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| CIA World Accordion Orchestra III - conducted by Gary Daverne & Joan C. Sommers |
| Following the very successful inaugural World Accordion Orchestra
debut performance at the Coupe Mondiale 2007 under the Musical Direction
of Joan Sommers, and the CIA World Accordion Orchestra II in Scotland
in 2008, the CIA was honored to announce that the 'CIA World Accordion
Orchestra III' was to be held during the 2009 Coupe Mondiale with
a performance at the Finale Concert in the famed Bruce Mason Center. The members of the 'CIA World Accordion Orchestra III' once again included musicians from many different countries – some of whom are members of organized accordion orchestras invited to perform during the schedule of the Coupe Mondiale. Other members were invited professional individuals from throughout the world. Many of the players hold offices in the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes or serve in a great variety of positions in the accordion organizations of their own countries as well as delegates to the CIA World Congress held during the Coupe Mondiale. Kevin Friedrich, President of the CIA servced as Concertmaster. The CIA World Accordion Orchestra III featured two renowned international conductors: Joan C. Sommers (USA) and Gary Daverne (New Zealand):  GARY DAVERNE (NEW ZEALAND), CONDUCTOR Pocket Overture Gary Daverne Auckland March Gary Daverne (World Premiere Performance) Note: Auckland March was commissioned by the NZAA to commemorate the 2009 Coupe Mondiale World Championships & Festival. Gary Daverne (ONZM) is New Zealand’s most prolific composer and arranger of music for the accordion. He was born in Takapuna and is an International Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. On the international scene, Gary has conducted many major symphony orchestras including London’s Royal Philharmonic, the Taiwan Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, Moravian Philharmonic-CzechRepublic; conducted symphony concerts in Jakarta, Indonesia and the National Symphony Orchestra of Malaysia. In 2002 he was the first New Zealander to be invited to conduct in South Korea, where he was guest conductor of the Incheon City Symphony Orchestra. In April 2005, at the invitation of the Turkish Government, he conducted the acclaimed Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, in Istanbul, for two performances as part of the 90-year Gallipoli commemorations. Gary is a frequent guest conductor with accordion orchestras in the USA and Europe and last year he conducted concerts in The Czech Republic and Slovenia. Program notes: POCKET OVERTURE This was a commissioned work for accordion orchestra premiered at the Royal Festival Hall, London, February 1993, by Jenny’s Accordionaires, with the composer conducting. Its New Zealand premiere was in July 1993 by Auckland’s youth orchestra, ‘Orchestra Nova’, with a rearrangment for Symphony Orchestra. This miniature overture is similar to a pocket containing many treasures, little “goodies” collected over a period of time. It consists of several snippets of the melodies and rhythms from the composer’s other compositions. A Pocket Overture was awarded first prize in the Accordionists & Teachers Guild, International (ATG) 31st annual Competition for original compositions in July 1993. AUCKLAND MARCH |
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Above: Gary Daverne conducting the World Accordion Orchestra III |
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 JOAN C. SOMMERS (USA), CONDUCTOR Suite from “Video Games Live” Arranged for accordion orchestra by Joan C. Sommers Radetzky March, Op. 228 Johann Strauss, Sr. arranged by Willi Münch Joan C. Sommers was awarded the title of Professor Emerita upon her retirement from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music (USA), where she established and taught the accordion degree programme for forty years. She has arranged innumerable works for the accordion orchestra over many years, often for the UMKC Accordion Orchestra which, under her direction, competed in and won more First Prizes in Virtuoso Accordion Orchestra Competitions than any other similar American group. In both 1955 and 1956 she earned the right to represent the USA in the Coupe Mondiale and, although she didn’t win, it was those experiences which opened her eyes to the tremendous opportunities available to accordionists; perhaps it also fixed her life-long interest in worldwide accordion activities. She has held positions in several music organisations, including the Accordionists & Teachers Guild International (ATG) and the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA – IMC-UNESCO). Professor Sommers continues to adjudicate, coach soloists, prepare accordion orchestra arrangements, and conduct accordion orchestras regularly. Program Notes: SUITE FROM “VIDEO GAMES LIVE” Featuring:“Halo Theme” from Halo Suite (Marty O’Donnell & Michael Salvatori Publishing)“Coronation” and “Baba Yetu” from Civilization IV (Christopher Tin)“Bounty Hunter Theme” from Advent Rising Suite (Tommy Tallarico & Michael Richard Plowman)Kingdom Hearts (Yoko Shimamura) The project video shown during the performance of the above selection has been prepared by University of Missouri-Kansas City Professor Caitlin Horsmon. In choosing to prepare a new arrangement especially for the CIA WAO III, Joan Sommers researched some of the popular repertoire of video games background music, which has today evolved into the phenomenon of the Video Games Live concerts presented throughout the world. The Video Games Live concerts combine a symphony orchestra performance, performing the music from popular video games, with a video show of excerpts from the games or live performance by video game characters. The debut performance of Video Games Live took place on July 6, 2005 at the world famous Hollywood Bowl with the L.A. Philharmonic and over 11,000 audience members. Two of the most successful composers of video games music state: “Our dream when we started working on Video Games Live in 2002 was to demonstrate how artistic and culturally significant video games have become. Aside from opening the eyes of non-gamers to our industry, our goal is to help usher in a whole new generation of people to appreciate symphonic music. Video Games Live has become the most successful video game tour in the world. As we continue to travel around the globe, we carry on our commitment to reaffirm that video games have evolved into a true art form that become the entertainment of choice for millions in the 21st century.” Many of these concerts also draw large numbers of attendees dressed in costumes representing various characters from the video games, and often include audience costume competitions. RADETZKY MARCH The New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is a concert of classical music that takes place each year on the morning of January 1 in Vienna, Austria. It is broadcast around the world to an estimated audience of one billion in more than 50 countries. The music always includes pieces from the Strauss family, with occasional additional pieces from other mostly Austrian composers. These concerts have been held in the “Large Hall” of the Wiener Musikverein since 1939. Almost every year since 1945 they have always ended with three encores after the main programme, the first encore is a fast polka, the second is normally The Blue Danube Waltz and the final one, since 1958, is Johann Strauss, Sr.’s Radetzky March. During this last festive piece, the audience participates with the traditional clap-along, and the conductor turns around to conduct the audience instead of the orchestra at various times. |
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Above: Joan C. Sommers conducting the World Accordion Orchestra III |
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Conductors Gary Daverne and Joan C. Sommers at the conclusion of the World Accordion Orchestra III Concert CIA 2009 World Accordion Orchestra III Members |
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