Clara Anderson was at the top of her game at the 39th annual Kimberley International Old Time Accordion Championships, winning first place in the age 61 to 65 category for Old Time Music.
There are many categories of music in the festival, including jazz, classical and popular music, says Anderson. But old-time music is what she knows best and has played all of her life.
“This year’s win was particularly sweet because for the past two years I has just missed out on first place by a fraction of a point,” she says. “And this year, I scored my highest average ever of 92.7 per cent.”
Competitors in the Old Time category must play an old-time waltz, a polka, and a schottische. There are three world-class adjudicators watching, listening and scoring.
Thirty per cent of the contestant’s mark comes from the technical judge and 40 per cent is given by the judge who is looking at how well the contestant creates old-time phrasing and feeling.
The final 30 per cent is given by two dance judges who are dancing to the music off-stage where the contestant cannot see them.
A fourth adjudicator is watching to see who will be awarded a trophy (one junior and one adult), for showmanship.
This was the fifth year that Anderson has competed, and she has taken home one bronze, two silvers and her latest: one gold.
Anderson is a self -taught musician, capable of reading music, but is mostly an auditory learner.
When she hears a song she likes, she makes her own arrangement and plays it in her own style.
If she has difficulty finding songs she likes that are not over-used at competitions, she often composes her own.
Anderson says there are many amazing people, especially children, competing at this festival and there is a real resurgence of the accordion in the world.
”That is good news, as there are not many contestants in the 25 to 50 age range because in some of the past years it wasn’t considered ‘cool’ to learn how to play an accordion,” she says. “What with the new accordions that are being manufactured today, it is now a very versatile instrument.”