Musicians, teachers, and students from all over China gathered in Tianjin, the vibrant port city two hours from Beijing, for the 2025 Tianjin Accordion Festival, held from August 6th to 11th. This year’s event attracted record numbers: over 100 judges and approximately 1,300 competing candidates, a testament to the extraordinary vitality of the accordion in the country.

Among the international guests, Italian jazz accordionist Renzo Ruggieri, sponsored by the prestigious Castelfidardo-based company Bugari Accordion, participated both as an artist and teacher, with a packed program:

• August 7th – Opening concert of the festival at the Jinwan Grand Theater, alongside leading international artists. Sold out.
• August 8th – Jazz Accordion Seminar and the world’s first academic course dedicated to this specialization, held at the “Braga” Conservatory of Teramo, where Ruggieri teaches. The meeting took place at the Tianjin Conservatory, before a large audience of students and teachers. The young Liu Hongting, Ruggieri’s first Chinese jazz accordion student, collaborated on the translations, with whom he performed a duet at the end of the event.
• August 9 – Solo concert in the city’s inspiring Concert Hall.
• August 10 – Masterclass at the Tianjin Conservatory with students of all ages and musical genres.

An intense and high-level festival, which featured Ruggieri as a keynote speaker and confirmed the growing interest in jazz accordion among Chinese audiences and young musicians.