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Written by Owen Murray
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Rafal Luc Rafal Luc received a very positive review in ' 'The Times' newspaper for his Royal Festival Hall, Purcell Room, recital in the Park Lane Group contemporary music series on 06 January. His performance of Gubaidulina's 'De Profundis' Ligeti ' Musica Ricercata' Giles Swayne' Squeezy' and Hans Abrahamsen 'Air' was described as; " It was Rafal Luc's deep engagement with the expressive potential of his instrument that distinguished his recital. He showed maturity beyond his 21 years. Ksenija Siderova Ksenija Siderova will be a finalist in the prestigious 'Royal Academy of Music Wigmore Award' on 05 February at the Wigmore Hall at 1.00pm. Other finalists are basoon and piano, violin and piano; oboe and piano; soprano and piano and solo piano. It is the 3rd time an RAM accordionist has been in the final of this competition in consecutive years, Milos Milivojevic and Borut Zagoranski also reached the final. The success of young accordionists in competitions involving instruments other than accordion is tremendously positive. And it takes the accordion out of the entrenched mentality of accordion based competitions that achieve little or nothing to integrate the accordion into the classical music world. It is also worth noting that the standard of adjudication is highly qualified and professional. The adjudicator on this occassion was the distinguished pianist and teacher, Gordon Back. He will be joined in the final by the celebrated conductor Jan Pascal Tortelier. Owen Murray
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'Squeezebox Jukebox' - Volunteers needed to play the world's largest accordion!

Written by Abi Spinks & Jamie Kenyon
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Giancarlo Francenella and his giant accordion at the Castelfidardo AccordionMuseum
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Charles Camilleri (1931-2009)

Written by Rob Howard
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
- Charles Camilleri (1931-2009) In the 1950s and 60s, Charles Camilleri was one of the world's best-known and most admired international accordionists, and he performed in many countries worldwide. Camilleri was a familiar figure in Britain during these years, and was the chief guest artiste at the 1958 and 1966 'Accordion Day' All-Britain Championships concerts. Born in Malta in 1931, Charles was immersed in the accordion and the piano from a young age. He formed a band whose members were all aged under sixteen, playing at local functions, and was also performing as a solo accordionist in concerts. At the age of twelve, Charles became the first accordionist to appear in concert at the Opera House in Malta, playing selections from La Traviata, accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra. As a teenager, Charles played with every orchestra in Malta, on accordion and piano, and also played in small combos specialising in Continental style dance music. He was very versatile, equally at home in a range of genres, including classical music. After one such performance on the classical platform, Camilleri was encouraged to pursue a career in music by the tenor Tito Gobbi, of the New York Metropolitan Opera House.
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Yorkshire Accordion & Music Festival - 7th February 2009

Written by Richard Smith

Sunday, 18 January 2009

This year the annual Yorkshire Accordion and Music festival is being held on Saturday 7th February at the usual venue of Victoria Hall in Saltaire and features the NAO North Central Accordion Championships, Festival Championships, Trade stands and a family fun Ceilidh with the Rob Thorn Band.

Competition adjudicators include Djordje Gajic, Ken Farren, Ray Bodell, Karolyn Broadhead, Graham Waterhouse and Andrew Fearnley and we are already looking at beating last years record number of 335 entries.

Entry to come watch during the day is free and details/maps/acommodation details can be found on the Yorkshire Accordion and Music Festival website at www.yamf.co.uk.

This year the Ceilidh is with the Rob Thorn Band - it's always really good fun, a great laugh and we get a great mixture of all ages coming to all our Ceilidhs. There will also be a guest spot from Thom Hardaker who is a local lad who is currently studying over in Russia.

Tickets for the Ceilidh in advance are £5 for Adults, £3 for Concessions or £15 for a family ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children). On the door Adults £6, Concessions £4.

The ticket price includes a late bar, some food, ceilidh dancing (with someone telling you how to do it!) and if you book early enough and live on route a free coach. Bargain!

The coach will probably be going from Skipton - Cross Hills - Steeton - Keighley - Saltaire from about 7.15pm and coming back 12.15-12.30am. Coach booking is on a first come first served basis. Contact Danny Hinchcliffe to confirm coach booking ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

If you'd like tickets please contact Richard Smith ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it / 07910 280943) or Danny Hinchcliffe ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it / 07927 413681) or tickets can be purchased from Cross Hills Post Office or the Craven School of Music.

It's going to be a great night and would be great to see you all, please invite all your friends/family - let them know if you think they'd be interested and let us know soon if you want tickets.