| Welcome to the US National Accordion News "ACCORDION USA" for April 2000 |
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| Welcome to the United States National News | |
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Welcome to the United States
National Accordion News, 'Accordion USA' for April 2000. |
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| Peter Soave Steps in for Daniel Binelli | |
 Peter
Soave, accordion/bandoneon virtuoso was called in to replace the famous
Argentine bandoneonist, Daniel Binelli, in a performance of Astor Piazzolla's
Concerto (Aconcagua) for Bandoneon and Orchestra with the Indianapolis Chamber
Orchestra under the direction of Stanley DeRusha.Mr. Binelli, a former member of Piazzolla's Sextet, canceled his appearance in Indianapolis due to personal matters, and so Peter was called in to replace him at a moments notice. |
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| Texas Festival Sets Standard for the Millennium | |
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Pictures courtesy of Gus
Stangeland |
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| Jorgen Sundeqvist and Oivind Farmen Concert Tour of the USA | |
 Scandinavian
accordion stars Jorgen Sundqvist from Sweden and Oivind Farmen from Norway
have teamed together to tour the United States, giving concerts in San Francisco,
Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth, Minneapolis, New
York and New Jersey from April 4th - April 30th, 2000. (Please see April
Concert Calendar for further concert details.Jorgen Sundeqvist and Oivind Farmen are two world class accordionists guaranteed to thrill audiences across the country. Norwegian born Oivind Farmen (pictured left with chromatic accordion) and Sweden's Jorgen Sundeqvist (with piano accordion) have studied and made international tours with the world's top musicians. They have made radio and TV appearances, recorded several CDs and won first place awards in competitions around the world. Be sure to include one their concerts in your plans! It will be a concert not to be missed! |
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Gary Dahl has been signed
to write and record 15 new books. This should be exciting news and good
news for all accordionists; to be able to listen to the arrangements and
then have the opportunity to learn/play/perform the arrangements. |
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| Henry Doktorski featured in Piazzolla Tangos | |
| Concert accordionist Henry
Doktorski performed Piazzolla tangos "Cite Tango" (arranged by Ari-Matti
Saira) and "Adios Nonino" (arranged by Krzysztof Olczak) with pianist Elena
Zhivaeva (from Uzbekistan) in a recital at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild,
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on March 18th. Performances were also given by James Houlik (saxophone), Daniel Khalikov (violin), Aime Spoata (soprano), Ildar Huziakhmetov (cello), Anton Jivaev (violin), Noah Geary (piano) and Vahan Sargsyan (piano). |
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| National Accordion Month - June | |
| In the celebration of National
Accordion Awareness Month (June), San Francisco will be celebrating its
Day of the Accordion on Sunday, June 18th, 2000. This day-long event will be held at the historic Cannery which is located at Fisherman's Wharf and will feature many of the Bay Area's best soloists and bands. Rock, jazz, zydeco and of course, the Squeegees-the Bay Area's hardest working polka band. Best of all it's free! For more information about Day of the Accordion, contact All Thing Accordions' Tom Torriglia at (415) 440-0800 or at tom@ladyofspain.com |
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| Tony Lovello - Providing Razzle Dazzle across the USA | |
 Accordion
Entertainer Tony Lovello, will be concertizing across the United States
with appearances in King of Prussia, PA, Peoria, IL, Plano, TX, Tempe, AZ,
San Diego, CA, Santa Barbara, CA, Burbank, CA, San Francisco, CA, Seattle,
WA, and Portland, ORFrom Buffalo, New York and formerly with "The Three Suns," Tony will razzle and dazzle you with his flashy arrangements that are crowd pleasers. Lovello's talents have led him to appear with Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Eddie Cantor, Pat Boone, Jimmy Durante, and Kate Smith. His latest appearance was with Roy Clark on the television show "Hee-Haw." On numerous occasions, Tony has performed his special arrangement of the National Anthem for the University of Kentucky basketball team at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky where he now resides. He has also performed the same at Yankee Stadium in New York. From start to finish, you will be delightfully entertained with his style of playing. Many accordionists agree, Tony provides a new dimension in accordion sound. Tony, who plays Petosa accordions exclusively is pictured above performing to a capacity audience at the recent Texas Accordion Association festival in Plano, Texas. For remaining concert dates, please check the monthly calendar section of this site. |
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| One Big Happy Family | |
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| New Line of Accordion Videos - Music With A Smile Productions | |
 Jane
Christison, an accomplished accordionist and entertainer, has just
released a new line of accordion videos. She has spent her career playing
many styles of music, including pop, old standards, sing-along songs,
polkas and music for special seasons and holidays, so has made videos,
sharing her experiences about performing and running her accordion business.Beginning with two Videos entitled Playing the Accordion for Fun and Fame! and Squeezing Money Out of Your Accordion: How to be a Professional Money-Making Musician, These are Video versions of her workshops which she has presented across the country, and through her company, Music With A Smile Productions, L.L.C.   With her enthusiasm and megawatt smile, you're sure to enjoy Jane Christison, MUSIC WITH A SMILE(SM)! Be sure to visit her website with all the exciting details! Contact Information: Jane Christison PMB 216, 12046 W. 95th Street Lenexa, KS 66215-3803 USA e-mail: janec@musicwithasmile.com |
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| King of Prussia Seminars | |
| Contributed
by Squeezer - Dee Langley The American Accordion Musicological Society Festival and Symposium was held at the Holiday Inn in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, March 3-5, 2000. There were concerts on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon, continuous competitions and workshops Saturday and Sunday. There were also displays of accordions, accordion novelties, music and CDs for sale, massed accordion bands, an award ceremony (with cash prizes for some categories) and most impressively, a full service accordion repair shop set up right in lobby of the hotel ballroom. The thirteenth annual AAMS was organized by Stanley Darrow, Joanna Arnold from Acme Accordion School in Westmont, New Jersey, and myself, Dee Langley, as a representative of the Minnesota Accordion Club. It was a pleasure to work with Mr. Darrow and Ms. Arnold in an official capacity. I was truly impressed with their joint devotion and love for the history of the accordion and for the continuation of the accordion through sharing knowledge, performance, and just plain having fun. Of course, I have my favorite events from the festival, the foremost was conducting a massed band of the three accordion orchestras that had played “Jessamee”, a song that I wrote, as their orchestra test-piece earlier that day (Westmont Accordion Club, Pitman Accordion Club, and the Westmont Philharmonia Accordion Orchestra). The second high spot was conducting the massed band of over 100 accordionists ranging from six-year-old beginners on twelve basses in the front row, to professionals standing in the back of the room. But, these were my personal favorites. Below is a list of workshops, Concert Artists and events that everyone enjoyed over the weekend. The Concert Artists that played on the combined concerts for the weekend were: Joanna Arnold, Joe Axsmith, Terri Conti, Stanley Darrow, Lenn Feldman, Kaplan & Friends, Dee Langley, Tony Lovello, Dr. R. McMahon, Nick Mirkovich, Lou Persic, Vitaly Pirog, Joe Soprani, Bobby Rae, and the Westmont Philharmonia Accordion Orchestra. Among the list of distingished adjudicators for the competition categories were accordion legends, Carmen Carozza, Carmelo Pino, and Tony Ettore. Workshops were given by: Dave and Anthony Darrow, Accordion Repair Sam Fire, Oldies but Goodies Ed Touchstone, Accordion Gems Rick Kaplan, Button Box Experience Stanley Darrow & Joanna Arnold, Music is....WHAT?? Vitaly Pirog, Ukrainian Concert Artist Polka Aces (F. Kitchen, J. Grum, J. Opiela, F. Hodnicki), The Complete Polka Scene Jim Vandelly, Russian Music Terry Conti, New Wave Music Ron Onda, Accordion Classics Rocco Jerry, 20th Century Music/Jazz Trish Johnson and Kathleen Flagg, Klezmer Music Raif Hyseni, Music of Kosovo Tony Lovello, Tips on Accordion Playing and Bellowshakes Dee Langley, The Accordion in Ethnic Music, Poland & Bulgaria Dr. R. McMahon, The Music of William Grant Still Lenn Feldman, A tribute to Vince Lanni- Jazz Innovator Mike Dellapenna & Chuck Kofira, The Best of Polkas. Winner of the Festival Championship Solo Division: Richard Saunders, student of Joanna Arnold. The American Accordion Musicological Society Festival and Symposium this year honored Dr. J.C. Neupauer, educator, composer and accordionist, with a banquet in his honor. Next year’s honoree has not yet been chosen, but I know that whoever it might be, Mr. Darrow and Ms. Arnold will again captivate the hearts and imaginations of accordionists, button box players and enthusiasts everywhere. The fourteenth annual AAMS will be held March 2-4, 2001. Contact Joanna Arnold at accordion3@hotmail.com for more information. |
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| The "K" Trio - Outstanding CD!!! | |
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| Where in the World is this? | |
With no correct entries, we will extend this for another month, to give you the chance to win the 'hottest' CD around! Don't be shy, JUST GUESS! To help you out a little, we'll give you another clue, it is NOT in the USA. He stands approximately 30 feet tall! To submit your answer, please click on 'Submit Form' heading (located under the Clubs/Associations section on the left hand index) to tell us your answer. Include your name, address and e-mail address, and tell us where you think this is found. All correct entries will go into a drawing, and the lucky winner will receive a copy of the wonderful CD "Grain de Fantaisie" by current World Accordion Champion, Jerome Richard, from France. Good Luck! |
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| Accordion of the Month | |
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Each month, we will show
an accordion which has caught our attention. This month, we feature a
beautiful instrument, decked out in Italian colors. The instrument is
one of hundreds on display in Castelfidardo, Italy, and the accordion
museum. Please visit www.accordions.com/museum
for more information.
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| Maestro Anthony Galla-Rini to Direct ATG Festival Orchestra | |
 The
Maestro Anthony Galla-Rini (ATG President Emeritus), will be attending the
60th Anniversary of the ATG from July 20-23, 2000.Many exciting activities are planned for the festival which is to be held at the Lisle/Naperville Hilton, in the greater Chicago area. A special feature will include the A.T.G. Virtuoso Entertainment Competition, offering a first prize of $1000.00, second prize $500.00 and third prize of $250.00. Open to accordionists under the age of 32, contestants must perform an own choice program comprising a minimum of 4 pieces of different style and moods, with a maximum time limit of 15 minutes.  Among
the array of guests will be: Frank Marocco, Jazz Legend Tony Dannon, The
"K" Trio, CIA World Accordion Champion Vitali Dmitriev from St.
Petersburg, Russia, CIA Virtuoso Entertainment Champion - Frederic Baldo
from France (pictured to the right), current Coupe Mondiale World Accordion
Champion and past Virtuoso Entertainment Champion Jerome Richard, France
as well as others.A special banquet and party will be held in honor of the 60th Anniversary, and for the latest information please contact A.T.G. President Joan Sommers, (816) 235-2743 or by E-mail: SommersJ@umkc.edu or visit online at:www.accordions.com/atg |
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| Festival of Accordions Honoring Pietro Deiro Jr. | |
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Sunday afternoon, April
2, 2000 several outstanding accordionists will perform on a concert honoring
the late Pietro Deiro Jr. |
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| 2000, the Year Ahead | |
| This year will offer a feast
of accordion activities, festivals and conventions including such events
as The American Accordionists'
Association and The Accordionists
and Teachers Guild, International conventions in July, the new Accordion
Convention in Las Vegas, and the annual Cotati Accordion Festival, both
held in August. The Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships will be held in Kragujovac, Yugoslavia from October 25-30th, 2000. American citizens wishing to compete in any of the four categories (Senior/Junior Coupe Mondiale and Senior/Junior Virtuoso Entertainment Divisions) should contact the American Accordionists' Association and the The Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International for entry details. (For further information, or to list your event, please consult the monthly calendars for exact dates and contact details.) |
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 Kimberly
International Old Time Accordion Championships |
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| The Annual Kimberley International
Old Time Accordion Championships will be held from July 3-9, 2000 in Kimberley,
British Columbia. Featuring a variety of competitions and concerts, the
festival features cash prizes and Trophies totaling over $12,000!! Among the artists appearing at the festival, will be Kerry Christiansen - Accordionist/Yodler extraordinaire. The American Business Association announced that KIOTAC has been designated by an elite tourism industry selection committee as one of the 1999 Top 100 Events In North America! This prestigious designation is important recognition by the group tour and travel industry of the high level of quality that goes into planning and execution of KIOTAC, and the rich entertainment value it offers to both group bus tours and individual travelers from around the world. For further information, please contact: P.O. Box 473, Kimberley, BC, Canada VIA 3B3, Phone: 1 888 4KIOTAC http://www.cyberlink.bc.ca/~kiotac E-mail: kiotac@cyberlink.bc.ca. |
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When
planning the Y2K Festival, the Texas Accordion Association aimed to achieve
two things: (1) Make Accordion Dreams Come True and (2) Set the Standard
for the Millennium. Without a doubt, they accomplished both! (Pictured
to the left is T.A.A. President - Norman Seaton)
The
conductor of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra, Gary directed the Convention
Orchestra with the same conviction and respect he has used while directing
some of the finest symphony orchestras in the world and the results were
outstanding! From the first rehearsal to the grand finale concert 48 hours
later, Gary took some 50 musicians of all levels and backgrounds and transformed
them into a world class act that brought the house down several times
over. 
The
concert included a surprise 'guest' conductor, who, much to the delight
of the audience and Gary Daverne, led the orchestra in a rousing rendition
of the William Tell Overture. Joe Lawrie, retired Army General, and the
proud father of one of the orchestra members (Bruce Lawrie) had casually
mentioned to Gary prior to the concert, that he had always dreamt of directing
such an orchestra. Mid concert, proud Dad got up to take a picture of
son Bruce, so Gary invited him to the stage, to make HIS
accordion dream come true! Without missing a beat, the orchestra repeated
the William Tell Overture, as Joe put the orchestra through their paces.
(The smiles on the orchestra member's faces pictured above, tell it all,
about the fun surprise appearance.) Meanwhile, Gary sat in the back of
the audience and enjoyed his unscheduled break, and joined in the standing
ovation that the audience eagerly gave the performers and director alike.
Here Gary and the orchestra congratulate Joe.
The
Folk Voice Band featuring two accordionists Birgit Teuwen-Ages and Philip
Ages will be performing at the Fiddlers Inn on Friday April 7th, 2000
at 9:00 PM. The performance will include International Folk Songs and
Dance Music. 
In
its sixth year of presentation, the American Accordionists Association
will present this workshop 'One Big Happy Family! (Function/Dysfunction)
with Dr. William Schimmel as moderator/curator.
