Starring: Amarillie Ackermann, Sergio Zampolli
Song for Anna
A Recital by DUO 2000
Amarillie Ackermann (harp)
& Sergio Zampolli (midi-accordion)
on
Artmusic.TV
PROGRAMME
Sleigh Ride - Leroy Anderson
Sleeping Beauty Waltz - Tchaikovsky
Song for Anna - André Popp
1st movement, Concerto for Harp in A Maj - Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Coreandoli Napoletani - Giancarlo Caporilli
Pizzicato Ballet - Leo Délibes
Waltz from Masquerade Suite - Aram Khatchaturian
Duo 2000 was formed in 1994 by Sergio Zampolli and Amarillie Ackermann. In the first sixteen years of their collaboration, they transcribed 120 works for their unique combination - Harp and Symphonic Accordion. They performed widely around Gauteng and recorded four CDs.
Towards 2010, they felt compelled to transfer their performance and transcribing skills on their instruments, to their pupils who showed and interest in following in their footsteps. They formed the music school "Music at your Fingertips" and started creating duo items that the little pupils could play. This was a great hit with audiences, and the pupils loved these collaborations.
Around this time, Amarillie became the representative of the London College of Music (affiliate of the University of West London), and also started learning the accordion. She was so interested in this new venture, that she went to Italy to study accordion repairing, and qualified as a Tier 3 Accordion Technician (Advanced Repairing), in order that all pupils could have easy access to maintenance and repairs of their instruments.
Sergio concentrated on promoting the accordion as a fully fledged serious music concert instrument. He formed an agency, and now accordions from Italy's most revered manufacturers, and has provided almost all their pupils with the chance to obtain brand new quality instruments, quite easily.
In 2015, they were jointly commissioned by London College of Music to create an accordion syllabus. This took two years, and was launched in 2017. Since then, various pupils have enrolled for examinations and every Step and Grade examination has now been achieved by pupils - mostly with distinction, and two have progressed up to Grade 8, both with distinction.
During the lockdown years of Covid, digital participation to international competitions became a possibility, and Sergio enrolled many pupils for these competitions and obtained excellent results, even up to Gold Medals and Second Place. This put the local accordion scene on the world map. The jewel in the crown of Sergio's endeavours to elevate the accordion to prestige status, is that it has be recognized by the University of Cape Town as a first instrument for a B. Mus. Degree, and the first student is now a first year. And Sergio is the Accordion Lecturer.