President's Introduction

It is my great pleasure to welcome accordionists from all across Australia, and around the world to the Australian Accordion Teachers Association (AATA).  Each year, we host the Australian International Accordion Championships and Festival and we regardless of where you are on the globe, we invite you to participate either in-person or online as part of the international accordion community.

It is our aim to make our competition a friendly and entertaining experience which both supports our local accordionists and gives international players a platform to showcase their skills. Our festival regularly features international guest artists, contestants, and together with some of our country’s best accordion players, our event is a superb celebration of the accordion.

The AATA is a premiere voting member of the Confederation Internationale des Accordionistes – and the various AATA competition categories allow contestants the opportunity to gain valuable experience, especially when preparing for other international events such as the Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championship.  We are proud that several past AATA champions have subsequently gone on to win at many of the world’s most prestigious competitions. 

The AATA wants to make it easily accessible for contestants from overseas as well as Australia to participate in our competition and therefore all of our categories and rules are published online on our website. These are updated before each year’s entries open and the current Prospectus is now available.  Candidates and teachers can print out the classes or rules that apply specifically to them.

For those intending to attend our festival in person, timetable information will be published on our website and via our Facebook page in the days leading up to the event.  This will detail specific category starting times as well as the general schedule including masterclasses, social events, and concert times.  At this stage, due to Covid-19, venue availability is yet to be confirmed, so do follow us on Facebook for up to date information.

Whether you join us virtually or do end up journeying to Sydney in person, we hope you enjoy being a part of the Australian International Accordion Championships and building friends through our shared love of music and the accordion.

Our Committee

Tatjana Marx - President
Richard She - Vice-President
Melissa She - Secretary and Treasurer
Lionel Reekie - Committee Member
Owen Mormul - Committee Member
Atila Fadi - Committee Member
Carlos Cardona - Committee Member

Our President

Tatjana Marx is one of Australia’s most well-respected accordion educators.  A renowned accordion concert artist herself, she was crowned Yugoslav National Champion many times before going on to study with the famous Professor Vladimir Besfamilnov at the Kiev Conservatorium of Music in Ukraine for 7 years. She completed her post-graduate studies, Master of Arts in 1990 majoring in accordion.

Tania has excelled in international accordion competitions, highlighted with a 3rd place at the Klingenthal International Competition for Soloists in 1986 and 2nd place in the 1988 Coupe Mondiale International Solo Championship. The first 'Laureate' from ex-Yugoslavia at these prestigious international competitions and the first Ser piano accordionist to achieve such impressive results. Tania performed the world premiere performance of Zubitsky's "Slavic" Sonata No. 2 in Klingenthal in 1986.

Now an Australian citizen based in Sydney, Tania has continued performing and adjudicating across Australia, New Zealand, and all around the world.

In 1993, she made a concert tour to the Peoples Republic of China. Concerts were televised and have been broadcast since then several times. The tour also included performances at the 1st Chinese International Accordion Festival in Beijing and Urumqi. Other concert performances include Russia, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Slovenia and Serbia.  

In 2019, Tania was the co-ordinator and player with the Southern Cross Ensemble who we featured guest performers at the famous “World Music Festival” held in Innsbruck, Austria.

In 1992, Tania established her own music school in Sydney, teaching both accordion and piano.  She has taught students to the highest levels in the AMEB examination and also had several students compete to much acclaim internationally.  She has had several students achieve high placings in competitions such as the Coupe Mondiale, and the South Pacific Accordion Championships as we as numerous Australian National Championship titles.

Tania has been the President of the Australian Accordion Teachers Association Inc since its foundation in 1993.  This organisation runs the annual Australian International Accordion Championships and Festival.  The Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes - IMC - UNESCO honoured Tania in 2005 with the Merit Award for her "In recognition of outstanding services to the International Accordion Movement".  

She is often invited to hold seminars and masterclasses at accordion festivals in Europe and Asia.

Festival and Performances

FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES $20

Any soloist or group featuring accordion is invited to participate. This is an ideal opportunity for any hobbyist, accordion lover or professional to perform for an enthusiastic friendly audience. Performers may be from any nation or territory. This is for all non competitive performances.

All applications welcomed. Please contact the AATA Office early enough to complete application forms and membership forms and have them reach the AATA Office by 1st May. Please note that each performer must be a current financial member of the Australian Accordion Teachers Association Inc. 

Official Rules

This Online Prospectus forms the official rules for the Australian Accordion Teachers Championships and International Festival.

Closing Date for Entries

For centuries, music has been a universal language.  Its ability to communicate across cultures, countries and generations suggests that now, more than ever, we need to put differences aside and come together to share our talents and love for music, regardless of whichever corner of the world we call home.

It is for this reason, that the Australian Accordion Teachers Association has decided to postpone our international competition for 2022, and instead create a platform for accordionists from all over the world to come together in celebration of our favourite instrument.

 THE AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION VIDEO PROJECT gives accordionists of ALL AGES, ALL LEVELS, and ALL NATIONS to submit a video to be compiled together as a showcase of how when we work together, all differences can be put aside!

This project, co-ordinated by the Australian Accordion Teachers Association - a Premiere Voting Member of the Confederation Internationale des Accordionistes (IMC-UNESCO) will publish the final edited video of performances on YOUTUBE in early June 2022.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1.Fill in your entry form here : https://forms.gle/yKjwcT87yrofNr727.  This event is open to accordionists from ALL nations and territories.  Soloists, Duets, Trios and Ensembles are all welcome.  Groups that feature the accordion with other instruments are especially welcome!

2.Submit your video to us using a file sharing platform such as dropbox, WeTransfer, or even a google drive.  (Note: video files need to be submitted that allow the AATA to download and edit them.  Therefore, links to YouTube submissions are not able to be accepted).  Please make sure you send your name and country information in ENGLISH.  Only a section of each video will be selected so you only need to submit one piece of music.  (If you want to submit two pieces that is fine too BUT only 1 piece will chosen for the final video).

 3.All performers will receive an official DIPLOMA OF PARTICIPATION – acknowledging their selection to represent their country in this VERY SPECIAL online event.

International participants (those that reside outside of Australia) are asked to pay a nominal entry/administration fee of €5. 

Australian residents that are members of the Australian Accordion Teachers Association are able to participate free of charge.

ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE 30^th MAY 2022

VIDEOS MUST BE SUBMITTED BEFORE 3^rd JUNE 2022

Competition and Festival Prospectus Format

The Australian Accordion Teachers Championships and International Festival offers International and Australian performance categories including:

Solo Championships

Duet and Ensemble Championships

Specialist Genre Categories Championships including:

• Light Classical 

• Entertainment

• Jazz

• Ethnic 

Each performance category includes a selection of classes. Details of the classes, the music requirements, time limits, entry fees etc. are in the Class Schedule section.

Entry Forms and Entry Fees

Entry forms for all other classes are available on this site.

Incorrectly completed Entry Forms will not be accepted. 

Please note that each entrant must be a current financial member of the Australian Accordion Teachers Association Inc.

Membership Categories and Subscription Fees

For the year beginning 1st April:

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP                                                $10

ORDINARY MEMBERSHIP                                                 $20

FULL MEMBERSHIP                                                         $40

FAMILY MEMBERSHIP                                                      $60

Membership Application forms are available on this site.

Own Choice Music

Each competitor is required to provide one copy of their Own Choice music for the adjudicators, (except for the Creative Classes and Festival performances). This music is to be handed to the AATA Official when reporting for your competition class. 

Failure to supply music for the adjudicators means that the contestant cannot play.

The Adjudicating System

All the classes are sight judged and adjudicating considerations include: level of performance, difficulty of music, suitability of choice of music (i.e. contrasting style as required for some classes or suitability of music where specific types of music [i.e. Jazz] are a requirement), presentation and audience appeal.

Adjudicators

The names of the adjudicators will be printed in the Official Programme.