Diatonic Accordion & Concertina International Festival 2023

Created in 1951, the Confédération Mondiale de l’Accordéon annually organizes international events in different countries, which have largely contributed to the evolution of the accordion both in terms of the aspect of the instrument making, the repertoire, and its teaching methods

Our instrument can now be shown in the best light, in many different musical directions, whether in baroque, classical, contemporary, Jazz, Folk music, without forgetting of course all the traditional repertoires specific to each country, where the accordion is present from Lapland to South Africa and from Chile to Japan.

If the Confédération Mondiale de l’Accordéon has for a long time focused its activities mainly around the chromatic instrument (Standard and Bass Chromatic), over the past fifteen years, the evolution of its categories has gradually opened the doors to others systems, with a view to favoring the musical and creative aspect, and in particular in the “World Music” category.

Following numerous recent interviews with some personalities from the world of the diatonic accordion such as Danilo di Paolonicola, Riccardo Tesi, Marc Perrone, Philippe Krümm, Benjamin Macke, Rémi Geffroy, etc., the idea of creating a Diatonic section within the Confédération Mondiale de l’Accordéon is clearly essential

The international health situation since March 2020 has considerably changed the daily life of accordionists around the world, and the CMA has adapted by creating the first Online Festival which was a considerable success (750 participants, 60 international delegations).

The idea with the Diatonic Accordion International Festival is to create a real melting pot, bringing together accordionists from all over the world, and presenting the culture of their country in the form of Facebook / Youtube Live Show (therefore live on the internet).

This festival will take place in the form of a competition, the judging criteria of which will be essentially musical and creative, as has always been the case at the CMA

Why a competition? The world of the diatonic accordion is not used to competitions. They even built an identity of not competing. Nevertheless, for each participant to give the best of himself, it seems to us the ideal way to showcase this instrument less known to the general public and those who bring it to life with talent and passion. The subject is vast and perilous, like everything related to humans 😉

The Festival is open to accordionists of all ages and levels (amateurs and professionals), but also from all systems. You are well aware that the diatonic accordion brings together a considerable number of different models which all have their qualities but also their limits, hence the list of categories below, meticulously studied, proposed, revised and corrected by the leading international specialists of the Diatonic accordion.

RULES & REGULATIONS

Registration for the Diatonic Accordion International Festival –

Trophée Mondial Diatonic from August 1st to September 15th 2023.

Videos to be submitted by 1st of October 2023.

Categories : Style / Type Of Accordion

  1. Diatonic Accordion: 1 or 2 row Right Hand / Maxi 4 basses Left Hand
  2. Diatonic accordion without limit of Right Hand Rows / from 8 bass Left Hand
  3. Diatonic accordion without limit of Right Hand Rows / from 12 to 24 bass Left Hand
  4. Hybrid Diatonic Accordions (Diatonic Right Hand / Chromatic Left Hand)
  5. Concertina Solo
  6. Traditional Repertoire with Accompaniment.
    Any Type of Diatonic Accordion + Musicians, backing tracks, arrangers, etc
    Examples of styles: Saltarello, Tex Mex, Oberkrainer, Ballroom, etc
  7. World Music Repertoire with Accompaniment
    All type of Diatonic Accordion + Musicians, backing tracks, arrangers, etc

Category Divisions : Age / Level / Program

Candidates can only appear in one Division 1 to 11..
On the other hand, they can appear in several Categories from 1 to 7 if the choice of the instrument and the style of the repertoire allows it, provided that different pieces are used for each category.

DIATONIC WORLD TROPHY

  1. Junior (18 years old and under): Free programme. Duration: 10 mins maximum
  2. Senior (18-35 years old): Free programme. Duration: 12 min maximum

DIATONIC INTERNATIONAL OPEN TROPHY

  1. Junior under 8: Free programme – Duration: 5 min Maximum
  2. Junior under 10 years old: Free programme – Duration: 6 min Maximum
  3. Junior under 12: Free programme – Duration: 6 min Maximum
  4. Junior under 14: Free programme – Duration: 7 min Maximum
  5. Junior under 16: Free programme – Duration: 8 min Maximum
  6. Junior under 18: Free programme – Duration: 8 min Maximum
  7. Adult 18 to 35 years old: Free programme – Duration: 8 min Maximum
  8. Adult Amateurs (36 years old and over): Free programme – Duration: 4 min Maximum
  9. Confirmed Adult (36 years old and over): Free programme – Duration: 6 min Maximum

For example:

  • a 15-year-old child who plays a 2 row Right Hand / 8 bass diatonic instrument will be in the 2G category
  • a very advanced 16-year-old Accordionist who plays Saltarello with a 1 row Left Hand / 4 Bass instrument will be in category 1A
  • an Adult over 36 years old amateur who plays a World Music repertoire with other musicians will be in category 7J

Registration fees

Category 1: 50€
Category 2: 50€
Category 3: 20€
Category 4: 25€
Category 5: 30€
Category 6: 35€
Category 7: 40€
Category 8: 45€
Category 9: 50€
Category 10: 50€
Category 11: 50€

The Godfathers of the “Diatonic Accordion International Festival”

If, the CMA is proud to have as Godfather, the illustrious French Accordionist Richard Galliano, known and recognized by all, it is nonetheless proud to have as Godfather for the Diatonic Accordion International festival section, two of the most prestigious artists from the world of Diatonic namely Marc Perrone and Riccardo Tesi.

Marc Perrone is a French accordionist, singer, storyteller and singer-songwriter, born October 8, 1951 in Villejuif. He helped rediscover the diatonic accordion in the early 1970s and became one of its spearheads

Riccardo Tesi born in 1956 in Pistoia, Tuscany (Italy) is an Italian musician. He specializes in Folk / World Music, where he excels as a performer and composer. He has founded or recorded with a number of groups, including Banditaliana and Ritmia. Riccardo Tesi has released several solo albums and has also worked with musicians such as Elena Ledda, Piero Pelu, Ivano Fossati, Ornella Vanoni, Patrick Vaillant and Fabrizio De André, among others.

How the festival works

In each country, National Delegates will be responsible for promoting the activities of the CMA, and for selecting, motivating and preparing candidates wishing to participate in the Diatonic Accordion International Festival, and to guide them in the category of their style and level.

The competition will be held online between October 2023.

Candidates must send a video of their performance, which will be redirected to the members of the international jury. The best videos will be auditioned for live broadcasts on social media.

The best videos will be auditioned for live broadcasts on social media.

Registration for the Diatonic Accordion International Festival – Trophée Mondial Diatonic from August 1st to September 15th 2023.

Videos to be submitted by 1st of October 2023.

Frédéric Deschamps – Président of the Confédération Mondiale de l’Accordéon

Registration for the Diatonic Accordion International Festival – Trophée Mondial Diatonic from August 1st to September 15th 2023.

VIDEO FORMAT

Videos to be submitted by 1st of October 2023.

Special rules

  • Each program must be recorded in one continuous video: no video interruption between the different works.
  • No audio or video editing is accepted under penalty of disqualification (except sound effects mentioned later on this page).
  • The videos of the candidates must imperatively be recorded specifically for the Trophée Mondial 2023, and in no case be published under any platform whatsoever (Youtube, Facebook, …), before the end of the Competition.

Each video will be checked upon receipt. The CMA Executive reserves the right to refuse any video that does not meet the criteria defined above.

Video resolution

  • 720 p (1280 x 720 format 16/9) (+/- the video rendering of a smartphone located 3 meters from the accordionist)
  • The camera (or Smartphone) must be in a fixed shot and in Landscape format.

Video format

  • .mpg .mp4
  • Distance to the camera: about 3 meters
  • Full image of Candidate: Head / Foot / bellows open
  • Neutral video background if possible
  • Possibility of recording in professional studio

Audio

  • volume: between -18 and 0 Db (+/- the audio rendering of a smartphone located 3 meters from the accordionist)

Sound effects

  • Prefer a light natural reverb or a light digital reverb when recording in the studio.
  • Note that too much sound reverb will adversely affect the quality of the performance, as well as the judgment of the international jury.

Youtube link

Each video must be uploaded to Youtube by the candidate themselves respecting the following criteria:

  • Youtube Link Name
    1. Category
    2. Round (if more than 1 in your category)
    3. Given Name + Name
    4. Country
    5. Please, add the address of the official website of the CMA after your program: www.cma-accordions.com
  • Description
    1. Exact Title of the compositions performed in order
    2. Composer
    3. Timing of each composition
  • Upload Thumbnails
    1. Use the Poster created with your name and picture by the General Secretary Anna Bodell. In the event / case that the Thumbnails is too large, take a screenshot of the thumbnails which will be smaller.
  • Audience
    1. Select “No, It’s not made for kids”
  • Video Elements
    1. Skip this page
  • Visibility
    1. Choose imperativement “UNLISTED”

As a demo, you can have a look at the video How to upload your Video to youtube

In case you have trouble uploading your video to Youtube, please contact your national delegate

After the competition ends, you can change the Youtube link settings (from Unlisted to Public) and publish the video wherever you want

Each video will be checked upon receipt. The CMA Executive reserves the right to refuse any video that does not meet the criteria defined above

Video Submission

  1. Video’s for all categories to be submitted by 1st of October 2023.

The YouTube video links must be sent to the address

ray.annabodell@gmail.com

Registration for the Diatonic World Trophy from August 1st to September 15th 2023.

Videos to be submitted by 1st of October 2023.

Please read carefully the following before continue

ENTRY FORM

In this registration form, you will have to enter your personal information, the category you wish to register and your program.

In addition, you will have to enter the payment reference of your paypal payment to paypal.account@cma-accordions.com

This information will help the CMA secretary to ensure the payment is received. Thank you.

Follow these instructions:

    1. Open a Paypal page
    2. Prepare a payment to paypal.account@cma-accordions.com
    1. Return to this page (Entry form)DO NOT CLOSE or REFRESH it until all is completed
    2. Enter your personal information & picture
    3. Select your category you wish to enter => the registration fee are displayed
    4. Enter your program
    5. Click on Get Code button (see below) => a candidate code is generated. Click only once, otherwise you will have an error message. That is why it is important to do the payment in parallel.
    6. Copy the Candidate code
    1. Go back to the Paypal page
    2. Set the payment amount (=registration fees)
    3. Paste the Candidate code in the Paypal message
    4. Validate the payment
    5. Copy the Paypal transaction reference code
  1. Come back to this page (Entry form)
  2. Paste the ‘Paypal transaction reference’ in the field Paypal payment reference at the bottom of this page
  3. Click on Register (see below) => a green message is displayed and an email will be sent to you

Below is an illustration between the cma-accordions’s entry form, and paypal:

Entry form of Candidate

For a quicker registration,
reload personnal information with candidate code
of previous year (if any):

Candidate code of previous year:
Name : First Name :
Date of birth : Nationality: Nationality 1Nationality 2
Address Telephone :
Email :
City: Confirm Email :
Zip code: Facebook:
Country :

Upload your picture

Select the category to register to

Delegate that valid the selection

Teacher

Get your candidate code

Go to www.paypal.com and use the payment address:

paypal.account@cma-accordions.com

Please copy/paste the candidate code (created just above by clicking on ‘Get code’) on the paypal form!

Paypal payment reference

Please copy/paste the paypal reference in following

After the successful registration, the CMA website sends you an email with the above information and your candidate code (Be careful, the CMA email could be detected as a SPAM).

If you are unable to submit your entry directly by the CMA site, please email the details of your entry form (including your picture!) directly by email to:
tm2022@cma-accordions.com

Any question regarding filling forms, programs or entry fees :

tm2022@cma-accordions.com