Accordion with Los Angeles PhilharmonicÂ
Liz FinchÂ
On April 16th, Liz Finch, ATG Treasurer, attended a concert as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic "Green Umbrella" series at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The concert included a world premiere of the piece, Noctiluca, composed by Zosha DiCastri, for 8 cellos, piano, accordion, and percussion.
The accordion part was played by John Torcello, past Coupe Mondiale champion who represented ATG at the Coupe Mondiale in 1972. John is a resident of Los Angeles and is often called upon by the Los Angeles Philharmonic when there is an accordion part to be played. He has been seen on the concert stage with the LA Philharmonic many times over recent years. The composer, Zosha De Castri (b.1985), spoke at the pre-concert talk about her piece and explained that she chose to include the accordion in the ensemble because of its ability to produce a broad range of sound and effects, some of them percussive. And, she said, the accordion would blend very well.Â
According to Torcello, he did, indeed, utilize advanced accordion techniques in the accordion part: pitch bending, clusters, extremes in pitches employed, pounding on the bellows, etc. The piece was well received by the large audience and, perhaps, inspired other composers in attendance to consider writing for accordion!Â
Ojai Music Festival Features Accordionist
Liz Finch
This summer the prestigious Ojai Music Festival (founded in 1947), will feature accordionist Ljubinka Kulisic three of the four days playing music by Sophia Gubaidulina, John Zorn, and others. Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovia, Ljubinka studied at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland and the University of Toronto. In 2017 she also appeared at the popular Cotati Music Festival.Â
Dates of the festival are June 6-9 in beautiful Ojai, California. Â Follow this link for more information:Â https://www.ojaifestival.org/2024-festival-schedule/.