Once again, Roland U.S. brought together top accordionists and accordion fans from around the country at its annual V-Accordion Festival. Held in Orlando, Florida, in conjunction with the 71st Accordionists & Teachers Guild International Festival, the July 2011 gathering featured V-Accordion contest finals competitions in Senior and Junior divisions, as well as a gala evening concert with dazzling performances by many world-renowned accordion artists.

Now in its fourth year, the Roland U.S. V-Accordion Festival is one of the summer’s most anticipated events for accordion aficionados in the United States. The spotlight event of the festival is the finals competition, where accomplished U.S. adult and junior accordionists perform and vie to win top prizes. In addition, the adult champion earns a trip to Rome, Italy, to represent the U.S. at the International V-Accordion Festival.

In the months leading up to the festival, players of all ages submitted video performances to earn slots in the finals competition. Five finalists were chosen in each of two categories: Senior (age 18 and older) and Junior (age 17 and younger).

Senior finalists included Gregory Fainshtein, Anthony Federici, Svetlana Ivanchenko, Danielle Renzi, and Tatiana Semichastnova. The Junior finalists were Brian Aucoin, Ollie Luey, Kassandra Patterson, Daniel Pavlotsky, and Rachael Renzi.

All the finalists performed on Roland’s flagship FR-7x V-Accordion. In addition to playing the instrument’s authentic acoustic accordion tones, many finalists made creative use of the V-Accordion’s large selection of organ and orchestral sounds.

The prestigious judging panel assembled for the competition included world-renowned accordion artist Maestro Sergio Scappini; seven-time diatonic accordion champion Danilo Di Paolonicola; Nashville musician and former U.S. Champion Jeff Lisenby; and Confédération Internationale Des Accordéonistes (CIA) Ambassador and accordionist Kevin Friedrich.

The Senior competition was extremely close, with just one point separating the top three finalists. Danielle Renzi from New England took top honors, receiving an FR-7x V-Accordion for her victory. She will also go on to represent the United States in Rome, competing against winners of similar contests around the world at the 5th International V-Accordion Festival in October 2011. Second Place finisher Gregory Fainshtein from Dallas, Texas, was recognized for his efforts with an Honored Performance Prize.

The Junior division was also closely contested. Daniel Pavlotsky was the big winner, with Ollie Luey being awarded an Honored Performance Prize and Second Place. As the top Junior player, Daniel will receive his choice of an FR-1, FR-2, or FR-3x V-Accordion.

Chris Halon, Roland U.S. Director of Product Management, was the Master of Ceremonies for the competition. Roland U.S. President Chris Bristol was also on hand to offer his support and congratulate the participants.

Following the afternoon of fine musicianship from the competitors, a host of virtuoso players treated the enthusiastic audience to a spectacular evening concert. Among the inspiring performances was an FR-7x duet featuring father-and-son artists Alex and Peter Chudolij, as well as an impressive musical display by 2010 Roland U.S. V-Accordion Festival champ Chris Gorton. The two headlining performers were event judges Danilo Di Paolonicola on the FR-18 diatonic and Maestro Sergio Scappini on a white FR-7X, and both artists mesmerized the crowd with their amazing accordion skills. Competition winners Danielle and Daniel also performed at the evening concert.

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To follow the upcoming 5th International V-Accordion Festival in Rome, Italy, please visit www.v-accordionfestival.com.