Adriana de Los Santos (Brasil) — Gaucho women power
Adriana de Los Santos comes from southern Brazil. She says of her first accordion: "I quickly realized that it was impossible not to touch the instrument. When you play it, it's like laughter, with music flowing out that captures your heart and soul."
For over 20 years, Adriana has held her own in the male-dominated world of gauchos and was the first woman to represent gaucho culture in Europe—at the 2014 Akkordeonale! With her women's band “Gurias Gauchas,” she plays at rodeos and festivals and performs in various shows in Brazil, Argentina, and Europe.
Through her music, Adriana conveys the intangible world cultural heritage of Chamamé.
Zabou Guérin (France) — Colorful – Lively – Virtuoso
French musician Zabou Guérin was captivated by the sound of the accordion while still in the womb and was, so to speak, born an accordionist. She grew up in her parents' restaurant, where evenings often ended with jam sessions featuring a wide variety of artists.
No wonder she didn't want to commit to one style! Whether as a soloist or in bands, whether classical, tango, song accompaniment, traditional music from various countries or swing waltzes... Zabou plays what she likes. She arranges, she transforms, she creates, and when she has a little free time, she teaches.
Zabou can currently be experienced with her solo program “Brèves de Bayan,” in the duo “Hediyye,” in the sextet “Galeon Tango,” in the project “Missa Monica,” and on the road with “Cirque Pacotille.
Maurizio Minardi (Italy) — Fellini on the accordion
Italian composer, accordionist, and pianist Maurizio Minardi combines and interweaves musical influences from minimalist classical music, jazz and folk with tango and rumba, creating an intimate, expressive sound.
His highly acclaimed album "The Cook, the Clown, the Monk and the Accordionist“ is a parody of the title of Peter Greenaway's film ”The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover." It has the qualities of a soundtrack and follows in the tradition of composers such as Nino Rota, Yann Thiersen and Ennio Morricone.
In addition to his own projects, Maurizio has played with Carmen Souza, Paolo Fresu, Enrico Rava, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, among others. He currently lives in Paris.
Dimos Vougioukas (Greece) — Specialties from Mount Olympus
Greek musician Dimos Vougioukas began studying the accordion at the tender age of 11 at the Conservatory of Volos. He graduated with honors and specializes in the music of his native Greece and the Balkans.
Dimos has played with first-class Balkan accordionists such as Petar Ralchev and Ionica Minune, as well as with various luminaries of Greek music (Nena Venetsanou, George Dalaras, Glykeria, Nana Mouskouri, etc.).
In addition to his solo activities (including with the Estoudiantina Orchestra) and worldwide concert performances, he is the director and bandoneonist of the quintet “Athens Tango Ensemble.”.
Dimos works as a composer and arranger and teaches Balkan and Greek styles on the accordion in workshops.
Servais Haanen (Germany/The Netherlands) — The Master of Fine Sounds
As a musical maverick, Servais Haanen is the mastermind and organiser of the Akkordeonale. The master of fine sounds composes and arranges the ensemble pieces of the festival and leads through the program. His moderations, peppered with bone-dry humour, have cult status.
Servais has long been working on breaking the boundaries of the accordion and integrating elements from new music, minimal structures and other unusual sounds. Thanks to his band work (including Appellation Contrôlée, Quatro Ventos, KlangWeltenFestival) and composing for music theatre productions and documentary films, Servais brings a wide variety of musical material into play.
In addition to the Akkordeonale and his work as an accordion teacher, ensemble work with unusual to impossible instrumentation is one of his favourite passions.
Accompanying musicians
Diogo Picão (Portugal), Saxophon
Diogo Picão is a Portuguese musician, composer and lyricist. He studied saxophone, became a singer-songwriter and hopes to grow old as a poet and bohemian. His songs deal with everyday life, social relationships, the magic of life, nature, the illusions of love and a whole range of other things.
Diogo's musical career is characterized by an incredibly diverse collaboration with musicians, big bands, jazz orchestras and projects from the Portuguese-speaking world. He is part of the salsa band “La Tremenda Sonora” and founded the duo “Sambacalao” with Olmo Marín.
Johanna Stein (Germany), Cello
The multi-stylistic cellist and singer Johanna Stein from Cologne feels at home on every stage, in every line-up and in every studio: whether classical, jazz, rock, pop, fusion or world music - no style is alien to her.
In addition to her solo program, she also plays in the avant-garde string quartet 'Badz', the chamber pop duo 'SteinMays', the quinteto non-tipico 'Tango de Minas' and the big band 'été large'. Many people know Johanna from past years. With her passion for the unconventional use of the cello, she has become an integral part of the Akkordeonale.