LIONEL REEKIE TO PERFORM IN DUNEDIN

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Lionel Reekie’s latest album, From Russia with Love recorded in Novosibirsk, Russia with the Siberian Festival Orchestra, features well-known songs from popular films and musicals, including the Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, My Fair Lady and Chess.

Whilst this new recording showcases his talents as a singer, Lionel has perhaps been previously best known as an accordionist, singing and playing on stage, on television, at restaurants and other public venues. As an 11 year old Lionel and his younger sister, Carolyn, were jointly awarded Magic 91 FM radio’s Auckland’s Best Busker trophy and $500 cash. At age 12 Lionel recorded an album entitled “Lionel Reekie Sings” (Ode Records) which received very positive feedback and also appeared on television’s Shazam, TeleQuest, Telethon, Video Dispatch, Top Half and 5.30 Live, among others.

A few years later Lionel attracted the attention of the Titano Accordion Company who selected him to be an international demonstrator for their instruments. This led to performances on stage, television and radio across the United States and in Germany.

Lionel is also a talented conductor and a registered music teacher. As well as conducting accordion orchestras in New Zealand, Lionel has taken up the baton internationally, conducting performances in Sydney, Queensland, New York, and Washington DC, including a concert on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Centre. Lionel was also conductor of the Musicale Accordion Orchestra for their concert tour of China when the Chinese television network televised one of the concerts for later broadcast.

The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand honoured Lionel with their Rising Star Award when he was a teenager. Since then he has been nominated for awards such as Top Male Vocalist, Top Instrumentalist and Agnew Award for Excellence, and was presented with a Scroll of Honour at the Variety Artists’ annual Awards Night in October 2010.

Lionel has now been invited by Dunedin Radio host, Donald Saville Cook, to make guest appearances in August of this year and in 2012 Lionel will be travelling back to Russia to give concerts with the Russian Academic Orchestra.

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