Talented young accordion player makes it to Groovin’ finals

Self-taught accordion player Sebastian Curtis has made it to the finals with a waltz.

MANY Western Downs residents can play a great tune on the piano, guitar and trumpet, but one young Dalby man has been making his mark on the accordion.

Sebastian Curtis, 19, is known around the community for livestreaming a performance of The Last Post for Anzac Day, but now he’s back for another great performance.

“I’ve been playing it seriously for a couple of years,” he said.

“I entered for the fun of it.”

He started getting into music about 10 years ago and knows how to play piano and guitar as well.

“I cannot remember when I started, probably since primary school.”

Mr Curtis’ original song The Shifting Waltz came together naturally as he continued to try out new rhythms in his music class.

“I sort of did slight inspiration from the song Chopsticks. Then I worked in my own sorts of chords and phrases,” he said.

“Ooh, that bit sounds nice, take that bit, leave that bit … you know?”

Accordion players in Australia are getting harder to come by but Mr Curtis is hoping to fill the niche by keeping up his practice.

“It’s a really good instrument,” he said.

“It is pretty hard to track down an accordion.

“If you got piano skills you can pick it up easier.”

He hopes to go to university one day and become a music teacher.

“I kind of want to teach music later in life,” he said.

“A lot of blind people I know that are sort of in that musical industry.

“I can keep playing and learning new music and learning new techniques.”

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