Stockport Accordion Club Newsletter July/August 2014 President: Pearl Fawcett-Adriano Past President: Johnny Coleclough Vice President: Walter Perrie Stockport Accordion Club meets on Wednesday evenings at Woodley Methodist Church, Chapel St, Woodley, Stockport SK6 1NF (Junction 25 on the M60); the club now has the Stockport AC Band, 7 pm/8.30pm, MD Derek Stubbs, and the Orchestra Workshop, 9pm/10.30 pm, with MD Brian Jenkins. New members or visitors always welcome. Website: stockportaccordionclub.org Club Night concert on Wednesday July 16th, 8pm Classic Kyiv Duo The brilliant Classic Kyiv Duo return as our Club Night guests on Wednesday July 16th. The Classic Kyiv Duo - Igor Sayenko and Oleksiy Kolomoiets - from Kiev in the Ukraine, specialize in transcriptions of classical music, interpreting the works of Vivaldi, Bizet, Rachmaninov, Khachaturian, JS Bach, Johann Strauss, Astor Piazzolla, and others. Their artistry is outstanding, and this world class accordion duo returns to Stockport Accordion Club for their 4th visit. The concert begins at 8pm, admission is £5, and the venue is Woodley Methodist Church, Chapel Street/A560 Hyde Road, Woodley, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 1NF (J25/M60). The SAC Band (MD Derek Stubbs) will open the concert, and anybody who would like to play a piece or two is most welcome. Stockport AC Band @ Hazel Grove Methodist Church on July 5th The Stockport AC Band (MD Tony Ainscough) share a concert with a choir for a Scottish-themed evening at Hazel Grove Methodist Church, Wesley St, SK7 4JQ, on Saturday July 5th, 7.30pm. All welcome. Altrincham French Festival Some of us from Stockport AC will be celebrating Bastille Day by playing at this year’s Altrincham French Festival, held at Stamford Park, Moss Lane, Altrincham, on Sunday July 13th, from 11am/2pm. There will be several of us from SAC doing some squeezing, French-style, and helping to create a Maigret-cum-Allo Allo type atmosphere. The event will be opened at 10am by Graham Brady MP, with The Marsellaise being sung by the tenor Martin Toal. Locally-based French vocalist Laura Illouz will be performing during the day. All are welcome. Entry is free. Proceeds will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care. Stockport AC Band’s D-Day concert On June 6th the Stockport AC Band (MD Derek Stubbs) performed at the United Reform Church in Macclesfield, which was a fund raiser for building repairs. There was a large audience, and the D-Day themed concert went very well indeed. We had a great programme, including Sweet Georgia Brown, Ain’t Misbehaving, Accordion Friends, Colonel Bogey, Moonlight Serenade, Pennsylvania 6500, In the Mood, Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory, etc, and all our practising certainly paid off with a great performance, climaxing with a rousing version of The Dam Busters – also played as an encore. Special thanks must go to Helen Rich and Walter Perrie for their fabulous solos and impromptu duets. All in all, a first class job from everybody. The audience loved it all, and there was plenty of participation. They even got “Pennsylvania 6500” (and the “000” bit) spot on, bless them! Mike Davies and Wally McKenzie (John Nixon’s cousin), two of our longstanding club followers, missed the concert, but for a very good reason. Both were D-Day veterans, and were in Normandy for the official commemoration events. Future dates for your diaries… Saturday September 13th, 12.30pm – Stockport AC Band performance in St Marys Church, Stockport Market. This is part of a re-creation of Stockport during World War One and there will be interesting things happening every half hour from 10-4pm in and around the church. The organisers want lots of visitors. September 24th, 8pm – Club Night concert with Jean Dauvin (France) & Steve Roxton December 5th, 7.45pm - Broken Cross Club, Macclesfield - our fund raiser for the East Cheshire Hospice. Other news… In mid-May SAC member Helen Rich played in a charity concert in Levenshulme, Manchester, for Christian Aid Week in which £410 was raised. David Batty and Rebecca Parker were married in June, and we wish them all happiness in their future together. David is the organiser of Leyland AC and Rebecca is the daughter of accordionist Ann Parker. Blackpool 2014 Four of us from SAC attended Heather Smith’s festival in May at the Norbreck Castle in Blackpool, and we all enjoyed a few days of concerts, workshops, dancing, etc. There was never a dull moment, and it was such a shame that more did not attend. The four of us were kept busy in various ways. With Brian Jenkins absent this year, Marj & I did a ‘job share’ for Songs of Praise, with Marj conducting the band and me leading the singing. Adrienne Sharpe did her usual sterling job compering the Free & Easy, whilst Chris Green did the vital job of playing bass in the workshop bands. On the last night I gave a talk about the life of the highly prolific music publisher/songwriter Lawrence Wright, with Rosemary Wright and Harry Hussey playing music associated with the great man. A highlight was the visit of Ian Watson for a special orchestral workshop, a talk about the recently formed UKAAT (United Kingdom Association of Accordion Teachers), and a solo spot in the final concert, which was a bonus. Ian is an engaging and articulate spokesman for the accordion, and with the likes of him and Romano Viazzani involved, UKAAT should become a significant voice on behalf of our favourite instrument. Thanks to Heather for putting all of this together. Heather Smith afterwards wrote: “Phew.................well Im back home in one piece after all the accordionising and fun at the Blackpool Accordion Festival. My thanks go to everyone at the event..........artists, team, trade and you, the audience. What a lovely atmosphere. Special thanks go to our two Italian friends Giancarlo Caporilli and Gennaro Ruffolo (sponsored by Vignoni Accordions and Musictech), who always join in with whats going on during the day, especially in the trade area where Caroline Hunt displayed her wonderful collection of old accordions etc., and their fantastic evening performances. Im so pleased they enjoyed the time spent with us. Ian Watson (representing UKAAT) put us through our paces during the final day, with two orchestral workshops for the more advanced players and also played in the evening concert. Wonderful musician and a pleasure to meet him. Harry Hussey......need I say more......................amazing!! David Vernon..........our Scottish treasure, Rosemary Wright, Bert Santilly......... always a pleasure to meet up with them. Lovely players, lovely people. Adrienne Sharpe, who runs the daily free & easy sessions so successfully. A fabulous performance from Denise and Stefan Andrusyschyn was appreciated by all........pity Rob and Marj missed it, they were otherwise engaged looking after little Dmitri. Geoff (saxophone), Bryan (drums) and Jon (guitar) did a great job in Harrys jazz sessions and in Berts jazz workshops. Rob Beecroft, who had a trade stand, did a great job when one of Carolines special accordions developed a fault, fixed it and the antique show went on!! I could go on and on, but Ill just say.......hope to see you all next year at the Norbreck Castle Hotel. In the meantime.........Happy Squeezin”. Ken Longley and Sheila Brown R.I.P. Our club has been touched by great sadness recently with the deaths of former club members Ken Longley and Sheila Brown, the constant companion of Brian Jenkins. Ken played in our band, going back to when we were known as the Clifford Wood Accordion Orchestra, and played in many NAO competitions with our band, in duets, and also as a soloist. After leaving SAC in the mid-1990s he joined the Weaver Valley Accordion Band and also did many gigs as a duo with John Trigg, until being overtaken by bad health. Ken suffered with COPD (emphysema), the result of heavy smoking going back to his years in the Royal Navy. A very capable accordionist, Ken was an affable and well-liked character who had many friends in the accordion scene. Sheila Brown didn’t play the accordion but was a popular member of SAC, had an outgoing personality, and made many friends in the accordion community. Roy Whiteley – accordion repairs, tuning, restoration, etc… For any kind of accordion/melodeon/concertina repairs, restorations or servicing (acoustic/electronic), tuning, MIDI conversions, amplifiers, etc, contact Cheshire-based Roy Whiteley on 0751 9064196; email: [email protected]; website: accordionmagic Onwards and upwards… On July 16th the Classic Kyiv Duo are back with us for what is our first Club Night of 2014. These lads are so good they ought to be topping the bill at the Bridgewater Hall, if the classical music world was a level playing field. As things are, you can pay a mere £5 and save a fortune on Bridgewater Hall prices! Rob Howard (0161) 480 8858; email: robaccord5@hotmail
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:36:31 +0000
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