Claudio Ahlo promoting the Accordion in South Africa

The National Eisteddfod Academy South Africa attracts about 13 000 contestants per year, for the August/September Eisteddfod component. Candidates participate in four disciplines: Music, Dance, Drama and Fine Arts. Candidates are awarded Diplomas, Gold certificates, Silver certificates, or Bronze certificates. Out of these 10 000, about 1 300 Diploma Winners are invited to participate in the following March-June competition component. These 1 300 Diploma candidates compete for the quarter finals, then the semi finals, and then the prestigious finals. A winner for each discipline is chosen, in three different age categories:
Entry level (Grade 0 – 3)
Junior level (Grade 4 – 7)
Senior level (Grade 8 – 12)
In cases where exceptional achievement in the final round made it impossible to choose only one winner per discipline per category, a candidate may be recommended by the Adjudicators. In 2014 there were quite a few Adjudicators’ Recommendation candidates in all disciplines in the final round. It is an exceptional achievement to be an Adjudicators’ Recommendation candidate.
Claudio Alho, Grade 10, was the Adjudicators’ Recommendation in the Music Discipline in the Senior level age category. He performed Espana by Emile Waldteufel.
He was the first accordion candidate ever, in the history of the NEA. He was also the first accordion candidate to receive a Diploma, and subsequently, proceed right up to an Adjudicators’ Recommendation. He came, he saw, he conquered.
Thank you for promoting the Accordion.