We will be meeting this Tuesday 21st of February.  Doors open at 8pm with a hybrid meeting as usual. We will start with any players on the stage who want to play or practice playing to an audience, then we will move on to having the rest of the evening as a Practice Night. This way we can cater for most people’s preferences in one night, if you prefer to play on stage please arrive sooner rather than later and we will get all stage performances done first.   As usual there will be Tea and Coffee on sale at 20p a Cup.

See you at 8pm on Tuesday 21st. 

David.

Our dates till the end of the year are:  3^rd Tuesdays of the month  8pm – 11pm

Our other nights up to the end of the year
21^st February 2023
21^st March 2023
18^th April 2023
16^th May 2023
20^th June 2023
18^th July 2023
15^th August 2023
19^th September 2023
17^th October 2023
21^st November 2023
19^th December 2023
 

After a break of 3 years due to the pandemic, and then the Holiday Camp ceasing to run Specialist weeks, the St Audries Bay Accordion Week is back. The difference this time is you book your Accommodation through St Audries Bay Holiday Camp, and your festival ticket through a newly formed group of people who are organising the accordion side of things.  You can book a pitch for Campervans and Caravans for £26 a night including electric hookup, a 2 bedroom Static Caravan, a 3 Bedroom Static Caravan, or alternatively you could stay elsewhere in a bnb or other camp and drive in each day. 

Once you’ve booked your Accommodation you then need to contact the Accordion Team to book yourself in for the Accordion Shenanigans. For Accordionist this is £100 for the week which includes all the weeks events of Nightly Entertainment with some Themed nights one evening is a Ceilidh, You’ll also have access to Masterclasses, Private Classes and Orchestras workshops These are usually a Beginner/ Intermediate/ Advanced/ Vintage and Scottish Orchestras. There is no Charge for Non Accordionists and there is usually Games and Fun organised by the Holiday Camp and in the past there has been a daily walk organised by other non Accordionists. 

If you have never been to an Accordion Festival before this is a really good one to make your first. It’s a week long with like minded people and of all skill levels where everyone is encouraged. There’s also things to do for Non Accordionist partners.

St Audries Bay is located in Somerset between Bridgewater and Minehead.   The Accordion Week is on from Friday 14^th July to Friday the 21^st July 2023.

To book Accommodation contact St Audries Holiday Camp on 01984 632515 info@staudriesbay.co.uk

To book the Accordion week admission or for any Questions email the Accordion Team on sabaccordionweek@gmail.com

If you’re looking to share a caravan with other accordionists to share the accommodation cost contact the Accordion team who will connect you with others that are looking to share a caravan.  You can also book nearby BnB’s and other accommodation and Drive into the camp each day.
 

Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls are celebrating 125 years this year, to mark that milestone they are sponsoring many events in the wigan area. One of the sponsored events is a Buskers Bash on the 24^th June 2023 at Haigh Woodland Park (The Park is South East of Standish).    The day will be a Mini Festival Showcasing the Street-based Musical Talents of the Region. From Soloists to small bands, Guitarists to Brass Ensembles. Dozens of musicians will be performing across the park on each day. Applications are now invited from performers. To find out more and for an application form contact: 

info@haighwoodlandpark.co.uk

A new show started last week called “The Piano”. The show is a competition to select an amateur pianist to perform at the Royal Festival Hall. Each weekly show sees a group of People performing on a “Street Piano” in a railway station or other public place. They know they are being filmed but they don’t know two people are secretly watching and judging them.  The first show revolved around a street piano based at London St Pancras Train Station. We were Excited to see that Accordionist Harry Hussey was one of the participants of the show. You can watch the show on Channel 4’s catch up service All 4  https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-piano/on-demand/70963-001

The show also filmed in Harrys house where we saw his wife Pat. We were saddened to see in the titles at the end that the show was dedicated to Harry’s Wife Pat who passed away on the 17^th November 2022. Anyone who knew Harry, also knew Pat. She was a wonderful cheery person who always gave us hugs and lots of chat when we met her at accordion festivals. She will be sadly missed by many.
 

A 72 Bass accordions don’t come up for sale very often. This one is a 72 Bass 3 Voice Piano Accordion. It’s a Hal Mason “Special” Probably Gallotta or Delicia. It plays well and come with good quality case. The price is £300. Ring Tom Brandon on 0151 526 7126 (Liverpool Area). 

Accordionist Murray Grainger is holding a workshop in Nottingham on the 16^th April, the Workshop is about Tune development and arrangement on the accordion. Here is how Murray has described the workshop.

“Have you ever wondered how the professionals take a simple short tune of only a few bars and turn it into an exciting rich and varied piece? If so then this course is for you!

On Sunday 16th April Murray Grainger will be running a workshop in the beautiful village of Misson in Nottinghamshire.

Through the day you will work with Murray as you explore how to develop tunes into a more interesting and varied arrangement. He will be looking at the use of ornamentation, harmonies, rhythmic elaboration and variation, as well as how the left hand can help you to take a simple tune and shape it into the arrangement you have always wanted.

The workshop runs from 10am until 4pm and costs only £50 with tea and coffee available throughout the course. All teaching materials will be provided before the day, both sheet music and audio recordings of the repertoire.

Attendance is by booking only, space is strictly limited so it is recommended to book as soon as possible! “

To Book visit https://mgrainger.co.uk/workshops/
 

The next ONLINE meeting will be 1st March starting at 8pm, we have an online catch up with local members and others from far and wide. This is held on Zoom.

The night starts at 8pm and will be a chance to chat about accordions, find out what others have been up to, or even play a tune for us.  Please share the link below with any accordion folk who might be interested in joining us. If you want to chat about accordion stuff, listen to others play the accordion, or give us a tune then please join us.

I will send out a reminder for anyone who forgets the meeting is on, but the meeting will be on, and here is the main announcement of it.  We did have a number of us on the last meeting and we had a great range of music being played and lots of chat about various pieces of music. 

Simply click this link to Join our Zoom Meeting at 8pm on the 1st March.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82237487230?pwd=LzlLdC9RMCtkb1RMMmVoSXZVR0lMQT09 

Meeting ID: 822 3748 7230 
Passcode: accordion

The link above is the same for every online meeting we have, it doesn’t change from month to month. You can test your computer works with the link at any time. If you get a message saying you are waiting for a host to let you in, or something similar, then your computer is set up correctly to join the meeting on the correct dates/times.