Report page 1 and Report page 3
The festival continued on Friday with a workshop presented by Gordon Kohl on the topic of “Playing Austrian, Polish, Tyrolean and Oberkrainer Music.” Gordon’s workshops are always a popular event at the ATG festival. Here, he discussed the details of how to perform various styles of music and what makes each style unique. Following Gordon’s workshop was a master class by Dr. Michael Bridge, who earned his doctorate in accordion performance from the University of Toronto – researching “Expressive Virtuosity” on the accordion. He has given master classes for the accordion classes in Kiev, Kraków, Łódź, Helsinki, Paris, and Strasbourg, among others.
During his ATG master class, Michael worked with two young students, Cristobol Montoya and Maria Telesheva, where he demonstrated in real time what goes on during a lesson with advanced students and showed a glimpse of how to take a student’s playing to the highest level. Michael also performed solo in the Friday evening concert in addition to the Saturday evening concert with Kornel Wolak as ‘Bridge & Wolak.’
Gallery Day 2 – click each picture to view large.
Started by Joan C. Sommers, and as a tradition of ATG for several years now, the Original Music Concert featured works specifically written for accordion. This concert includes performances by many different ATG members, often with several wonderful works by the composers within ATG. Performances ranged from solos to duets to full ensembles, and even included a choir with accordion accompaniment. Following the Original Music Concert was the Gala Banquet with musical entertainment by Gordon Kohl.
The second evening of the ATG Concert Series featured the inspiring musicianship of Michael Bridge, Joaquín Muñoz Donoso, and Duo “Two Accordions”. Joaquín Muñoz Donoso is a virtuoso of the accordion, with only 10 years of experience, and with formal studies in various instruments (Cello, Double Bass, Organ, Composition, and Orchestral Conducting).
Coming from a family of musicians, he has been engaged in academic studies since age 3 and is the winner of multiple national and international competitions. Joaquín is a cultural promoter and founder of several institutions aimed at the professionalization of the accordion in Chile. Each of these fantastic performers offered a diverse and enticing program, featuring classical, contemporary, jazz, Latin, and pop selections, leaving everyone to enjoy something.
