I am delighted to present to you the 2019 annual President’s Report. Our newsletters, website, Facebook and Instagram pages have detailed the numerous accordion activities of many of our accordionists both in New Zealand and overseas. Thank you all for the ongoing support and contribution you give to our association in whatever capacity. The following is a summary of the major activities that our members have been involved in during the past year.

In July 2018, Harley Jones was inducted into the American Teachers’ Guild Hall of Fame in recognition of his accordion achievements particularly his work in connecting the accordion world via the internet. A ceremony was held in Chicago to honour him. Harley together with Kevin Friedrich and Heather Masefield later made a visit as part of an international delegation to the Accordion Museum in Superior, Wisconsin on the Great Lakes.

In August 2018, Angela Chen and Jessie Chen competed at the International Accordion Art Week and Competitions in Harbin, China. This is a major event on the Chinese and international accordion calendar. Grayson Masefield performed at the impressive Grand Theatre and Heather Masefield adjudicated at the event.

In September 2018, the 71st Coupe Mondiale championships were held in Kaunas, Lithuania. This year, the official New Zealand delegation consisted of myself, Harley Jones, Grayson Masefield and Amber Masefield. Grayson Masefield was elected Vice Chair of the Music Committee. Grayson together with Heather Masefield and Stephanie Poole were members of the international jury. New Zealand did not have any competitors this year. Most of the Kiwis in attendance participated in World Accordion Orchestra X at the final concert.

In November 2018, Heather Masefield adjudicated at the Trophée Mondial De l’accordéon international competitions held in Victoria, Canada. As a past winner, Grayson Masefield performed as a soloist with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and did other promotional concerts in the area.

Grayson Masefield was appointed an instrumental tutor at The University of Auckland School of Music. Grayson has continued to perform regularly and give masterclasses for national accordion organisations and at the Tchaikovsky University (Italy), Shanghai Normal University (China) and Chengdu University (China). In October 2018, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Las Vegas Accordion Convention.

In February 2019, Lian Jones gave concerts with her group Tango Project “Milonga De Cuatro” which is a four-member group featuring Lian on accordion. The group have continued to perform regularly in the community.

In March 2019, Lionel Reekie was a guest artist and conductor at the National Accordion Association Inc Convention in Houston, Texas.

Kevin Friedrich returned to New Zealand to hold his 12th annual concert in his hometown Dargaville in March 2019. There were also performances from the Auckland Accordion Symphonietta, Lionel and Elena Reekie, Maurice and Alanah Jones.

Gary Daverne recorded his third album of accordion music called Koriana which features a number of New Zealand champion accordionists.

The Canterbury Accordion Association had a busy year with jam sessions, concerts and scholarship auditions.

Our annual competitions and festival were held over Queen’s Birthday weekend. Over the last six years, we have been fortunate enough to obtain funding to cover the cost of our venue hire from Pub Charity and the Four Winds foundation. This financial assistance has proven to be invaluable. We thank both organisations for their continuing support.

This year, we marked the 10th anniversary of the NZAA hosting the Coupe Mondiale in Auckland in 2009 under the auspices of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA, IMC-UNESCO). We were delighted to have in attendance some winners of their respective categories from the 2009 event, Grayson Masefield (New Zealand) and Cory Pesaturo (USA) who both thrilled the audience at a special winners’ concert. We also had competitors from China, South Korea and Poland in attendance.

The farewell concert featured the South Pacific and New Zealand solo accordion championship winners, other special performances from the weekend, the guest artists and the massed orchestra conducted by local conductors, Gary Daverne and Bryan Holden. Many players in the massed orchestra also performed at the World Accordion Orchestra III at the 2009 Coupe Mondiale. The front row of the orchestra comprised of players who had competed at the 2009 event.

The weekend was completed with a fantastic dinner at Aubergine restaurant in Takapuna. We thank our wonderful entertainers for the night for making it extra memorable, Cory Pesaturo, Tracey Emson, and the accordion/guitar duo Steevy Dan comprising of Steve Cope and Dan Wrightson who had us all up on the dancefloor.

At the dinner, trophies and prize monies were presented to the following winners of the South Pacific championship classes:

1. 12 years and under – Racheal Xu;
2. 15 years and under – Jessie Chen;
3. Open Trio or Ensemble – Accordion to Bach;
4. 18 years and under Virtuoso Entertainment – Adam Perry;
5. 18 years and under Accordion Junior Solo – Angela Chen;
6. Accordion Solo – Catrina Lin.

2019 special awards were also presented to the following recipients:

1. Samantha Rutherford Memorial Trophy – Angela Chen; 2. Cecil Smith Trophy – North Shore Music Makers;
3. Cocurullo Family Trophy – Dennis Lovatt;
4. Doreen and Ben Emmett Memorial Rose Bowl – Catrina Lin;
5. Emmet Family Classical Ensemble Trophy – Accordion to Bach;
6. Ben Emmett Accordion Orchestra Commendation Trophy – Noteable Soundz.

Thank you to everyone for your contribution towards making this event a worthwhile, fun and enjoyable experience for us all. I would particularly like to thank the committee for the tireless work they put in to make this special event such a success.

Committee member Megan Jennings has decided to step down from her role as Competitions Secretary. A position she has held for many years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Megan for her invaluable contribution she has made to this considerable role.

In June 2019, Lionel Reekie, Alexandra Reekie and Alison Worthington performed as part of a Southern Hemisphere orchestra at the World Music Festival hosted by Deutscher Harmonika Verband in Innsbruck, Austria.

The NZAA provided masterclasses for those candidates preparing for international competitions in December 2018 and April 2019. As part of this programme, Angela Chen, Jessie Chen, Catrina Lin and Adam Perry performed at the Whangarei Keyboard Club in June.

New Zealand composer, David Hamilton wrote a choir and accordion composition for free bass accordion which was premiered at the Auckland Town Hall by Alanah Jones in June, as part of the Westlake Chorolation choir performance at the Secondary Schools Big Sing concert.

On reflection, it has been a very active year for our members both in New Zealand and internationally. This all helps to make the accordion more visible in the community and in turn, encourage more students to take up the instrument. Our members have gained respect and acknowledgement on an international level due to the work they do which is something we should all be proud of and continue to foster.

Sonja Palinich
President
New Zealand Accordion Association