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| The A.T.G. Announces Performance Opportunities for YOU!!! | |
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Paul Monte, an accordion
teacher in Wellesley, MA, and a member of the Accordion
Teachers Association of MA, was interviewed about the rebirth of the
accordion for the ABC television program "Chronicle." |
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| Jason Stephen Ends Texas Tour in Prison! | |
 Accordionist
Jason Stephen recently concluded his Midwest Concert Tour with a performance
in "The Prison", in McKinney Texas. The former prison, now converted
into an upscale Restaurant, Bar and performance venue, was the final stop
on a highly successful concert tour which took Jason as his percussionist,
Tony Hundtofton,
on tour through Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.Sponsored by the Texas Accordion Association Jason performed in Kansas City, MO, Oklahoma City, OK, Fort Worth, Dallas, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Irving, Austin, Mesquite and McKinney, TX. as well as on the live radio show with John Aielli, at KUTFM in Austin, Texas. Jason Stephen, was a finalist in the AAA's Search for the Hottest Accordionist Contest in Branson, Missouri in 1999, the National Jazz Champion for the AAA in 1998 & 1999, and the 1999 A.T.G. Virtuoso Entertainment Champion. Jason went on to compete at the Confederadtion Internationale des Accordeonistes World Accordion Championships Entertainment Category, held in Trossingen where he attained 8th place.  An
accomplished accordionist, Jason is currently studying with Joan
Cochran Sommers at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. For the
tour, Jason will be teaming up with fellow UMKC student, percussionist Tony
Hundtoft. .Jason, accompanied by fellow UMKC student, percussionist Tony Hundtoft released a CD for the tour entitled, which will be available on-line soon. |
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| Peter Soave, Eurydice and the Legend of Lovers | |
 Peter
Soave is performing in the Storm Theater's production of Jean Anouilh's
EURYDICE, Legend of Lovers through June 3 in New York City. The show is
at the Storm Theater located at 145 West 46th St., (just east of Broadway),
Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 PM, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM. Tickets
are $15 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-965-4827 (10 am to 10 PM)
or at www.ticketweb.com. Peter is pictured (right) performing the pre-show
entertainment with Kim Bendheim, who plays the Cashier in the show. In
the play, Orpheus (played by Christian Conn) attracts Eurydice (who is seen
peeking through the curtains - played by Tiffany Weigel) with his accordion
playing, while waiting at the train station. The show follows the legend
of the lovers, as Peter provides the only music for the show.Soave's playing adds a plaintive depth to this story of the doomed lovers. Sylvia Johnson, associate producer, Storm Theater states: "Perhaps the most invaluable member of the company, though, is Peter Soave, who provides glorious and virtuosic accompaniment on accordion and bandoneon. This music provides a perfect, moodily restless milieu for Eurydice, at once as specific and as timeless as the concerns, both monumental and intimate, of this play."  Check
the whole review by Martin Denton on May 12th at: http://www.botz.com/nytheatre/eurydice.htm
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| Gary Daverne to conduct in Washington DC | |
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| The Accordion and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue | |
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An article by Henry Doktorski
titled "The Accordion and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue: A Historical Perspective,"
has been published in the scholarly journal: "Music Theory -- Explorations
and Applications," Volume 7. |
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 Accordionist
Joe Soprani
will appear with Raquel Bitton at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia,
Saturday, June 17th, 2000 at 8.00 PM for one day only.Raquel Bitton sings Edith Piaf, her story, her songs with full orchestra and features Joe Soprani on the accordion. Her programs throughout the country have been a huge success. "Magnificent, emotional mesmerizing."Philip Elwood, San Francis co Examiner. "Raquel Bitton's CD tribute to Edith Piaf is terrific!" Liz Smith, Columnist. |
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 Kansas
City accordionist Juha Silfverberg was recently invited to perform as the
pre-show entertainment at the Lyric Theater in Kansas City, during the world
premiere of 'Union Station' by Robert Kapilow which was commissioned for
Kansas City's 150 year celebrations.Juha Silfverberg a former Finnish Accordion Champion, was the first foreign accordionist to attend the University of Missouri, Kansas City studying with Joan Cochran Sommers. Juha currently works as a full time accordionist in the greater Kansas City, performs in the acclaimed International Trio, and also runs an accordion repair business from his home. |
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In an exchange concert with
the Showstoppers
Accordion Orchestra of Hudson, NH, The Peter Dee Academy of Music,
Limerick, Ireland will present a program of traditional Irish Music and
Dance under the direction of Denis Carey. |
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| A.T.G. $1,000 First Prize attracts entrants from New Zealand to Ukraine | |
| Worldwide interest is being
generated for the A.T.G.
Virtuoso Entertainment Competition, offering a first prize of $1000.00,
second prize $500.00 and third prize of $250.00, which will be held at the
A.T.G. Competition and Festival in Chicago this summer from July 20-23,
2000. Contestants are expected from as far away as New Zealand, France and Ukraine, as well as across the United States. 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.) For further information, please contact A.T.G. President Joan Sommers at: SommersJ@umkc.edu |
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| Skyblue Accordion News announces Sharon Walters in Concert | |
| Accordionist Sharon Walters
Performs Songs by Valarie Morris Here's your chance to hear the tantalizing accordion sounds of Sharon Walters as she performs songs by Valarie Morris with vocalists Harriet March Page, Miriam Lewis, and Tisha C. Page! This event is Goat Hall's Cabaret Opera: Fresh Voices, premiering new music by Bay Area composers and librettists. On the program: * "Amsterdam & Paris with a Side of Eggs", Valarie Morris words & music * "Queen Clara: Fields of Glory, Rivers of Blood", Mary Watkins music, Lance Belville book * "Dan (Destiny)", Anne Doherty words & music * "The Soldiers Who Wanted to Kill Death", John Partridge words & music * "The Sidewalks of NY: Henry Miller in Brooklyn", Mark Alburger music, Mel Clay book Where: Goat Hall Location: 400 Missouri Street, San Francisco Dates/Times: Saturday, June 17 at 8 PM and Sunday, June 18 at 7 PM Cost: $15 general, $10 seniors and children Info and reservations: (415) 289-6877 |
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| UMKC Accordion Orchestra to perform World Premiere | |
 The
UMKC Accordion Orchestra will be presenting the world premiere of "Out of
Crooked Timber..." by Dr. Paul Rudy for the UMKC Accordion Orchestra and
Accordion Soloist at the ATG
60th Anniversary Celebrations in Chicago, from July 20-23, 2000.Program notes from Dr. Rudy: I was immediately struck by the phrase from Immanual Kant's idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht (1784): "Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made." My hope was (and is) that humanity pass from its adolescence marked with violence, trauma, and moody tantrums into a more stable adulthood of diplomacy, compassion, and kindness. Sound mass becomes a metaphor for the unhewn timber out of which I try to mill something straight. In the end, straightness becomes a matter of relativity balanced between the pessimism of Kant's view and my hopeless romantic optimism. This piece came in a lightning flash after a conversation with Joan Sommers. I began hearing great masses of sounds which the accordion produces so easily. I was hearing the sound coming from all different directions, with static planes at times, while at others, swarming masses of intricate sounds. Out of these blocks, a melody eventually protrudes toward the end, when it is swallowed by a single thunderous chord. These sound worlds are a metaphor for the psychological idea of the work: trying to mold something straight (a melody), out of hopelessly crooked material (chromatic sound mass). Paul Rudy (1962) was born in South Bend, Indiana. He is Assistant Professor of Composition and director of the Music Production and Computer Technology Center at the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri, Kansas City. Since 1995 he has been teaching at the Aspen Music School. In 1996 he launched the Amplified Music Performance Series (AMPS) and has since produced concerts of electroacoustic works each summer at the Aspen Music Festival. He is the creator, producer, and host of "The Virtual Concert Hall" a program of contemporary electroacoustic music for public radio. He has received awards from the Fulbright Foundation, the National Music Teachers Association, and the Missouri Music Teachers Association, and was a finalist in the 1999 Hultgren Biennial Solo Cello Competition. His works have been performed throughout the US and the world, and are published by Twisted Trail Music. He holds degrees from Bethel College (B.A. 1984), The University of Colorado, Boulder (M.M. 1992) and The University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A. 1997). In addition to composing he has an avid interest in bicycling, hiking, camping, and mountaineering. In 1994 he completed the Colorado Grand Slam after climbing all 54 of Colorado's 14,000 ft peaks. |
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| RootsWorld Accordion Festival | |
| Accordion Music Festival
Makes a Big Splash on the Web Cyberspace's largest festival of accordion
and related music is coming up June 1st. The 3rd Annual RootsWorld Free
Reed Festival, the brainchild of Rootsworld.com founder and noted music
critic Cliff Furnald, is about to unleash it's third annual dose of musical
merriment on the Internet, for the entire month of June, 2000. Free Reed
refers to a group of instruments that encompasses the accordion, the harmonica,
and even more exotic instruments from India and China. Over 100,000 people visited last year's festival sites, hearing and reading about the world's music, from Irish accordion to Thai khaen, from Chinese sheng (mouth organ) to English concertina. The list goes on and on. In addition, a variety of media partners, including LouisianaRadio.com CBC national radio program The Global Village and a number of radio stations from around the world will schedule companion events on the air and on their web sites. Among the artists contributing special music and interviews to this year's festival is an international group of noted free reed players, including NY avant gardist Guy Klucevsek, Louisiana legends Boozoo Chavis and Bois Sec Ardoin, Irish harmonica master Brendan Power, Indian harmonium (pump organ) player Shiv Dayal Batish, Italian folk musician Riccardo Tesi, Finnish chromatic accordionists Maria Kalaniemi and Kimmo Pohojen and Swedish Rikkspelman (royal musician) Mats Eden. There will be recorded and live music from musicians from around the world, from the Cajun bayous to urban Zimbabwe. The Free Reed Festival is hosted by RootsWorld magazine and Hear.Com, the online creations of renegade music critic and radio programmer Cliff Furnald. What Furnald has done over the past five years is quite impressive considering the quality of the site design and content, and the fact that RootsWorld is almost entirely written by volunteers. Furnald has programmed radio shows on WPKN, WNHU, and WYBC, and was responsible for initiating CMJ New Music Report's "New World" column. Of course, the fact that dozens of radio stations and websites around the world team together to offer an international network of Free Reed Festival events probably helps to draw large numbers. And since the Festival, which will last for the entire month of June, takes place in the virtual world at www.RootsWorld.com and on the airwaves of participating stations, the event attracts a worldwide audience. For more information: Cliff Furnald, Rootsworld, cliff@rootsworld.com or Phone: 203-624-6423 Check in at www.RootsWorld.com/press for updates, information and audio samples. |
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| Milwaukee Accoridon Club Features Aman Family Show | |
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The Milwaukee
Accordion Club is proud to announce that the headliner for their June
meeting is 'THE AMAN, CHRISTIAN FAMILY SHOW.' This is a family from Colorado
and the featured players will be: |
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| New Music - Original Accordion Compositions by Stas Venglevski | |
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Milwaukee based
accordionist, Stas
Venglevski has published his original accordion compositions entitled:
'Accordion Illusions, Original Compositions by Stas Venglevski. The book
contains a mixture of solo and duet pieces. The titles include: Always
With You To order these
wonderful compositions, please visit Stas on-line at: www.accordions.com/stas
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| Where in the World is this accordionist? | |
Where in
the world is this? All correct entries will go into a drawing and the
lucky winner will receive a copy of the new two new Videos from Jane
Christison, entitled "Playing the Accordion for Fun and Fame",
and 'Squeezing Money out of your Accordion." |
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| Accordion of the Month | |
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| Early Summer Festivals | |
| July will see both National
Accordion Organizations offer their annual national festivals and conventions.
The American Accordionists'
Association will convene in Washington DC and The
Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International will celebrate its
60th Anniversary in the Chicago area. The Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships will be held in Kragujovac, Yugoslavia from October 25-30th, 2000, and in London, October 2001. American citizens wishing to compete in any of the five categories (Senior/Junior Coupe Mondiale and Senior/Junior Virtuoso Entertainment Divisions or the International Piano Accordion Competition) should contact the American Accordionists' Association and the The Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International for entry details. For those heading to Canada, you might enjoy attending the Kimberley International Old Tme Accordion Championships from July 3-8th, 2000. (For further information, or to list your event, please consult the monthly calendars for exact dates and contact details.) |
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 Iona
Reed Pukara Performing in Canada |
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| Canada's Coupe Mondiale Accordion
Champion, Iona Reed Pukara has been performing with ensembles and symphony
orchestras throughout the Sudbury, Ontario area. During March, she did 12 concert appearances and is currently performing in the sold-out "Edith Piaf Show" for which she also wrote the orchestration. The show, which stars lyricist Pandora Topp, features Iona on accordion with other instrumentalists. |
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It
is the pleasure of the A.T.G. to invite you to perform in the Festival
Orchestra, which will be performing at the 60th Anniversary Celebrations
from July 20-23, 2000 at the Lisle/Naperville Hilton, (Chicago). Conductors
will be Anthony Galla-Rini, Joan Cochran Sommers and Frank Marocco.
The
AAA Festival Orchestra and will be conducted by renowned symphony conductor
- Gary Daverne from Auckland, New Zealand. Gary
is the conductor of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared
as guest conductor with major orchestras all over the world. 
Accordionist
Amy Jo Sawyer performed with the St. Louis Symphony recently on two programs.
Congratulations
go to Christopher McDill of Brooklyn, New York, who correctly identified
our last mystery picture as being from Moscow, Russia. In fact the giant
30 foot accordionist is found within the walls of the Ismailovsky Park
Market in Moscow.
This
button accordion model was introduced to make the audience believe that
the accordionist was playing a piano accordion which was popular in the
USA Vaudeville circuit. 