The 2009 AAA Competition and Festival in Memphis will be from July 15 – 19. The events will take place at the Holiday Inn Suites at the University of Memphis, TN. The Holiday Inn is an all-suite hotel located on the campus of the University of Memphis and adjacent to the Fogelman Executive Conference Center. Mary Tokarski, Chairman of the 2009 AAA Competition and Festival, is presenting a very fascinating and unique festival.
The Festival features competitions, concerts, workshops, Festival Orchestra, a performance at Graceland and much more! Among the top entertainers will be: Tony Lovello, {Liberace of the Accordion}, Joe Natoli {winner of the recent Roland V Competition in Los Angeles} and Randy Martin, director of the Martin School in Fullerton, California, who will conduct the AAA Festival Orchestra. Frank Busso, Sr. will conduct the performance at Graceland which will include “Love Me Tender” and “Blue Suede Shoes”. Frank is a noted accordionist and educator, First Vice-President of the American Accordionists’ Association and Director of the Staten Island Music School in New York.
The Thursday evening entertainment will feature “Riders in the Sky” who have been playing original and classic cowboy songs for more than thirty years. They are keepers of the flame passed on by the Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, reviving and revitalizing the genre. While remaining true to the integrity of Western music, they have themselves become modern-day icons by branding the genre with their own legendary wacky humor and way-out Western wit.
The Jeff Lisenby Ensemble will perform on the Friday evening concert on July 17. Lisenby holds a master’s degree from The Conservatory of Music of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His experience runs the gamut of styles. He has twice been the national accordion champion and a bronze medalist in the Coupe Mondiale international classical accordion competitions. But classical music wasn’t the only style he practiced. Lisenby used his genius on the accordion and keyboards to carve a niche market for himself, and gained performances with the Nashville, Kansas City, and Los Angeles Symphonies, the Palm Beach Pops Orchestra, and a gig accompanying Luciano Pavarotti during part of his U.S. tour.
New to this year’s program will be Bruce Gassman performing on the Luncheon Concert program together with a duo featuring Mary Tokarski and Joe Natoli. No stranger to entertaining, Bruce is the accordionist with the New Jersey-based Holiday Express, a group of professional musicians whose mission is to deliver music, food, gifts, financial support and friendship to those with the greatest need for the gift of human kindness. Bruce will also entertain during the Saturday night banquet at the Festival.
Several new categories will be included in this year’s events including: AAA Digital/Electronic International Entertainment Competition, as well as a solo category honoring “The King”, Elvis Presley. There will be an International Piano Accordion Competition with prizes funded by the Carmen Carrozza Scholarship Fund, Maddalena Belfiore Entertainment Competition for Female Accordionists. This competition is sponsored by the Mauro Greco family, under the auspices of the AAA.
This year also marks the beginning of the Elsie M. Bennett Composition Category whose general purpose is to encourage young students of the accordion and those who just enjoy the sound of the accordion, to create literature for accordion either as a solo instrument, or with other instruments. There is no directive for the style of the composition, ONLY that it is written for the acoustic accordion, not electronic accordion.
This year the 2009 AAA Festival Orchestra will be conducted by Randy Martin from CA. If you would like to perform in the 2009 Festival Orchestra, please e-mail Linda Reed at aaa1938@aol.com and be sure to include your mailing address, approximately playing level (for example, you may use the Palmer-Hughes Accordion Books as a guide), and e-mail contact address.
The Graceland performance will take place on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 12 PM. After the performance at Graceland, there will be a Graceland tour with Additional Sightseeing time.
All entry forms and information are available now as .pdf files on the AAA web site. Simply download the file, and mail to address listed below. You may also contact the AAA at this address to request printed forms to be sent to you
Mary Tokarski, Contest Chairperson
15 Maplewood Lane
Northford, CT 06472 USA
Phone 203-484-5095
Fax: 203-335-2048, E-mail: aaa1938@aol.com
Come to the 2009 AAA Festival! You will hear some of the best accordionists in the country! Enter the competitions! Play your accordion with the band at Graceland! Attend the workshops! Meet new accordion friends!
