• THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY COUPE MONDIALE 2007 INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION COMPETITIONS AND FESTIVAL, August 13-18, 2007
• Musical Guests/Performers from the Four Corners of the World – All Styles & Genres – Available for Radio & Television Spots and Interviews
• Be There August 13 - 18 for the Most Fun News Opportunity of the Summer
• Prestigious International Competition returns to the US after 26 Years
• 2007 Event Celebrates 60th Anniversary of the Coupe Mondiale
• Massed Accordion Band Performance at the Grant Memorial opposite the US Capitol, August 17
• Special Concert Performances All Week at the Kennedy Center

Washington, DC will become the “accordion capitol of the world” as accordionists and accordion aficionados from all over the globe converge on the nation’s capitol to attend the 2007 Coupe Mondiale – the “world cup” of accordion championships – from August 13 through 18 at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Coupe Mondiale, recognized as the most prestigious annual accordion competition of international scope, takes place in a different country every year, under the auspices of the Confederation International des Accordionistes, which is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary since the first such event, in 1938 in Paris. The Confederation is affiliated with the International Music Council and UNESCO. The Coupe is back in the United States after more than 25 years since it was last held in this country in Kansas City, Missouri in 1981, and more than 30 years since it took place in Washington, DC in 1976.

"The Coupe Mondiale attracts accordionists and accordion music lovers from all over the world and across the US because the instrument is particularly significant to so many cultures and music styles," says 2007 Coupe Mondiale Organizer and Confederation Vice President Faithe Deffner. “We are pleased to have this awesome array of accordion talent return to the US and to again host the Coupe Mondiale after so many years. We are delighted to be “headquartered” for the week in nearby Alexandria, a city of great charm, beauty and historic significance.”

Highlights of the Coupe Mondiale whirlwind week include:

• Six evenings of accordion entertainment and concerts at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and at the Holiday Inn Ballroom
• The premier performance of the World Accordion Orchestra
• Massed band accordion performance in front of the US Capitol
• Instrument exhibits plus an historic display of accordions from Dr. Helmi Harrington’s World of Accordions Museum in Superior, Wisconsin
• The Coupe Mondiale banquet gala celebrating 60 years of international accordion achievement
• Plus a series of social receptions with endless entertainment, and late-evening performances in a lounge setting with open mike for participating accordionists.

A 2007 Coupe Mondiale spectacular is the lunchtime Massed Band performance at the Grant Memorial on First Street, 12:00 Noon Friday, August 17. Scores of international accordion players will join in performing John Philip Sousa’s “Stars & Stripes Forever” in full view of the US Capitol Building - a wondrous auditory and visual spectacle!

In addition, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC will feature accordionists in six evening concerts at the Millennium Stage from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM each day. All the concerts will be broadcast live simultaneously on the Internet at www.kennedy-center.com/millennium. They can be viewed subsequently in the Millennium Stage Performance Archives.

Coupe Mondiale excitement is skyrocketing due to the attendance of several renowned national and international accordion orchestras from California, Missouri, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Texas, as well as Canada, China, Denmark, Germany and New Zealand. A number of these accordion orchestras will perform at Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage during the week of August 13.

Joint sponsors of the 2007 Coupe Mondiale are the Accordionists and Teachers Guild (ATG) and the American Accordionists’ Association (AAA) founded in 1939 and 1938 respectively, whose combined funding of approximately $75,000 will make this event a reality. Both are US member organizations of the Confederation.

Nearly $25,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winners of the six international categories, which include:

• 60th Anniversary Coupe Mondiale
• International Competition for Piano Accordion
• Junior Coupe Mondiale
• International Competition for Virtuoso Entertainment Music
• Junior International Competition for Virtuoso Entertainment Music
• International Competition for Ensemble Music

In addition to cash prizes, each first place winner will be featured in a gala finale concert at the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center on Saturday evening, August 18.

Competitions for soloists and groups of all levels of accomplishment, playing all styles of music, will also take place under AAA/ATG sponsorship. $10,000 in cash prizes, donated by Sylvia Prior, an accordion teacher from the Los Angeles area, will be awarded to the winners of The Maddalena Belfiore Entertainment Competition for Female Accordionists. (Ms. Belfiore, recently deceased, was a noted accordionist, educator and composer, long associated with the American Accordionists’ Association and recently appointed as an honorary member of the CIA.)

“Accordion Central” is the Holiday Inn at 625 First Ave. in Alexandria, VA where most of the activities take place. More information about the Coupe Mondiale and the AAA/ATG competitions and festival can be found on the website www.accordions.com/coupeusa

CONTACT for the Public for Coupe Mondiale Information: Linda Reed (203) 556-0002.

• Participants from all over the Globe
• A THUNDERING AUDITORY EXPERIENCE!
• A SPECTACULAR VISUAL PANORAMA!
• There are 79 candidates competing in the CIA World Championship categories
• Attendees including contestants, judges and delegates hail from Austria, Bosnia, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Fiji, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, USA, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ukraine and the USA.
• There will be about 40 hours of grueling competition in six different international categories.
• Concerts every night from Tuesday, August 14 to Saturday, August 18, 2007. Admission $10 per person daily and $20 on Saturday.
• Accordionist Manny Bobenreith and the US Army Strings will be playing at the Luncheon Concert on Thursday at 12:15
• 166 piece World Accordion Orchestra comprising musicians from all over the world, will premiere new music

There is literally accordion action and competitions going on all the time!

Major event suggestions for Press coverage follow:
(all events at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Virginia unless specified otherwise)

Tuesday, August 14 - 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Opening Concert, Commonwealth Ballroom

Wednesday, August 15 - 7:30 – 10:30 PM
Coupe Mondiale - Sr. Virtuoso Entertainment Competition Round 1, Commonwealth Ballroom

Thursday, August 16 - 12:15 – 2:00 PM
Luncheon Concert, Ballroom C

Thursday, August 16 - 7:30 – 10:30 PM
Coupe Mondiale - Sr. Virtuoso Entertainment Competition Round 2, Commonwealth Ballroom

Friday, August 17 - 11:00 AM
"MASSED BAND PERFORMANCE" at the Grant Memorial/1st Street in front of the US Capitol Building. The sight and sound of over 100 international accordion players performing John Philip Sousa’s “Stars & Stripes Forever” in one place at one time is guaranteed to lift your spirits!

Friday, August 17 - 9:00 – 11:00 PM
60th Annual Coupe Mondiale Banquet Concert, Commonwealth Ballroom

Saturday, August 18 - 9:00 – 11:00 PM
166 piece World Accordion Orchestra in Concert, including a World Premiere
Awards Ceremony Concert, Ballroom

PLUS The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC will feature accordionists in six evening concerts at the Millennium Stage from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM each day.

Be there for a Terrific Summer Fun News Opportunity.

For full details on the 2007 Coupe Mondiale and the AAA/ATG competitions and festival, please visit www.accordions.com/coupeusa

2007 Coupe Mondiale
Alexandria VA (Washington, DC)
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the
CIA Coupe Mondiale

Report from Faithe Deffner, 2007 Coupe Mondiale Coordinator

Plans for the 60th Anniversary CIA Coupe Mondiale scheduled from August 13 to 18 are progressing rapidly, with an unexpected surge in attendance resulting from the participation of a number of accordion orchestras, both national and international. Reservations have been made by orchestras from California, Canada, Connecticut, Denmark, Germany, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Zealand, and Texas. There is also interest from a group in China.

The headquarters hotel is the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, where almost all activities will take place. The Holiday is now fully booked and we have made arrangements for additional accommodations at the Radisson Hotel, 2-1/2 blocks away. There will be shuttle service connecting both hotels. The Radisson will provide the same $99 room rate and the same amenities as the sold-out Holiday. A few hundred rooms have already been booked at the Radisson, making early reservations important. A reservation form for the delegates will be online very soon.

The site for the 2007 Coupe is the charming and historic city of Alexandria, about seven miles from Washington, with nearby Metrorail transportation. Both hotels are ideally located near the Potomac River and King Street's entertainment district, close to restaurants and shopping. The hotels offer free shuttle service to and from Reagan Airport so it is advisable to use this as the arrival airport.

The 2007 Coupe Mondiale is jointly sponsored by both US member organizations of CIA - the AAA and the ATG. Together, these organizations have pledged a total of about US $54,000 (equivalent of 43,000 euros) to fund the Coupe. Unlike many other countries, the United States does not provide any government funds for such events, so AAA and ATG have the formidable task of raising this large amount of money through personal efforts.

The prizes for the six categories are as follows: