V-Accordion Weekend, St Audries Bay     September 2008

St Audries Bay, on the north Somerset coast was the venue for the 2^nd International V-Accordion Contest from 6-8 September 2008. The event was well organised by John and Jackie Romero in conjunction with Roland UK. The Accordion Shop had a large trade stand and Trevani made sure there was plenty of music to entice us all. 

Kick-off was early – trade stands opened at 10 am and an hour later Romano Viazzanni presented a Classical V-Accordion Masterclass. Due to the usual unreliability of the Isle of Wight ferry service we arrived later than planned but made it just in time for this excellent session. Romano gave us an enjoyable introduction to free bass which involved unscrewing left hand buttons – the Roland can be easily converted to a number of systems, the player can interchange dimples or textured buttons to suit their individual needs. Here we learned that Marigolds come in very handy (the washing up gloves, not the flowers), preferably pink please, Romano. Having set up the free bass to work like the B system button accordion, the victims, sorry – the participants, made a decent hash of the first few bars of Bach’s C major Prelude, No.1 from the ’48 Preludes and Fugues’.   

During the afternoon two further presentations were given. First a Folk V-Accordion Masterclass with Eddie Jay. Eddie began by teaching a Romanian Horo in 7/8 time, a bit tricky! He demonstrated several ideas for the left hand when playing folk music; useful alternatives to the usual bass note/chord, using scales, pedal notes, parallel 3rds and 6ths and ‘scrunchy’ notes. Then Karen Street led a Jazz V-Accordion Masterclass which involved improvising and chord progressions starting with a simple melody – in this case Frère Jacques. Karen took us through the various stages; make a melodic change, now a rhythmic change and so on.  It is somewhere in that ‘and so on’ that many of us get hopelessly lost struggling to remember a) the melody, b) notes in the scale (was that pentatonic, melodic minor,  blues or what?), c) the chord progression and d) how do you play the accordion anyway?

Those with a Roland accordion were no doubt learning much about the capabilities of their instrument.  One suggestion for next time is perhaps a number of Rolands could be provided for the rest of us to take an active part in the sessions rather than be observers. Many of us would have loved to try the free bass and learn a bit about the capabilities of the instrument using a hands-on approach.

The evening concert was great fun. Romano, Eddie and Karen played a variety of pieces in varying combinations (solos, duets, trios) showcasing their extraordinary talents and contrasting styles. Harry Hussey and John Romero entertained in the bar well into the night.

Sunday was competition day. The place was filled with the sound of Roland accordions as nervous contestants practised. Instruments were loaned to those who do not yet own a Roland – the Accordion Shop ensured everyone had what they wanted. During the morning four open classes were held: Beginners (sponsored by Allodi Accordions Ltd), Elementary (sponsored by Carillon Studios), Intermediate (sponsored by EMF) and Advanced (sponsored by The Accordion Shop). Each contestant played a set piece and an own choice piece. Winners were Stephen Best, Gennaro Fiondella, Rene Mairis and Hamish Munro who all received trophies and prize money.

The Junior and Senior Championships (sponsored by Roland UK) attracted strong competition. This was no surprise as the first prize winner in each class was to be presented a Roland accordion. What a prize! All competitors were provided with a Roland accordion for two weeks prior to the championships enabling them to exploit the versatility of the instrument. The standard of playing was excellent and provided a wonderful afternoon with a variety of accordion pieces. All the players in the Junior section were a joy to watch and listen to, fine playing and beautifully presented. Well done all of you – Julie Petulengro, Santana O’Connor, Leah Langton, Gary Blair Jnr, Saraya O’Connor and Nancy Langton. The poor judges had an almost impossible task here, it was incredibly close but Saraya O’Connor took a well deserved first place.

The Senior players were all absolutely superb – Gerry Tuohy, Johnny-Lee Leslie and William Langton.  The audience was enthralled and appreciated their musicianship and virtuosity. The judges’ decision was unanimous and announced Johnny-Lee Leslie to be the worthy winner. He played a Prelude and Fugue by J S Bach and Galliano’s Tango for Claude. This young man exudes music, it oozes from every pore. His mastery of the accordion, feeling for colours and sensitivity showed the Roland at its best. Johnny-Lee will now represent the UK at the Roland V-Accordion International Championship in Rome on November 8th. We wish him the very best of luck.

Rene Mairis,  Isle of Wight