In June, a large accordion festival in Israel officially honored accordion composer, performer and teacher Yehuda Oppenheimer was for his work in the accordion field over many years. There is a photo montage of the event.
The accordion festival is part of the "Milk and Honey” Feast during the Jewish holiday called the Feast of Tabernacel. The Accordion festival has been part of this larger festival since 2004 when accordionist Shmulik Kalosh and his wife Tchiya held the first accordion festival. The event takes place at Kibbuz Yifat situated in the valley of Yizrael in the central part of the country. The festival Director is Maoz Bar-on.
The award to Yehuda Oppenheimer honoured over 60 years of accordion activity as an accordion artist and teacher of many generations of accordionists, publisher of many teaching books, albums and original compositions for his beloved instrument, the accordion.
Since 1990, an accordion association (initiated by Zeev Axelrod, a pupil of Yehuda) was formed with some hundred members including many teachers artists and lovers of the accordion in Israel.
The music played in the Festival was mostly folk-music from the players home countries: Balkan, Russian and of course Israeli. In the festival appeared one of Israel’s finest players, Emil Aibinder who was accompanied by ballalaika and contrabass playing music of the Balkans. Emil Aibinder and another fine artist of Israel, Yevgeni Michalenko with his "Master Quartett” regularly tour internationally.
Last but not least, Yehuda, (who even at 83 years of age is still playing well), performed a classical music program including one of his latest compositions "Accordion mon Amour" which is published by MusicForAccordion.com
The Featival started at 4 pm with the artistic part ending at 11 pm. Then started the much loved "Community Singing" accompanied by tens of accordionists which lasted until 2 am.
Two TV Shows filmed live at the Sata-Häme Soi Accordion Festival in Ikaalinen, Finland are available online for one month, so we encourage you to enjoy this opportunity to watch them while they are still available.
The ‘Golden & Silver‘ Accordion Competition’
and the ‘Primus Ikaalinen’ Competition
For both televised competitions, the accordion event was the most watched channel in Finland.
The annual Sata-Häme Soi Accordion Festival attracted more than 30,000 people to Ikaalinen where attendees enjoyed a variety of events featuring accordion music of all styles. Regarded as one of the finest run accordion festivals in the world today, the event attracted visitors and artists from New Zealand to the USA and throughout Europe.
Guest artists included Quadro Nuevo Quartet, The Unelmavävyt Dance Orchestra, Veli-Matti Järvenpää Tex-Mex Band, Mika Väyrynen, Renzo Ruggieri and Mauro de Federicis, Ludovic Beier, Tiit Kalluste Jump Band, Viatcheslav Semionov Duo, the Beltango Quintet featuring Alexandar Nikolic and more.
The Golden Accordion competition was won by Ukko-Pekka Yliranta and Viljami Morander won the Silver Accordion competition. The International 4th Primus Ikaalinen competition was won by Mario D'Amario from Italy. The Roland V Accordion Competition was won by Jukka Hänninen who will be the Finnish representative at the 2nd International Roland Competition in Italy in November.
Cristina Bugiolacchi, the daughter of Beniamino Bugiolacchi, owner of the company Italcinte and Paolo Paolini from Osimo were united in marriage by the pastors Don Bruno and Don Lamberto Pigini (owner of the company EKO) on June 28, 2008 at the Collegiate Church of S. Stefano in Castelfidardo.
The ceremony took place in a festive atmosphere in the presence of 190 guests accompanied by some passages of Astor Piazzolla performed masterfully on the accordion and bandoneon by Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi - the first time that a Catholic rite wedding ceremony includes music by Astor Piazzolla.
A sumptuous banquet at the Abbey of S. Maria in was offered by the young couple to their friends and relatives.
In the photos: a) Cristina exit from the home of Beniamino Bugiolacchi
b) the parents Cristina Maria Pia and Beniamino.
Best wishes from all the staff of Accordions Worldwide
The prestigious Coupe Mondiale event is being hosted for the first time in Scotland from October 21st - 26th 2008 will include an array of concerts and festival events.
Orchestral Performances including the Colchester Accordion Orchestra MD Elaine Beecham (CIA Honored Friend of the Accordion in 2007), The Graham Laurie Paisley Accordion Orchestra, The Dutch Accordion Project Orchestra (NOVAM) and The Brian Laurie Academy Orchestra will all be featured and these orchestras will also participate in the CIA World Accordion Orchestra II.
Also featured will be Scottish Traditional Dance Troops, Scottish pipe bands plus Gary Blair and his Celidh Band on the Saturday night spectacular. Certainly, no Scottish accordion event could be complete without Celidh dancing and Gary Blair.
The official hotel, the Normandy is now almost full with guests coming from all over the world, so the host organization NAO, has organized the nearby sister hotel Erskine Bridge to offer the same attractive prices plus a free shuttle bus service to the event for all accordion guests. A limited number of rooms are reserved for contestants who are urged to enter promptly when online entries open in mid July.
During the last two months, accordion students from the class of Zorica Karakutovska from the Faculty of Music Skopje and the SMBUC ‘Ilija Nikolovski-Luj‘ Skopje have enjoyed many successes.
On May 22nd at the National Gallery of Macedonia ‘Daut Pasin Amam‘ Skopje, the Foundation ‘Klimentina Rafajlovska’ organised a concert featuring this year's winner of the annual award for Best Musician-Instrumentalist, Aleksandar Kolovski.
This is the third time a pupil of Zorica Karakutovska has won this award ahead of all other instrumentalists, a big success for Aleksandar, for Zorica and for the accordion in general!
Aleksandar’s special guests at this concert were his trio with Bojan Volcevski and Boban Peric, plus the accordion trio of Zoran Kirjakovski, Filip Stamevski and Kosto Todorovski who won the Grand Prix of the 46th National competition for chamber music in Skopje held in April.
On June 15th, accordionist Aleksandar Kolovski played on the opening ceremony of the 7th International Competition of young musicians ‘Ohrid Pearls‘, as last year’s winner of EMCY Art for Music Prize. Aleksandar played with last year’s ‘Ohrid Pearls 2007‘ winner, flutist Simonida Jovanovic from Serbia. This successful concert was another excellent presentation of the accordion.
On June 28th, Karakutovska students performed a concert titled ‘Tri krusi‘ in Skopje and on June 29th the student chamber ensembles, winners of special prizes on the National competition for chamber music held in April, performed on the concert for chamber music at the ‘Skopje Summer 2008’ held at the National Gallery of Macedonia “Daut Pasin Amam” Skopje.
This successfully ended a concert season with high profile accordion performances.
The J.S. Bach Cembalo concert in A Major (BWV 1055) was performed on the 14th June in Neu-Isenburg and on the 15th June in Frankfurt by the Neu-Insenburger Chamber Orchestra with soloist Mirjana Petercol.
The work dates back to the concerto for oboa d´amore which flourished in the 18th.century. The orchestra conducted by Peter Helmi, accompanied by the soloist Mirjana Petercol was well received by the numerous enthusiastic audience.
The "Offenbacher Post" wrote: .....has given her interpretation a very personal touch. ……. was not just predominant but with her own virtuosity literally carried away the audience. Most concert-goers would have liked to hear the piece again ...
The "Neu-Isenburger StadtPost" wrote: ..... that the highlight was …….. the soloist, Mirjana Petercol …. "Bach would have liked it". ….. the transcription has its charm, especially as Mirjana Petercol played in a very virtuous manner. Big applause for all participants.
Las Vegas International Accordion Convention - USA
The 2008 Honorary Conductor will be Carl Fortina with featured guest artists including Alexander Sevastian, Dick Contino, Art Van Damme. Alexander Sevastian is appearing as a special guest as a prize donated by the Las Vegas International Accordion Convention to the winner of the 60th Anniversary CIA Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships held in Alexandria, VA in 2007.
Other guest artists include Mary Tokarski, Peter Soave, Mady Soave, Mario Pedone, Soundscape Accordion Trio, Steve Albini, Gina Brannelli, Gordon Kohl, Ron Borelli, and more! New this year will be the Las Vegas International Accordion Orchestra which will be directed by Joan Cochran Sommers.
Convention highlights include a welcome reception, Dinner and concert, daily workshops, concerts, and the after-hours Club Concerto. Seven meals, seven concerts, all special events and classes included, the cost for a single all inclusive ticket is $465 or for double $795. Evening-Only options are available and the special Room Rate for the convention hotel is $59 per night!
Call the Hot Line at 1-800-472-1695 to register, (outside the USA +01-801-486-1695) or visit www.accordionstars.com for further information.
14th AAA Annual Master Class and Concert Series - USA
Celebrating the 14th smash year of 'The Seminars', the American Accordionists' Association will hold their annual Master Class and Concert series in New York City from July 25-27, 2008.
Moderated by Dr. William Schimmel, The Seminars will be held at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City, located at 43A West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Ave. This three day event titled 'The Last Froniter', one of several coinciding with the exciting AAA 70th Anniversary Celebrations, will feature daily Master Classes at 3:00 PM and Concerts at 7:00 PM.
For reservations and further information including guest artists and seminar titles, please visit www.ameraccord.com
On Friday, July 11 at 6 pm, there will be broadcast the first episode of the TV program titled "Accordion" on TV "Studio 100" and "Studio 100-Sat "(SKY channel 925). The program will also repeat on Sunday morning at 11 am and Monday morning at 9.25 am.
The TV program was initiated by Giorgio Martellotta who is the producer and director of the shop. The program will be devoted entirely to the accordion with interesting information regarding the “history of the accordion” and “manufacture and repair of an accordion”. This is a program not to be missed.
The Washington Balalaika Society cordially invites you to attend a private house concert featuring one of Russia's favorite performing couples, Natalia and Viatcheslav Semionov. The concert will take place on Friday evening, July 25, 2008 at 7:00 PM in Potomac, MD.
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the artists after the concert while enjoying a light buffet and refreshments. Minimum donation for attendance is $45.00 per person. For reservations please call (703) 525-2696. Seating is limited, so it is advised to reserve early. Concert directions will be provided when reservations are made.
Harley wants to meet accordionists while in Kenya to establish greater contacts between Kenyan accordionists and the rest of the world. If any of our readers have accordion contacts in Kenya, please email the contact details to Harley or telephone the Nairobi Country Lodge 10th and 11th July morning – Phone 20 2881600 or email: harleyaccordion@yahoo.com
Summer on the Hudson, one of New York City's largest free summer festivals, continues its eighth season with a summer of unique contemporary music events at Riverside Park South. On Saturday, July 12, the main attraction will be the 3rd Annual New York City Main Squeeze Accordion Festival from 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM at Pier I, Riverside Park South, Manhattan, New York.
The festival will feature traditional, contemporary and eclectic music by squeezebox masters from around the globe that will get you up and dancing! At the Accordion Kids Corner, children can get free trial accordion lessons instruction from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM from "Furry Murray" (Murray Weinstock, composer of animal tunes, such as "The Bow-Wow Polka") and attendees can also browse the Accordion Flea Market.
Among the featured artists are: The 15-piece all-female Main Squeeze Orchestra, Marie Luise DiCocco, Los Macondos, Eugenio Ortega, Nicu Helerea, Raif Hyseni Orchestra, Raul Jaurena Tango Trio, Joshua Horowitz, and more.
Sardinia Island, Italy, has a whole page advertisement in the Ryan Air In Flight Magazine titled "Sardinia, The Treasure Island" which says "These are treasures deriving from our culture and traditions, so rich and ancient." with most of the whole page advertisement featuring accordionist Antonello Salis and his Excelsior accordion. Click on the small poster to enlarge and see the full size advertisement.
Very nice of Sardinia in a project jointly funded by the European Union to be promoting their culture and the accordion so prominently as being very attractive to the tourism market.
Gary Dahl - accordionist as well as a composer, arranger, recording artist and music educator, release 1 new work for accordion available for purchase online, ‘Crazy’. Samples of this music are available on the site. The music is in eSheet format, able to be emailed to your computer. Purchase with credit card.
Crazy has continued to be as popular as it was in the late 1940's as a billion seller recording. This arrangement follows the original Patsy Cline billion seller and it still remains the best version.
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In June, a large accordion festival in Israel officially honored accordion composer, performer and teacher 
The music played in the Festival was mostly folk-music from the players home countries: Balkan, Russian and of course Israeli. In the festival appeared one of Israel’s finest players, Emil Aibinder who was accompanied by ballalaika and contrabass playing music of the Balkans. Emil Aibinder and another fine artist of Israel, Yevgeni Michalenko with his "Master Quartett” regularly tour internationally.
Cristina Bugiolacchi Wedding - Italy
The prestigious 
The official hotel, the Normandy is now almost full with guests coming from all over the world, so the host organization 
Successful Concert Season Ends - Macedonia
This is the third time a pupil of Zorica Karakutovska has won this award ahead of all other instrumentalists, a big success for Aleksandar, for Zorica and for the accordion in general!
On June 28th, Karakutovska students performed a concert titled ‘Tri krusi‘ in Skopje and on June 29th the student chamber ensembles, winners of special prizes on the National competition for chamber music held in April, performed on the concert for chamber music at the ‘Skopje Summer 2008’ held at the National Gallery of Macedonia “Daut Pasin Amam” Skopje.
The 2008 
Celebrating the 14th smash year of 'The Seminars', the 
Accordion TV Program Starts - Italy
The TV program was initiated by Giorgio Martellotta who is the producer and director of the shop. The program will be devoted entirely to the accordion with interesting information regarding the “history of the accordion” and “manufacture and repair of an accordion”. This is a program not to be missed.
Harley Jones
Summer on the Hudson, one of New York City's largest free summer festivals, continues its eighth season with a summer of unique contemporary music events at Riverside Park South. On Saturday, July 12, the main attraction will be the 3rd Annual New York City Main Squeeze Accordion Festival from 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM at Pier I, Riverside Park South, Manhattan, New York.
