This is the page for World Concertina Day 2023, which took place in February 2023. Information about the upcoming World Concertina Day 2025 is here.
The second annual World Concertina Day, sponsored once again by the International Concertina Association, was on February 6, 2023, the anniversary of the birth of Sir Charles Wheatstone. Video and audio from the day is still available for viewing and listening, below!
New video recordings
- The second annual WCD international video concert, put on by the ICA:
Part one: Alistair Anderson, President of the ICA; Jon Boden; Daisuke Fujiwara and Claudio; Randy Stein; Francis Wilkins and Ronan Martin; Claudio Constantini; Andrew Norman and Moira Bracknell; Ricardo Teruel; Tim Laycock
Part two: Damien Barber; Thomas Restoin; Miyuki Miura; David Barnert; Harry Scurfield; Douglas Rogers; Tristan White, Millicent White and Steve Wilson; Luke Hillman; Dappers Delight (Adrian Brown and Susanna Borsch); Holger Ross Lauritsen; Steve Turner - Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne talked about his concertinas in schools project, funded in part by the ICA
- Video featuring several pieces from a concertina concert by the Puget Sound Concertina Band on World Concertina Day in Port Townsend, Washington state, USA.
- Video from a World Concertina Day session of Kettle Bridge Concertinas in East Farleigh, Kent , UK
- New video from West Midlands Concertina Group in the UK
- New video from Hawkwood Concertina Band in the UK
- Three bourrées from Maccann Duet player Gilbert Carrère in France
- A new piece composed and played by Anglo concertina player Ryo Sato in Japan
- New video from English concertina player Paul Hardy from the UK (recorded on a beach in Spain)
- New video from English concertina player Lesley Sylvester in Western Australia
New audio recordings
- Four audio recordings from the World Concertina session of Kettle Bridge Concertinas in East Farleigh, Kent , UK: In Flanders Fields, Mo Li Hua, Finlandia, and Calon Lan
- New recording and slideshow by SqueezEast Concertinas in the UK, made on World Concertina Day (their 10th anniversary!)
- New recording by North Eastern Concertina Players in the UK of the Allegro from Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 2 by Corelli
- English concertina player John Wild in the UK made three new recordings for the occasion: Battle of the Somme, Bridge Over Troubled Water , and Geaftai Bhaile Bui (the gates of Bally Bay).
Miscellaneous
- Hitoshi Matsuno in Japan prepared a set of “Concertina Danish” (including the recipe!)
- US concertina maker Bob Tedrow offered from his files an interview, a video and a photo essay.
Live events
- Over sixty concertina players from all around Australia attended a three-day-long “Concertina Convergence” in Goulburn, New South Wales with a mix of workshops, sessions and concerts. More info at http://concertinaaustralia.org/concon23.html and https://concertinaaustralia.org/events_past.html .
- Nine players attended a players gathering in Western Australia.
- A three-day-long “Wheatstone Weekend” in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, UK included two Anglo concertina playgroups, a concertina concert, and a “Wheatsone Day” with workshops, demonstrations and talks. More info at http://angloconcertinaplaygroup.org/wheatstone-weekend/ww-programme-2023.
- About 15 players attended a concertina gathering in Berkeley, California, USA.
- The Puget Sound Concertina Band performed a concert in Port Townsend, Washington state, USA. A video of several pieces from the performance is now up on YouTube.
- The band Three Times Through including English concertina player Greg Mirken performed in Grass Valley, California, USA.
- Forestinas concertina club in the UK sponsored a day of concertina playing.
- The Chiltinas Concertina Group in the UK held a “World Tunes” themed concertina session.
- Yorkshire Concertina Club in the UK celebrated the day by playing in their usual meeting venue.
- Concertinas Anonymous in the UK held a”Concertina pub crawl” around a few pubs.
- Kettle Bridge Concertinas in the UK held a concertina session of tunes specially selected from around the world. There were thirty two tunes on the list and they tried to play every one A video from their session is now up on YouTube, and there are four audio recordings as well: In Flanders Fields, Mo Li Hua, Finlandia, and Calon Lan (the same tune that’s in their video).
- SqueezEast Concertinas in the UK celebrated their 10th anniversary on World Concertina Day with an afternoon of playing, tea and cake. They made a new recording and slideshow on the occasion. Sally Barrett of SqueezEast was interviewed that day by local radio station Radio Norfolk.
- English concertina player Mike Stevens played at the Raven Folk Club in Chester, Cheshire, UK.
Merchandise
- WCD 2023 merchandise is still available for purchase, in the UK at https://www.mudchutney.co.uk/collections/world-concertina-day-2023 and in the US at https://mudchutney.com/collections/world-concertina-day-2023-merchandise .
The future!
If you would like to take part in future World Concertina Days or would like to discuss any aspect of World Concertina Day, feel free to contact the WCD team at WCD@concertina.org.