Roland Corporation announces their sponsorship of the inaugural Coupe Mondiale Digital Accordion Competition, part of the 2009 Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships & Festival, to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, in August 2009.

Roland is a leading manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, including the V‐Accordion, the world’s first digital modeling accordion. As part of their Coupe Mondiale sponsorship, the full range of Roland V‐Accordions will be exhibited at the Bruce Mason Centre during the 62nd Coupe Mondiale event, August 25-29.

This most prestigious international accordion competition is organized annually by the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA – IMC‐UNESCO), and in 2009 is hosted by the New Zealand Accordion Association (NZAA).

Roland Australia & NZ have invited two very special guests to Auckland to assist with the performance and promotion of V‐Accordion at Coupe Mondiale 2009:

Mr. Luigi Bruti is the Marketing Director for Roland Europe, home of the V‐accordion. Mr. Bruti was a central figure in the development of V‐Accordion and the establishment in 2007 of the V‐Accordion Festival, an international competition that has attracted some of the finest accordionists from around the world. A renowned accordionist himself, Mr. Bruti will be on hand throughout the event to share his knowledge and experience of the Roland V‐Accordion with musicians and enthusiasts.

The other guest is Mr. Ludovic Beier. Hailing from France, he is one of the finest exponents of jazz style accordion, and will perform on the V‐Accordion at Coupe Mondiale 2009 at the Thursday night concert on August 27th where he will unveil, in a world debut, the latest developments for Roland V‐Accordion. Ludovic will also appear in a more informal French themed social setting on Friday evening, August 28th. He is a thrilling and inspiring performer and his show should not be missed.

Sales and Marketing Manager for Roland Australia & NZ, Mr. Brendan Callinan, says that “the release of the Roland FR7 V‐Accordion in 2004 was the culmination of many years of planning and design, and fulfilled a long ambition of Roland’s founder, Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi, to produce a Roland accordion that did justice to both the fine history and tradition of the instrument and Roland’s dedication to developing cutting edge technologies to enhance the musical experience. We are excited about the prospect of the union of fine musicianship and creative technology within the Coupe Mondiale program and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA – IMC‐UNESCO).”

For more information visit the Roland website.

For more information on the Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships & Festival, including the full 2009 programme, visit www.coupemondiale.org