Alex Almeida Cathrin Pfeifer Johanna Stein Jordan Djevic Servais Haanen Julius Oppermann

Akkordeonale 2021: Program (Cancelled due to Covid-reasons!)

Cathrin Pfeifer (Germany) — Enchantress on the Accordion

Akkordeonale 2021: Cathrin Pfeifer (Photo: Goetz Rakow)

Cosmopolitan Cathrin Pfeifer integrates traces from various regions of the world into her very own musical concept, which doesn’t leave out neither complex rhythms nor jazzy arrangements and improvisations.

Geographical and stylistic sources become so independent in her compositions, that it is sometimes no longer possible to locate their actual origin. She fascinates her audience with her very own unusual way of getting sounds out of the accordion, whether solo, with her Trio Trezoulè or in various musical projects. She enchanted us at the Akkordeonale 2011.

Alex de Almeida(Brazil) — Rapid Rhythms and Passion

Akkordeonale 2021: Alex de Almeida (Photo: Krystallenia Batziou)

Alex de Almeida is an accordionist, composer and producer. He comes from southern Brazil and has found his new home in Karlsruhe. His compositions are an explosive cocktail of different musical genres, such as the Brazilian folk music forró, rock and jazz. He is passionate about the fusion of different rhythms.

Alex is accordionist of the band "Forró de KA" and "Duo Ahlmeida " and produces and arranges bands from folk music to electronic music.

He studied jazz accordion at the Hohner Conservatory in Trossingen and endorses Hohner since 2018.

Jordan Djevic (Serbia) — Balkan Passion

Akkordeonale 2021: Jordan Djevic (Photo: Slavisa Karovic)

With the accordion, Serbian Jordan Djevic tells of his region, the Balkans - of melancholy and joy, pain, wars and victories - a modern spirited man who tries to change the world for the better with his music.

With great virtuosity Jordan combines Balkan traditions with classical influences, jazz and evergreens. His music is his religion, his way of playing resembles a ritual that makes him stand out.

Jordan can be experienced as a soloist with his projects The Locke, Balkan Express and at various festivals, including the Akkordeonale 2014.

Servais Haanen (Germany/The Netherlands) — The Master of Fine Sounds

Akkordeonale 2021: Servais Haanen (Photo: Rolf Weingarten)

Servais Haanen, that musical maverick mastermind! Not just the organizer of the Akkordeonale, he composes and arranges the festival’s ensemble pieces and guides the audience through the programme. Servais’ introductions to each composition and each musician have already acquired cult status, famous for their wit and wisdom.

For a long time now, he has been working on pushing the boundaries of what his accordion can do, integrating elements of New Music, minimalistic structures and other unusual and exceptional sounds. Thanks to his multifaceted work with bands (i.a. Appellation Contrôlée, Quatro Ventos, KlangWeltenFestival) and his activity as a composer for various productions at music theatres and for film documentaries, Servais brings into play diverse musical material.

In addition to the Akkordeonale and being an accordion teacher, one of his dearest activities is his ensemble work with exceptional or impossible instrumentations.

Accompanying musicians

Julius Oppermann (Germany/USA), Percussion
Akkordeonale 2021: Julius Oppermann (Photo: Natalia Pasarisa)

Julius Oppermann, son of a German-American family of musicians, studied Latin Percussion in Rotterdam and masters a bus full of instruments.
After classical training on piano and orchestral percussion, he already switched to jazz and improvised music at a young age.

While it is important to him to integrate different musical cultures into his playing, he is particularly interested in the unconditional fusion of styles

Various music projects, including the samba troupe Buyakano, Rigolo Swiss Nouveau Cirque, KlangWeltenFestival and not for the first time the Akkordeonale.

Johanna Stein (Deutschland) — Cello
Akkordeonale 2021: Johanna Stein (Photo: Angelika Emmerling)

The multi-stylistic cellist Johanna Stein from Cologne feels at home on every stage, in every instrumentation and in every studio; whether classical, jazz, rock, pop, fusion, tango or world music - no style is foreign to her.

In addition to her solo programme, she can be heard in the most diverse formations, including her avant-garde string quartet Badz. Many people know Johanna from past years, she will enrich the Akkordeonale with her cellistic accompaniment again this year.