Evening concert: The Stiletto Sisters
Admission details
Midday concert
Admission: free
Open Mic
Prahran Accordion Band
Student performances
Evening concert
Admission: $30-$40 (children 12 years and under: free)
Accordion Orchestra
The Stiletto Sisters
Workshops (more info below)
Admission: $35-$45
Evening concert featuring The Stiletto Sisters
Is there enough passion in your life? How long has it been since you spent an evening with three glamorous gypsy girls whose only desire is to whip you into a frenzy with their instrumental virtuosity and then cause you to swoon with the beauty of their vocal harmonies?
The Stiletto Sisters have been wooing audiences in their home town of Melbourne, for many years with their seductive blend of Hungarian gypsy, tango and love songs from around the world. The trio features the breathtaking virtuosity of Hungarian trained violinist Hope Csutoros (My Friend the Chocolate Cake), the dynamic piano accordion playing of Judy Gunson and the wonderful talents of Jo To on double bass.
The Stiletto Sisters perform with extraordinary emotional range from extreme delicacy to blazing intensity and more than a touch of humour. Stiletto Sisters’ performances do come with a health warning: the velvety seduction of their 3-part harmonies on Latin, Yiddish and Hungarian love songs has caused many to faint with delight!
Schedule
Click here for a PDF version of the schedule (updated 17/9/23).
Workshops
Musette accordion - Lucy Riddett
Join Lucy in a ninety minute workshop on how to play her favourite style of accordion music: French musette. During this workshop you will learn the correct technique to create a classic French musette sound including tone, touch, dynamics and more. This workshop will include a brief introduction to the history of the musette style and a lesson on how to play a classic musette with a focus on the unique qualities of this style. Bring your accordion along and be ready to make some noise! This workshop will be tailored to suit all skill levels.
Digital accordion - Richard Stacewicz
Do you like the idea of playing different types of accordions to suit many styles of music? Would you like to learn how to create an accompaniment for yourself? Are you interested in learning how to record the accordion as you play? Learn how to learn to find resources that teach you how play a keyboard! And find out how to use a digital accordion to play Il Silenzio exactly how Nini Rosso played it in 1965.
Facilitated by Richard Stacewicz, the Digital Accordion Workshop will provide answers to all these questions and much more!
About Richard
Richard Stacewicz has been performing with digital accordions since 1967. He has played the Farfisa Transicord, Farfisa Transivox, Excelsior MidiVox accordions and currently plays the Roland FR8-x V-Accordion. Richard and his band Silver Echoes is one of the most popular bands that specializes in live folk dance music and entertaining modern music. With a vast repertoire including Continental, Ballroom, Latin, Film, Old-time, Country and Pop genres, Richard is known for his ability to play “something for everyone” ranging from Polish, Austrian, German, Bavarian, Dutch, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Italian, French, Israeli, Swiss functions, Carnivals and Oktoberfests, to balls, dances, weddings and fetes.
Masterclass - George Butrumlis
In this masterclass George will engage with each student to critique their performance and hopefully to provide insight into not only the student's relationship with the accordion but also into the musical context of the piece and the trajectory of the music thereby adding to the student's deeper understanding of what they are playing. He will also take questions from the audience time permitting. As a ticket holder you will be a member of the audience who can ask questions, discuss and observe the class.
About George
George Butrumlis has played the Piano Accordion since the age of six. He was an original member of Jo Camilleri's Black Sorrows and features on all their early albums beginning with "Sonola". George's band, Zydeco Jump, has been a feature on the Australian music scene for over 30 years.
He is a highly skilled and experienced musician who has worked across a very wide range of genres and instruments including the guitar and a range of keyboards but the piano accordion is and has always been his primary instrument. He has a bachelor of arts with a music major from Monash University.
George has worked and recorded with Robyn Archer, Mike Rudd of Spectrum fame, film composer Cesary Skubiscewski, Jeannie Lewis, Paul Grabowsky , Kristina Olsen, Men At Work, Jane Clifton, Ross Wilson, Archie Roach, Ted Egan, The Backsliders, The Three Tenors, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (also with Luciano Pavarotti) and the sadly departed musician extraordinaire Ross Hannaford of Daddy Cool fame. George has performed in Vienna and throughout Austria with renowned Viennese accordionist, Otto Lechner and has toured with Otto's orchestra, Wiener Zieharmonika.
George has specialised in Brazilian music, tango, blues and of course, Zydeco and has been working with Robyn Archer AO for over 10 years. He is currently touring Australia with Robyn in her new show, An Australian Songbook. George has served 3 years on the music board of the Australia Council for the Arts and has taught the accordion at VCASS and AIM. He teaches privately.
He has studied accordion construction, tuning and repair at the Zerosette factory in Castelfidardo under the auspices of an Australia Council grant. He is the musical director of the Melbourne Accordion Orchestra, a not for profit organisation in a voluntary capacity.
Accordion repair & tuning - Peter Anderson
Peter Anderson has for some decades been Melbourne’s accordion repairer. Now retired, to concentrate on his own projects, he has forgotten none of it! The workshop will demonstrate reed tuning, valve work and waxing, and will discuss words like Ventile, Stradella, Cassotto, Temperament, Tremolo, Musette, Catorcetti and more! Some physics may be delved into, and attendees are welcome to describe problems they have had or are having, with a view to seeing if the solution might be one they can undertake themselves.