Roland Crowns 3rd V-Accordion Festival Winner / Roland couronne le gagnant du 3e Festival de V-Accordˆ©on Roland

Alexander Sevastian to Represent Canada at the International Finals in Italy

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 2 /CNW/ - Alexander Sevastian was crowned the next "V-Accordion Idol" at the Roland V-Accordion Festival National Finals, held on September 24th at the Hansa Haus in Mississauga. The competition showcased three semi-finalists who were chosen out of dozens of entries from accordion players across the country. As first place winner, Alexander Sevastian is now preparing for his performance at the International Finals on November 20th and 21st in Rome, Italy, where he will be representing Canada.

Sevastian is no stranger to the spotlight. A four-time world accordion champion, Alexander started playing the accordion at the age of seven. Born in Minsk, Belarus, Alexander's musical education took him to Moscow, where he obtained his Masters Degree in Performance. He has toured the world as both a solo performer and with several symphony orchestras; most recently touring Atlantic Canada with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Alexander is also a member of the internationally renowned quartet 'Quartetto Gelato'.

Alexander's performance at the National Finals began with a dramatic piece titled "Cosmo Romance", which was a personal composition directly inspired by the sounds featured on the Roland FR-7 V-Accordion. The piece showcased dissonant, droning chords and highlighted Alexander's dynamic playing abilities. His performance concluded with a set of three traditional European accordion pieces; Sentido Unico by Argentine Tango Composer Astor Piazzolla, Don Rhapsody by Viatcheslav Semionov and Neapolitan Dance by Russian Composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was apparent from the very first notes that emanated from Alexander's V-Accordion that the audience was in store for something incredibly special. Alexander's charisma, intensity and virtuosic technical skills generated a thunderous applause from the audience of over 250 people.

The 3rd Roland V-Accordion Festival invited accordion players from across Canada to submit a short video of an accordion performance to Roland Canada's Headquarters between May 6, 2009 and September 8, 2009.

Sergiu Popa from Montreal placed second in the competition and Valery Borodin from Victoria took third spot - each winning a Roland FR-3S and FR-1 V-Accordion respectively.

About Roland Canada Ltd.

Roland is a world leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of electronic musical instruments, professional audio equipment, multimedia products and music accessories. The Roland brand family includes Roland, BOSS, EDIROL by Roland, Rodgers, RSS by Roland, and Cakewalk by Roland. Roland's impressive line of products includes, but is far from limited to, guitar effects pedals, electronic percussion, acclaimed digital pianos, synthesizers, digital mixers and music production software.

Alexander Sevastian reprˆ©sentera le Canada ˆÝ la finale internationale en Italie.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, le 2 oct. /CNW/ - Alexander Sevastian a ˆ©tˆ© couronnˆ© le prochain "V-Accordion Idol" ˆÝ l'occasion de la finale du concours de V-Accordˆ©on Roland tenue le 24 septembre dernier ˆÝ la Hansa Haus de Mississauga, en Ontario. Trois finalistes choisis parmi des dizaines d'accordˆ©onistes de partout au Canada ont participˆ© ˆÝ la compˆ©tition. Dˆ©clarˆ© grand gagnant, Alexander Sevastian se prˆ©pare maintenant en vue de sa participation ˆÝ la finale internationale qui aura lieu les 20 et 21 novembre prochain ˆÝ Rome, en Italie, oˆ¼ il reprˆ©sentera le Canada.

Alexander n'est pas ˆ©tranger aux feux de la rampe. Champion mondial ˆÝ quatre reprises, Alexander a commencˆ© ˆÝ jouer de l'accordˆ©on ˆÝ l'ˆ¢ge de sept ans. Nˆ© ˆÝ Minsk, au Bˆ©larus, les connaissances musicales d'Alexander l'ont amenˆ© ˆÝ Moscou oˆ¼ il a obtenu une maˆÆtrise. Il a fait des tournˆ©es mondiales en solo et avec plusieurs orchestres symphoniques; plus rˆ©cemment, il a effectuˆ© une tournˆ©e des provinces de l'Atlantique du Canada avec l'Orchestre symphonique de Toronto. Alexander est ˆ©galement membre du "Quartetto Gelato", quatuor de renommˆ©e internationale.

Lors de la finale nationale, Alexander a dˆ©butˆ© sa prestation avec une piˆ®ce dramatique intitulˆ©e "Cosmo Romance", composition personnelle inspirˆ©e directement des sons caractˆ©ristiques au Roland FR-7 V-Accordˆ©on. La piˆ®ce prˆ©sentait des accords dissonants, statiques et mettait en ˆ©vidence les talents musicaux d'Alexander. Sa prestation s'est terminˆ©e avec une suite de trois piˆ®ces europˆ©ennes traditionnelles; Sentido Unico par Argentine Tango du compositeur argentin Astor Piazzolla, Don Rhapsody de Viatcheslav Semionov et Neapolitan Dance du compositeur russe Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Dˆ®s les premiˆ®res notes, il ˆ©tait ˆ©vident que le public s'attendait ˆÝ assister ˆÝ quelque chose de vraiment exceptionnel. Le charisme, l'intensitˆ© et les compˆ©tences techniques d'Alexander ont provoquˆ© un tonnerre d'applaudissements des quelque deux cent cinquante personnes prˆ©sentes.

Dans le cadre du 3e festival de V-Accordˆ©on de Roland, les joueurs d'accordˆ©on de partout au Canada ˆ©taient invitˆ©s ˆÝ soumettre ˆÝ Roland Canada une courte vidˆ©o de leur prestation entre le 6 mai et le 8 septembre 2008.

La deuxiˆ®me place est revenue ˆÝ Sergiu Popa, de Monrˆ©al et Valery Borodin, de Victoria, a remportˆ© la troisiˆ®me place. Tous deux ont respectivement remportˆ© un accordˆ©on Roland FR-3S et FR-1 V-Accordion.

ˆÄ propos de Roland Canada Ltd.

Roland est un chef de file mondial sur les plans de la conception, de la fabrication et de la distribution d'instruments de musique numˆ©riques, d'ˆ©quipement audio professionnel, de produits multimˆ©dias et d'accessoires de musique. Les produits Roland constituent une famille composˆ©e des marques Roland, BOSS, EDIROL par Roland, Rodgers, RSS par Roland et Cakewalk par Roland. La gamme impressionnante de produits Roland, loin de s'y limiter, inclut notamment des pˆ©dales d'effet pour guitare, des percussions ˆ©lectroniques, des pianos numˆ©riques rˆ©putˆ©s, des synthˆ©tiseurs, des consoles de mixage numˆ©rique et des logiciels de production musicale.