Report from Chicago, IL, July 16 – 19, 2025
The Accordionists & Teachers Guild, International hosted its 83rd Competition and Festival in Lisle (Chicago), IL, from Wednesday, July 16th through Saturday, July 19th. The festival included workshops, a master class, a Galla-Rini Historical Exhibit, nightly concerts at Wheaton College, and much more. Featured artists included Peter Soave, Duo TWO ACCORDIONS (Sergei & Maria Teleshev), Bridge & Wolak (Michael Bridge & Kornel Wolak), Joaquín Muñoz Donoso, and the incredible Joan Cochran Sommers. Performances of each night’s concert can be viewed on the ATG YouTube channel.
Festival attendees were welcomed on Wednesday evening with an ice cream social, in addition to informational tables featuring membership benefits and events put on by ATG beyond the festival, including complimentary sheet music, a reading discussion of accordion literature, biweekly workshops, professional development for teachers, and information on the ATG Syllabus Exam.
Thursday began in the morning with over 30 evaluations and competitions (including Syllabus Exams throughout the festival). Sergei and Maria Teleshev presented a workshop on “7 Ways to Make the Accordion More Popular,” covering subjects such as public performances and how to get more bookings, educational programs in schools, organizing accordion competitions, audio/video production, and the development of a YouTube channel and other platforms.
Sergei and Maria, the father-daughter duo behind “Two Accordions”, are both accordion champions and world-class musicians, offering a truly unique collaboration. Maria’s talent is not limited to her exceptional duet and solo accordion performances, but also includes playing other instruments, as well as being a talented dancer and award-winning singer. Duo “Two Accordions” is unquestionably one of the most striking duos in the United States and performed during the Friday evening concert.
Gallery Day 1 – click each picture to view large.
Rehearsals for the ATG Festival Orchestra got underway on Thursday in preparation for the Saturday evening concert featuring 50 accordionists and 3 percussionists. Throughout the festival, attendees enjoyed browsing through the hundreds of accordion arrangements and works generously donated to the ATG by the Donald Balestrieri estate. All of these works, as well as the Anthony Galla-Rini Accordion Arrangements, can be found and purchased at https://emusicforaccordion.com/. This year’s festival also featured a Galla-Rini Historical Exhibit honoring ATG Founder and President Emeritus, Anthony Galla-Rini.
The ATG 2025 Concert Series began on Thursday evening at Wheaton College, where the ATG welcomed the UMKC Community Accordion Ensemble and Peter Soave on bandoneon with string quintet. The ATG is always delighted to have the UMKC Community Accordion Ensemble perform at the ATG festival, and this year was no exception. Under the direction of Joan Cochran Sommers, the ensemble continues to be the premier classical accordion ensemble in the United States.
Most of the players in the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Community Accordion Ensemble are alumni of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and former members of the renowned UMKC Accordion Orchestra. The players make their living in various careers, but each has remained devoted to promoting the accordion and its varied repertoire, including transcriptions, commissions, and other original works.
Recognized worldwide as a master of the bandoneon and concert accordion, Peter Soave has established himself as one of the leading soloists of his generation. Deeply inspired by the music of Astor Piazzolla, Peter’s impassioned musicianship motivated him to include the characteristic bandoneon in his performances, with much of his program on Thursday featuring Piazzolla’s works. The ATG was pleased to welcome Peter back forty years after winning the CIA Coupe Mondial as a representative of the United States and ATG.
