Roland Canada Crowns 3rd V-Accordion Festival Winner

Alexander Sevastian was crowned Canada's Top Accordion Player at the Roland V-Accordion Festival National Finals held on September 24th at the Hansa Haus in Mississauga, Ontario. The competition showcased three semi-finalists who were chosen out of dozens of entries received from across the country. As the Grand Prize Winner, Alexander is now preparing to compete at the International Finals in Rome, Italy this November 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 hypnotized the audience into astonished silence, which, upon his final notes, erupted into thunderous applause.

Sergiu Popa from Montreal placed second in the competition and Valery Borodin from Victoria took third spot.

For more information on Roland Canada's National Finals, please visit: www.roland.ca/v-accordion