Two accordion orchestras, one from London and one from Bielefeld, play The Tabernacle on Sun 25 Oct at 2pm. Elgar, Holst, film music; tickets £15 and £12.
London Accordion Orchestra is bringing a German accordion orchestra to west London next month. The Akkordeon-Studio-Orchester Bielefeld joins them on stage at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill on Sunday 25 October at 2pm, for a concert called Bellows Across Borders.
The orchestra told us about the concert in a press release sent to Fulham Wire on 26 September. It is a short trip from the borough: The Tabernacle is at 34 to 35 Powis Square, London W11 2AY.
What is on the programme
The orchestra’s concert page lists “Big Band classics, celebrated film music, classical works by Elgar and Holst, as well as original music for accordion orchestra.”
It is the latest in a series. In the orchestra’s words, Bellows Across Borders is “showcasing some of the best accordion orchestras from around the world. This year, they welcome the superb Akkordeon-Studio-Orchester Bielefeld from Germany.”
The press release puts it simply: “The afternoon brings two accordion orchestras together.” The visitors from Bielefeld join, as the release describes it, “a London orchestra founded in 1999 that has performed across the UK and Europe.”
Ian Watson conducts London Accordion Orchestra. The release says he “is available to discuss the collaboration and the distinctive sound of the accordion orchestra.”
Who the London orchestra are
London Accordion Orchestra is a registered charity (number 1158082). On its own site it calls itself “the leading UK Accordion Orchestra” and says it has played “from Norwich to Nuremberg, Skipton to Slovenia.” Its album Flight was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the orchestra says, and features pieces it commissioned.
The orchestra started as a club. Its founder and long-time chair, Neil Sanders, writes on the orchestra’s history page that it “emerged from ‘Accordions at Morley’, a club I set up in 1999. I wanted an accordion club in central London, and for it to have more of an educational content than most clubs.”
He picked Ian Watson and Julie North as musical directors. Playing as Morley Accordion Orchestra, the group came second in the Senior Orchestra Class at the All-Ireland Open Accordion championships in Navan in April 2011. In 2013, Sanders writes, “we became the first British orchestra for 20 years to compete in the triennial international competitions in Innsbruck.”
When the orchestra outgrew Morley College it took its present name. A second ensemble, London Accordion Players, is for “developing and hobby players”.
What it means for you
- When: Sunday 25 October 2026, 2pm.
- Where: The Tabernacle, 34 to 35 Powis Square, London W11 2AY.
- Tickets: £15 and £12, according to the concert poster, sold through the orchestra’s TicketSource page. Full details are on the concert page.
- Want to play? There is no audition for either orchestra. The joining page asks players to send a message describing their experience and instrument; they are then invited to a rehearsal, or put on a waiting list if no place is free.
For interviews or more information, the orchestra asks people to email laoaccordion@gmail.com.
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