned encore which brought the audience to a frenzy of delight.

Venglevski is scheduled to appear as accordion soloist with "Doc" Severinsen and the Milwaukee Symphony from 19-21 September, 2003 in a performance called "Wisconsin's Favorites.

Stas's CD recordings and original compositions titled "Seasoning" are available at from his website or by contacting Ernest Deffner Publications.

Maestro Anthony Galla-Rini's 99th Birthday was celebrated in style recently as the Accordionists and Teahcers Guild, International and guests paid tribute to his almost one century of accordion activities during a two day festival in San Diego.

Almost 80 people performed in the "Anthony Galla-Rini 99th Birthday Celebration Accordion Orchestra" conducted by memory by the Maestro himself as they played music that he had either composed or arranged.

A Banquet was held in his honor, where attendees such as ATG President Joan C. Sommers, Mr. and Mrs. Myron Floren, Frank Marocco, AAA President Dr. Carmelo Pino, AFNA President Randy Martin, CIA President Kevin Friedrich, Joe Petosa (from Petosa Accordions) and Faithe Deffner (from Titano/Pancordion/Ernest Deffner Publications) were among the 185 guests. The concert in his honor featured the Martin Music Accordion Orchestra, Betty Jo Simon, The "K" Duo, Frank Marocco as well as the festival orchestra. Galla-Rini's six year old great granddaughter McKenzie began the concert with by singing "God Bless America".

Galla-Rini (pictured right with CIA President Kevin Friedrich, AAA President Carmello Pino, and ATG President Joan C. Sommers) was a founding member of the ATG where he now serves as President Emeritus. In 1951 he successfully petitioned the ATG's membership into the Confederation Internationale des Accordeonistes at the General Assembly in Paris, France. During his career of composing, arranging, teaching and performing, he also has the distinction of writing the most performed concerto for accordion and Symphony Orchestra in the world, the Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, which he himself premiered with the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra in 1941.

Many letters of congratulations to Galla-Rini were read from places such as the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, The Viennese Accordion Ensemble, the New Zealand Accordion Association, the Queensland Accordion Club (Australia), the National Accordion Organization of the United Kingdom, the Confederation Internationale Des Accordeonistes and others from Canada and the USA. The American Accordionists Association presented a US$500.00 donation to the ATG Galla-Rini Scholarship fund, while Faithe Deffner presented a US$500.00 gift from Ernest Deffner affiliates of Titano, Pancordion and Ernest Deffner publications. Mrs. Deffner is pictured below with Mr. and Mrs. Myron Floren at the Birthday Banquet.

Galla-Rini became the first inductee into the newly established International Accordion Hall of Fame which has been inaugurated by the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International (ATG). This award recognizes his outstanding and lifelong contributions to the accordion movement, work that continues to this very day!

Galla-Rini's next scheduled appearance will be at the 2003 ATG Festival in Chicago from June 25th to 29th, where he will conduct the festival orchestra as well as enjoy a performance of his Concerto No. 2 in E Minor which he wrote in 1976. This will be played by soloist Stas Venglevski with the Milwaukee Municipal Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Janet Millard on Saturday June 28th at the ATG festival.

The birthday celebration was sponsored and organized by the ATG with kind assistance from Kjell Holmes. For a full review of the weekends activities, please visit the ATG website.

Joan Sommers, ATG President
2312 West 71st Terrace,
Prairie Village, KS 66208 USA
(913) 722-5625 or E-mail: sommersj@umkc.edu

For complete photographic coverage of the event please visit the ATG website.

The Texas Accordion Association is pleased to announce its annual convention from March 6-9, 2003 at the Holiday Inn - Plano, Texas.

For those of you that wonder what really goes on at the TAA convention... you will find Workshops, Concerts, Jam Sessions, Endless "Open Mike", Dealers, Swap Shop, and Accessory Sales, all in a fun atmosphere as attendees delight in sharing their love for the accordion.

Featured in 2003 you'll find: Festival Accordion Orchestra, Festival Band, Jazz Training Button Accordions, Ethnic Music and other related topics. There will be four Public Concerts including the TAA Jazz Trio - Frank Marocco, John Simkus, Nick Ballarini, Christian Family and TAA Youth Concert, the Friday Evening Concert and Saturday Evening Concert. The two orchestra directors will be Mary Medrick and Alice Aman.

Workshop clinicians are:

• Frank Marocco - Jazz theory and Improvisation '101'
• John Simkus - A Touch of Jazz
• Jim Rommel - Squeezing Music from Fake Books and Lead Sheets
• Betty JO Simon - Precision at any Speed!
• Gordon Kohl - Playing Dance Music
• Mary Medrick - Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm
• Nick Ballarini - 'Bass'ically up to Nick!
• Ron Pivovar - "Extreme Musical Diversity"
• Randy McPeck - Accordion Clinics I and II
• Margie and Mike Aman - Musicality in the Aman Corner
• Greg Klugiewicz - Round Table "Accordionists Anonymous"
• Kim and Dan Christian - How to be Better Accordionists
• Janet Todd - The Accordion on Stage!
• Ponty Bone - Squeezing A Living by Playing the Accordion in Bands
• Dick Albreski - Accordionists Anonymous Round Table
• Paul Pasquali - "Understanding the Accordion - Sounds & Construction."
  
  

For hotel Reservations please call the Holiday Inn in Plano at: 972 881 1881 (days only)
Hotel: $59.00 per night. For all other details, please visit the TAA website for workshop descriptions and on-line registration.For all other inquiries, please contact TAA President:
Norman Seaton: nns5522@dcccd.edu

The 3rd International Competition for Diatonic Accordion will be held in Ausservillgraten, Austria from June 13-15,2003 and the 56th Annual Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships will be held in two cities this year, Sturovo Slovakia and Esztergom Hungary from October 20-25th, 2003. All competitions are held by the Confederation Interntionale Des Accordeonistes (C.I.A.) founded in 1935 in Paris. The CIA is a member of the International Music Council (IMC-UNESCO).

These cities of Sturovo and Esztergom were once connected by a bridge across the Danube River until 1944 when it was torn down during war times. Finally in 2001 the Maria - Valeria Bridge was rebuilt allowing Sturovo, Slovakia and Esztergom Hungary to be reunited by a quick trip across the Danube. The focus of the Coupe Mondiale will be uniting the two cities with music with some classes being held in Hungary and some across the River in Slovakia.

The World Accordion Championships in Slovakia and Hungary will be held in six categories including:

1) Coupe Mondiale
2) Junior Coupe Mondiale
3) International Piano Accordion Competition
4) Virtuoso Entertainment Music Competition
5) Junior Virtuoso Entertainment Music Competition
6) International Chamber Music Competition

Contestants wishing to qualify for any of these competitions should contact the USA members of the Confederation Internationale Des Accordeonistes (CIA) the American Accordionists Association or the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International who will each hold qualification competitions at their national festivals this summer.

For further information, please contact the CIA.

Congratulations to Anthony Falcetti, pictured right, son of Sam and Peggy Falcetti of Springfield, MA, who was one of eight new members recently elected to the NAMM Board of Directors.

Anthony competed with success in both ATAM and AAA accordion competitions and has given numerous workshops on the MIDI capabilities of the accordion during his musical career. He currently manages the Falcetti Music based in Springfield, MA.

On January 17th, the official NAMM marching band kicked off the opening of NAMM 2003 with the traditional "once around the fair grounds" to a rousing rendition of the Beach Boy's hit song "Round Round I Get Around"! The doors of the event then opened for the public to view the great variety of displays. Many accordion makes and models were on display this year.

This year's premier event was the all-star concert with Sir Elton John featured in a concert entitled "Elton & Friends Rock for Music Education". Other artists included Bruce Hornsby (accordionist - pictured right), Vanessa Carlton, Ray Charles, Nikka Costa, Amy Grant, Jewel, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, John Mayer, Michael McDonald, Brian McKnight, Take 6, Rufus Wainwright and Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys). Emmy award winner Eric McCormack, from NBC's "Will & Grace" hosted the concert honoring Sir Elton John. An award was presented by Yamaha to Sir Elton entitled the "2003 Lifetime Achievement in Musical Excellence Award". Proceeds from the concert will go toward AMC and NAMM's other music education charities: the International Foundation for Music Research and Museum of Making Music.

“In a year filled with challenges, more people around the world turned to music and music making,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM. “Research has shown that making music can help a child reach their full potential in school, help older adults achieve significant health benefits and provide meaningful fun and recreation at all ages. They say you can tell the relative health of an industry by the strength of its trade shows,” Lamond continued. “By that measure, the future of music making is bright indeed!”

The International Music Products Association, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization’s popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $16 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 8,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties can visit www.namm.com or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).

NAMM holds two shows per year, and the upcoming shows are as follows:

Summer Session - July 18-20, 2003 - Nashville, TN, USA
Annual Winter Show: January 15-18, 2004, Anaheim, CA, USA

Ninety-one Salt Lake City, Utah accordion enthusiasts met Tuesday evening, January 14, 2003, and amid animated shouts at the meeting's end duly formed the Salt Lake Area Accordion Club and made the front page to boot! (pictured left are Husband-and-wife team Gary and Mindy Garff of West Jordan performing a duet during the inaugural meeting of the Salt Lake Accordion Club.)

A Deseret News reporter and photographer from one of the cities' two daily newspapers were on hand to record the happy event and make big-time news. Both city newspapers, the Deseret News and the Salt Lake City Tribune, had run a major feature announcing the potential of an area accordion club.

The inaugural meeting was a gala occasion focusing in part on the somewhat unknown-even-to-themselves rich accordion heritage of the city. Introduced were former and present accordion studio owners, teachers, distributors, and three former accordion champions living in the area. The club is headed by Jay M. Todd, founder-president, with co-founders Janet Todd and Paul Pasquali, and tentatively set its meeting schedule for the third Tuesday of each month.

Those in attendance voiced optimism about the club's future, many already making plans to inform numerous former accordion associates not in attendance of the club's formation. Pictured right is Ralph Hubrich of Sandy, UT. Ralph used to walk several miles to his weekly lesson with his accordion strapped to his back, played a virtuoso version of the delicate, fast-moving "Hungarian Czardas."

Let the word for forth! The accordion is alive and well in Salt Lake City!

The next meeting of the Salt Lake Accordion Club will be on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 PM at the South Valley Unitarian Church, 6876 S. Highland Drive. For more information please contact: Jay or Janet Todd: 801-272-3263 e-mail: jaja64@msn.com or www.slaac.com

The Annual Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International Competition and Festival from June 25-29th, 2003 to be held in Chicago will offer participants the opportunity to work with several international conductors. Conductors are from left to right:

Anthony Galla-Rini - 99 year old Maestro and ATG President Emeritus, Joan Sommers - ATG President and Director of the UMKC Accordion Orchestra, Frank Marocco - Jazz Expert and International recording star, Gary Daverne - Composer and Conductor of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra and Jannet Millard - Conductor of the Milwuakee Municipal Orchestra/Concord Chamber Orchestra.

There will be numerous opportunities to perform with a heavy emphasis on 'hands-on' experience. There will be a number of workshops and special concerts highlighting things such as the Galla-Rini Concerto No. 2, with Stas Venglevski as soloist, a concert by Frank Marocco as well as an appearance by former ATG champion and acclaimed Nashville recording star, Jeff Lisenby.

For full details, please follow the updates on www.accordions.com/atg

Acclaimed musician Frank Marocco has been keeping a busy concert schedule and is about to release a new CD Recording.

Frank was recently flown to Japan on two occasions, once for a concert and the second time for a TV show, to work with Japanese Superstar Singer, Yuki Koyanagi. Having recorded with her while in Los Angeles, when she did the concert and TV show in Tokyo, she sent for Frank to come to Japan to accompany her again.

While in Japan, Frank also did a concert with top Japanese accordionist Coba Kobayashi (pictured below.) Probably the most well-known accordionist in Japan, this gave a rare opportunity to combine the talents of two world famous artists on one concert. Featuring eleven accordionists performing all different styles of music and two bandoneon players.

During a recent appearance in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times reporter Don Heckman wrote: "Marocco, a veteran of hundreds of recording dates, made a convincing case for the instrument's capacity to effectively deliver all the core elements of first-class jazz"...

By the time the set was concluded, thoughts of polkas and squeezeboxes had long disappeared, as Marocco's fascinating performance thoroughly affirmed the fact that it's not the instrument that makes the music, it's the imagination and creativity of the person who is playing it."

Born and raised in a suburb of Chicago, Frank began the accordion at age seven, when his parents enrolled him in a six-week trial program on the accordion.

Frank studied with George Stefani for nine years, a man who provided him with much inspiration. Studying classics, his teacher encouraged him to explore other areas. As a youngster Frank played piano and clarinet, he studied music theory, harmony, conducting and he was a member of his high school band.

Eventually settling in Los Angeles with his wife Anne, Frank found the proximity to Hollywood provided opportunities never available in the Midwest. He began a career which includes traveling with Bob Hope visiting the servicemen in many countries; being featured on the Les Brown Band, including six Love Boat cruises. He has also been very active doing studio work: movie soundtracks, TV movies, TV series , records and advertising jingles. Frank has also composed and arranged many accordion works in jazz and classical music.

Frank will be appearing in Plano, Texas as part of the Texas Accordion Association Annual Convention from March 7-9, 2003 and also at the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International Convention in Chicago, from June 25-29, 2003 where he will perform, conduct workshops and direct the ATG Festival Jazz Orchestra.

The Alcoa Singers, composed of 30 employees, contractors, and retirees of multinational Alcoa Inc. headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have recently completed their 41st concert series which was directed by conductor and accordionist Henry Doktorski. The Singers performed ten concerts at various venues throughout the city of Pittsburgh during their 2002 Christmas season, including concerts at Allegheny General Hospital, Magee Womens' Hospital, First Lutheran Church, Carnegie Library, USX Steel Tower and other locations.

Their repertoire, with accompaniment expertly provided by Eric Dzugan, a Duquesne University alumni with a Masters Degree in piano performance, consisted of a dozen anthems consisting of sacred and secular Christmas music, ranging from the 1599 Renaissance classic "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" to the 1990 contemporary carol "Grown Up Christmas List," as well as a medley of traditional Chanukah songs.

Marlene Galluze, Alcoa Singers Co-chair, said, "The medley of Chanukah songs was especially memorable for us and very popular with our audiences, not only because the songs were from the authentic Jewish holiday repertoire but also because our illustrious director accompanied us on his 12-bass accordion. The melodious strains of the accordion highlighted the folk origins of these simple and beautiful songs and inspired us to sing them in a similarly poetic fashion. We enjoyed watching the children in the audiences who were mesmerized by the opening and closing of the bellows, since many of them may have never before experienced live accordion music. I hope he includes his accordion accompaniment in our 2003 season also."

This photograph (above) of the Alcoa Singers was taken immediately after their Carnegie Library concert.

The Alcoa Singers performed at:

Allegheny General Hospital Auxiliary, Magee Womens Hospital, First Lutheran Church, USX Tower, Alcoa Corporate Center Holiday Celebration, Alcoa Corporate Center P.H. O'Neill Riverside Terrace, One Oxford Center, Carnegie Library Center, Downtown, PPG Wintergarden, Alcoa Singers' Family Day.

The 41st Anniversary Program consisted of the following pieces:

Carter, Longfellow: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Regney, Shayne: Do You Hear What I Hear (Chloe Potts, finger cymbals)
Leontovich: Carol of the Bells, Carol Medley
Foster, Jenner: Grown Up Christmas List
Chanuka Medley, (Michelle Kirkwood, alto; Henry Doktorski, accordion)
Gruber, Mohr: Silent Night (Pat Burnett, soprano; Ed Johnston, clarinet)
Nelson, Rollins: Frosty the Snow Man
Poet: Jingle Bells Through the Ages
Adam: O Holy Night
Miller, Jackson: Let There Be Peace On Earth

The season was dedicated to James Robert Cherry, an Alcoa singer from 1997 to 1998. In addition, Magee Matters, a publication for Magee-Womens Hospital employees, physicians and volunteers, printed a photograph of three Alcoa Singers sopranos and a short article titled A Song for the Season in their December 2002 issue.

A spectacular accordion event is scheduled for Sunday, March 30, 2003 at the Magnanini Winery in Wallkill, New York featuring"Valtaro" music with performances by Carmen Carrozza, Danny Desiderio, Domenic Karcic, Mario Tacca, Frank Toscano and the International Vocal Artist Mary Mancini, plus many other surprises.

The even is the first fund raiser for the Carmen Carrozza Scholarship Fund which is earmarked for the advancement of promising young accordionists.

The committee consisting of Mario Tacca (pictured left with his wife, Mary Mancini), Sy Kushner, Sal Febbraio, Bob McMahan and of course, Carmen Carrozza has planned a fabulous afternoon with great friends, food, wine, music and dancing beginning with a wine tasting at 12 noon followed by dinner and continuous music.

For further information, please contact E-mail: ameracc@aol.com or LSoleyReed@aol.com
Phone: 201-991-2233 Fax: 201-991-1944

Accordionist Guy Klucevsek will perform with fellow accordionists Rob Burger and Gary Versace plus percussionist John Hollenbeck in "Possible Fireworks" at the BRIC Studio in Brooklyn, New York on February 4th.

This is part of a series of concerts where musicians play together for the first time, without rehearsal, hence the "possible fireworks" name tag. Guy will also perform on February 7th and 8th at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, in composer Phillip Johnston's new score for/with F.W. Murnau's silent film classic, "Faust."

Klucevsek also recently featured the premiere of the Well Tempered Accordion, Klucevsek's new 12 piece, 30 minute collection of etudes, preludes, dances, songs-wtinhout-words and a chorale or three, plus selections from Klucevsek's new solo recordings, "The Heart of the Andes" (Winter and Winter).

Guy has created a unique repertoire for accordion through his own composing and by commissioning over 50 works from composers including John Zorn, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lois V Vierk, Fred Frith, Alvin Lucier, Mary Ellen Childs, William Duckworth, Jerome Kitzke, Stephen Montague and Somei Satoh.

His music/theater pieces include Squeezeplay -- collaborations with Mary Ellen Childs, David Dorfman and Dan Froot, Dan Hurlin, Victoria Marks and Claire Porter -- which The Village Voice called "delicious"; Hard Coal, with The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, and Chinoiserie, with Ping Chong and Company,which was featured on the 1995 Next Wave Festival at BAM.

Solo performances include the 1998 Adelaide Festival in Australia, the Berlin Jazz Festival, New Music America, Serious Fun! at Lincoln Center, Bang on a Can, and the children’s television show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. He has also performed and/or recorded with Laurie Anderson, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, Robin Holcomb, the Kronos Quartet, Pauline Oliveros, Bobby Previte, Relâche and John Zorn.

He is currently a member of Dave Douglas’s band, Charms of the Night Sky, whose new release, A Thousand Evenings, is now available on BMG.

In 1987, Klucevsek commissioned Polka From the Fringe, a collection of 32 post-modern two-steps by such composers as Carl Finch, Fred Frith, Christian Marclay and Elliott Sharp, which he presented at the 1988 Next Wave Festival, and has performed around the world with his group, Ain’t Nothin’ But A Polka Band.

In 1996, Klucevsek formed The Accordion Tribe, an international line-up of composer/accordionists Maria Kalaniemi (Finland), Lars Hollmer (Sweden), Bratko Bibic (Slovenia), Otto Lechner (Austria), and Klucevsek (USA). Following a highly successful, 18-concert, 3-week European tour, Intuition (Germany) released Accordion Tribe, a CD made up of live recordings from the tour.

Klucevsek has released twelve recordings as soloist/leader, including Polka Dots & Laser Beams and Who Stole the Polka?, which were chosen as the best recordings of 1992 by John Schaefer on the nationally-syndicated radio program New Sounds, and Transylvanian Softwear, which was cited as a 1995 Recording of Special Merit in Stereo Review. He can also be heard on the compilations Planet Squeezebox on Ellipsis Arts and Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach on Tzadik. For more information e-mail: guy@guyklucevsek.com

"AccordionFest 2003" will take place August 15 - 17, 2003 in the beautiful seaside town of Chemainus, located on sunny Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Three days of concerts, workshops in many genres: classical, jazz, zydeco, blues, Swiss, Celtic and more, dancing, tradeshows, strolling musicians and an open stage with house back-up - beginning Friday at 1:00 PM.

Headliners from the Pacific Northwest include: Murl Allen Sanders, Ken Olendorf, The Bonnie Birch Trio, The PepperMillerBower Twins, Mary Ross, Eric Oscar and Friends and Patricia Bartell.

Workshops $10 Concerts $15.00 (Cdn) Daily concerts in the Waterwheel Park free! For more information, visit www.Chemainusvcas.com. or contact Sheila Miller Bower: shelaghag@shaw.ca

Please join us!

The American Accordion Musicological Society, (AAMS) announces its 16th Annual A.A.M.S Accordion Festival from Friday, Saturday & Sunday, March 7th, 8th, & 9th, 2003 at the Holiday Inn, 260 Mall Boulevard, King of Prussia, PA.

The American Accordion Musicological Society, (AAMS) is a society devoted to the preservation of the History of Accordion as well as to its Future Cultural Development. Among its past completed projects are: The establishment of an Accordion Museum (1975) The establishment of a Research Archives of LP's, Music, Photographs, Concert Programs, Methods, Manuscripts, etc. The sponsorship of: Two International Symposiums featuring guest artists from Germany, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Canada and the USA. The production of: Three Scholarly Compendiums(still available) and the production of Three LP's.

Highlights include: Competitions, Cajun/Zydeco Concert – Friday evening March 7th, Attend the many Workshops and Concerts, Attend dinner with our Guest of Honor CARMELO PINO (MD)
Parade of Accordion Artists including:

• The "K" Trio (CT)
• Carmen Carrozza (NY)
• Joe Cerritto (RI)
• Bobby Raye (PA)
• Joanna Arnold Darrow (NJ)
• Dee Langley (MN)
• Rita Davidson (NJ)
• Ron Onda (MD)
• Lenny Feldmann (NY)
• Glenn Miller (PA)
• The WPAO (NJ)
• Stanley Darrow (NJ)
• Vitaly Pirog (PA)
• Sam Fire (PA
• Ed Touchstone (VA)
• Dr. Lou Persic (PA)
• Joe Axsmith (PA)
• Jim Vandelly (AL)
• Frank Hodnicki (NJ)
• ...and Many More
  

For further information, please contact: Joanna Arnold Darrow, 322 Haddon Ave., Westmont, NJ 08108 or call: (856) 854-6628. Information is also available at: www.aamsaccordionfest.com

Accordionist Dr. William Schimmel performs Valentino Dances By Dominick Argento with the Minnesota Orchestra in Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on February 12-14, 2003.

Led by Music Director Designate, Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota Orchestra performs Dvorák's American-inspired Symphony No. 9, influenced by the writings of Longfellow. The program also boasts Minnesota Orchestra Composer Laureate Dominick Argento’s Valentino Dances along with Picker’s vividly evocative The Encantatas, narrated by acclaimed author Michael Steinberg.

This concert will be broadcast live on Friday at 8 PM on the classical music stations of Minnesota Public Radio, including 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities.

The Accordion Teachers Association of Massachusetts announces their 41st Annual Competition and Festival from April 4-6, 2003 at the Marriott Hotel - Newton, MA


Activities include:

• Battle of the Bands
• Competitions
• Solos, Duos, Ensembles, Bands
• Some Non Competitive Categories
• Cash Awards
• Over $3,000.00 in prizes
• Awards Banquet

The ATAM was established in 1962. The founding father is Aldo DeRossi of New Bedford, MA. who is still active within the organization. The first President was the late Frank Gaviani, Sr.

The annual New England Music Competition and Festival is sponsored by the ATAM. All events are open to the public free of charge and over 1200 contestants take part in Accordion, Drum, Guitar, Keyboard, Piano, and Voice Competition. Solo, Duet, Ensemble, and Band Categories are offered for ages 6 through 22. Non Competitive Categories include Evaluation Solos and Festival Band Divisions.

On Friday evening a "Battle of the Bands" is held in the Ballroom. Cash awards are given to the first place winners in three divisions. The Accordion, Guitar, Drum, and Piano Championships are also held Friday evening with cash awards given to the First, Second and Third Place winners.

On Saturday and Sunday a continuous Accordion Ensemble and Band competition is held in the Ballroom. Solo and duet competition is ongoing. A $500.00 cash Award is presented to the first place winner in the Senior Orchestra Division. An Awards banquet is held on Saturday evening with over 500 in attendance. A $500.00 cash Scholarship is awarded to a contestant who has been accepted as a Music Major in college. Over $3,000 is awarded to winners throughout the weekend.

Eligibility: Competition is open for competitors up to the age of 22 who are students of ATAM teacher members. For further information please contact: ATAM Contest chairperson: Roger Latulippe, 136 Lowell Road, Hudson, NH 03051, USA. Phone/Fax: 603/882-8940 or e-mail: Roger Latulippe

Brian Davis, presenter of Saturday jazz on RTRFMM.92.1 on one of Australia's Top Jazz Radio Station features the accordion. Based on the West Coast of Australia the station features Frank Marocco, Richard Galliano, Peter Piccini and Cathie Travers and others.

This program is a worldwide broadcast, and invites listeners from around the world. It has received a great response. You can visit www.rtrfm.com.au or contact Peter Piccini for details: piccini@bigpond.com

Ashkenaz welcomes you to participate in a special fundraising event on March 22, 2003 marking its 30-year anniversary. David Nadel founded Ashkenaz in March 1973 as a home for Balkan music and dance. For this reason we have set aside this special day to honor the Bay Area's Balkan Music and Dance community and
it's pivotal roll in the history of Ashkenaz.

We would like to invite all performers of Balkan music to participate. This is an open and inclusive event intended to showcase the depth and range of Bay Area Balkan music. We know how rich this experience can be and we are hoping to share this experience with a larger public as well as gather and acknowledge our community. Everyone please join us for this special night.

The number of people who respond to this invitation dictates how much performance time each group will be given. For example, if six groups respond, each group may be given 45 minutes. If 30 groups respond... well, time will be short, and we'll just have to figure that one out, possibly using the dance studio in the back of the club.

Because this is a fundraiser for Ashkenaz, we are asking performers to donate their time. However you will have great exposure! The deadline for signing up is March 1, 2003.

For further information contact us at: lisegeorge@earthlink.net or call Lise Liepman or George Chittenden at 510 525-4342