Once again, we are set to host the International Accordion Week.
This year marks the 28th Edition:
28th INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION WEEK “ALCOBAÇA 2025”.

Here's what to expect:
– 9 concerts featuring fantastic accordionists who will provide us with unforgettable moments at the Monastery of Alcobaça.
Jonas Vozbutas (Lithuania), winner of the Vilnius International Competition (Lithuania); Aleksandar Radovic (Serbia), winner of the Accordion Festival of Mons (Belgium); Stefan Dimitrijevic (Serbia), winner of the “City of Alcobaça 2024” Prize; Inês Vaz (Portugal), one of the most talented accordionists of our time; the duo Soukaras & Palena (Italy and Greece), whose partnership will make us “dream”; and Portuguese rising stars Catarina Querido, Rúben Rodrigues, and Pedro Santos, who will showcase their technical and interpretative skills.

There will also be lighter, more popular concerts featuring outstanding artists who will delight us with exciting and valuable repertoires, such as: Orquestra Típica e Coral de Alcobaça, Roberto Lucanero (Italy), and Portuguese musicians Tiago Pirralho, Vítor Pastor, Tino Costa, Andreia Rodrigues, Francisco Antunes, Rúben Rodrigues, and Nando do Acordeon (Brazil).

These 9 concerts are sure to meet the expectations of an audience that, year after year, supports and cherishes us.

As always, on May 15th and 16th, we will hold 4 Masterclasses and 1 Conference with Professors Owen Murray (UK), Angelo Pignatelli (Italy), Raimondas Sviackevicius (Lithuania), Diana Freire, who will host two sessions on “Mindfulness and NLP for Musicians”, and Roberto Lucanero (Italy), who will present a conference about the Accordion in the 1950s.

On May 17th and 18th (Saturday and Sunday), the two competitions — the 28th National Trophy and the 9th International Accordion Competition — will take place across two auditoriums at the Cine-Teatro of Alcobaça and the Municipal Library Auditorium.

We expect many participants in the competitions (last year we were “forced” to hold the trials in 3 different locations simultaneously), as has happened for many years now, placing Alcobaça on par with the major international accordion competitions in terms of both number of participants and pedagogical/competitive standards!

We need everyone’s support!!!
We want to see you here, in Alcobaça, so we can feel… that warm, friendly atmosphere — the pure love for an instrument that, for many years, was underappreciated, but that Alcobaça, for 28 years, has always cherished, protected, promoted, and shown to be a Symbol of this People’s Culture, a Cultural Heritage of ALL PEOPLES!!!

Once again, Alcobaça will be:
“THE LAND OF PASSION… THE LAND OF THE ACCORDION”!

Aníbal Freire
President of the Accordion Association of Portugal