|
Tuesday,
October 25, 2005 |
|
Delegates from CIA Member Nations and Guests registered for the 114th General Assembly. The Frist General Assembly was for Voting and Corresponding Members, and the final session to be held on Saturday will be an open meeting to include guests. Registered particpants included:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
During the General Assembly,
the delegates welcomed to their ranks the Sveriges Dragspelares Riksförbund
(Swedish Accordion Association - Åke Hellman - President) who were accepted
as a new voting member. The General Assembly included reports from the President, the news of the IMC Meeting in Los Angeles, the CIA Archive collection in Finland, work of the Executive Committee, work of the Music Committee, nominations for the various CIA Awards as well as the Presentation of the 2005 CIA International News Magazine. During the Presidents report, he acknowledged that it was extremely encouraging to see that many of the CIA family members have continued their strong support for the organization over many years. The President himself had competed in the Coupe Mondiale in 1979, 80 and 81, and after serving as a member of the Music Committee and Vice President for several years, has served as the CIA President for the last 4 years making a total of more than 25 years affiliation with the CIA. Of
the current CIA administration - Professor Walter Maurer has given 30 years of
his life to the CIA by serving as Propaganda Officer, Secretary General &
Treasurer since 1975. Harley Jones competed in the Coupe Mondiale in 1969 in New
York City and today he serves as the Public Relations Manager and a member of
the Music Committee. Raymond Bodell competed in the 1980's and now serves as a
CIA Vice President, and our Chairperson of the Music Committee Frederic Deschamps
won the Coupe Mondiale in 1992. (The Executive Comittee is pictured left, Harley
Jones, Frederic Deschamps, Kevin Friedrich, Tibor Racz, Kimmo MAttila, Walter
Maurer and Ray Bodell.) Among
the distinguished delegates, Maddalena Belfiore from the USA served as a CIA Vice
President for 16 years while Faithe Deffner has attended CIA General Assemblies
for more than 30 years. Dr. Carmelo Pino from the USA composed the 1969 Coupe
Mondiale Test Piece Suite for Accordion and Karen Fremar also from the USA composed
the 1981 Test Piece - Reflections. These
impressive statistics show that members shared a common passion for both the accordion
and the CIA, a bond brings them together. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contestants
gathered at the Cine Teatro to make the draw for playing order for their various
Coupe Mondiale Categories. Young contestants from as far away as Australia and New Zealand as well as throughout Europe have travelled to Castelo Branco to compete during the weeklong 58th Coupe Mondiale. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Conservatorio Regional de Castelo Branco hosted a Gala 70th Anniversary Banquet
in a magnificant Marquee Tent located in the center of the city. With see through
arch windows, guests could enjoy the view to the Square and the Castel on the
hill. The President of the Local Council - Mr. Joquin Morão (pictured below with CIA Organizer Carlos Semedo - left, and CIA President Kevin Friedrich - right) as well as a representitive of the Civil Governors Office were among the almost 100 guests attending the Banquet. President's Speech: As the President of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA) it is a great pleasure to welcome you here to this special evening celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the CIA. This banquet is graciously hosted by one of our newer CIA members, the Conservatorio Regional here in Castelo Branco. This milestone in our history, is a perfect opportunity to commemorate the past as well as celebrate the future! It seems appropriate therefore, that we celebrate such new beginnings by hosting our first ever Coupe Mondiale in Portugal, while at the same time commemorating the rich history of our organization. In 1935 three countries got together with the goal of forming an alliance to promote the accordion. Today, 70 years later, members from those three founding countries France, Switzerland and Germany are joined by 27 others, to make up what we know today as the CIA. We thank you, our national members for your ongoing commitment and work in promoting the accordion both in your home countries and here with your fellow organizations on an international level. We are very happy to welcome all of our delegates, artists and guests from around the world, who have joined us here in Castelo Branco for this week of competitions, concerts and meetings. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize some of our special guests this evening at our Banquet. Many of you here today serving your countries as delegates and jury members have competed in and even won the Coupe Mondiale competitions, or supported our organization by hosting events and sending competitors to the Coupe Mondiale, or you have been recognized by our organization for your outstanding contributions to the International Accordion Movement. From our current membership, we are happy to welcome delegates from our member organizations, including representatives from the following CIA members:
Former
and Long Serving Officers:
CIA
Champions:
CIA
Merit Award Recipients
CIA
Test Piece Composers:
Future
CIA Hosts:
We offer our sincerest thanks to the President of the Local Council - Mr. Joquin Morão and city officials for opening the doors to Castelo Branco to us, and making us so welcome during this exciting anniversary year. We are very happy to be here, and we are very proud of the work Portugal is doing to promote and elevate the status of the accordion both here and abroad. We also thank renowned Portuguese composer Mr. Carlos Marecos for writing the 2005 Test Piece 'O Medo Do Ritmo'. This work will be an important and valuable new addition to our accordion repertoire.
I would also like to thank our Honorary Vice President - Mr. Paulo Ferreira and
in particular our 2005 Coupe Mondiale Organizer - Mr. Carlos Semedo and their
teams for all the work they have done in preparing this outstanding International
Festival. May
I ask you to stand, and raise your glasses, as I make a toast to the CIA. Under
the auspicies of the CIA, may the international cooperation between our fellow
member organizations, those who are passionate about the accordion and promoting
its continued success, serve to elevate the status of the accordion and strive
to promote its place in the international music world for generations to come. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008
Organizers Brian and Graham Laurie (Scotland) and 2010 Organizer Vjera Odak-Jembrih | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guests
enjoying the 70th Anniversary Banquet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guests
enjoying the 70th Anniversary Banquet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Gala Opening Concert took place in the Cine Teatro and attracted a nearly full
house. The Opening artists were an accordion and piano duo comprising Gonçalo
Pescada and Natália Ryabova (pictured left.) Next was the 2004 CIA Coupe Mondiale Chammpion Alexander Selivanov from Russia. Alexander (pictured below) is a student of Mr. Viatcheslav Semionov in Moscow. The Second half of the concert belonged to the 2002 CIA Virtuoso Entertainment Champion from Portugal João Frade and his Trio. The Trio entertained with not only outstanding music, but also with outstanding theatrics, as each of the musicians changed to play each others instruments. The received two standing ovations and were called back to the stage for an encore. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
João Frade Trio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||