Bandoneon International | Ruth Rozelaar

Ruth Rozelaar

Join us for the

11th International Bandoneon Days

October 8th-11th 2026

In the Bildungstätte Einschlingen,

Schlingenstraße 65, 33649 Bielefeld, Germany

OVERVIEW:

Course Material:

An arrangement of Hotel Victoria - is available upon booking your place

The Tango ‘Uno!’ - which will be used in the A la Parrilla workshop, is available upon booking your place.

15 A la Parrilla pieces (Ruth) - can be used during Peer Group sessions, or for the informal gatherings in the evening, to play together. Available upon booking your place.

Details:

(for timings, see the Timetable)

Arreglo (Rocco)

In this workshop, the whole group comes together to play the Tango ‘Hotel Victoria’.

Rocco and Lena wrote the arrangement especially for this workshop, with the express intention to offer a suitable part for every participant’s skill level. A recent beginner will find joy in the simpler parts, while other parts will challenge the advanced player. Rocco is an excellent teacher of Bandoneon technique and will, as part of this workshop, teach us his insights about articulation, dynamics, bellows etc.

The arrangement is available upon booking, and you can choose your part according to your skills level.

A la Parrilla (Rocco & Ruth)

The bridge from learning about A la Parrilla to playing confidently yourself

In this workshop we’d like to create a road map, to travel from learning the tools for a la Parrilla, to using them freely yourself.

This workshop will develop in 5 stages:

Rocco teaches the tools we will be working with
Ruth will run a hands-on group session to practice the tools in the whole group
We will then divide into smaller groups to work on putting those tools into practice in a smaller ensemble. Rocco & Ruth will be available for advice.
We will reconvene in the bigger group to share our findings.
From our findings, together we will create one version for the whole group.

Practica (Ruth)

These sessions intend to inspire you to find joy and playfulness for technical studies.

We will be picking up on technical challenges of the day/the weekend and turn them into playful exercises.

Peer Group playing -

There will be plenty of time to meet up with others, outside of the structured workshop times to play, arranged pieces or a la parrilla, in various small groups.

This is a central and well-loved part of the Bandoneon days.

For inspiration as to which pieces to play, and for those who would like to prepare themselves a little, there is

An online folder with 15 a la Parrilla tunes
An online folder with arrangements from previous Bandoneon Days
An online folder where you can put anything you might like to suggest yourself

Bandoneon Maintenance (Rocco)

Bandoneon First Aid

10 things that can happen, and how to remedy them yourself.

(So that you don’t always have to see a specialist for every little thing)

The Timetable:

(This is last event's timetable to get an idea of what's happening. The next one will be similar)

Bandoneon Days

Prices October 2026

Bandoneon Workshop Ticket € 320

Weekend-ticket for Family/Friends (per person) € 95

Food & Accommodation:

Food and accommodation single bed room (3 nights) € 105 per night

Food and accommodation in shared rooms (3 nights) € 90 per night

Food & Stay overnight in your Campervan €80 per night

For those who stay overnight externally €65 per day

(covering food and your presence at the location during the day)

About Rocco Heins

Rocco Heins, born in Germany, is one of Europe's best-known bandoneonists and is renowned for his virtuoso and expressive playing.

Over the past decades, he has thrilled audiences in various formations - whether in concert halls, on theater stages or at street festivals. Rocco can also draw on a rich solo repertoire ranging from tango argentino to folklore and classical music.

Rocco Heins, born in Schleswig-Holstein in 1963, was five years old when he first became aware of the bandoneon - his father had given it to him. However, he only really discovered this special instrument at the age of 15. He was taken with the music of a street performer who played a hand harmonica.

Rocco has been working as a professional musician for 40 years. Initially mainly on the road in Hamburg, he soon played on many stages around the world - particularly often in Argentina and many major European cities. It was not unusual for him to play up to 100 concerts a year. For four years alone, he toured the world as a member of the Sexteto Canyengue, which also performed with tango orchestras from Buenos Aires.

Rocco gave a longer guest performance at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He worked there as a permanent member of the ensemble under the direction of the then head dramaturge Andrea Breth. On the occasion of Günter Grass' 80th birthday, he also performed at the Stadttheater Lübeck, with which he is still associated today through guest appearances and his own productions.

About Ruth Rozelaar

Ruth Rozelaar has undergone a self-directed and intensive period of study since 2018, devoting 3 hours per day to Bandoneon practice, with the focus on playing A La Parrilla, for dancing.

In January 2023, she began studying with Maestro Dibelo.

"I am honoured to be studying and touring with such a grand maestro. Playing alongside him, diving deep into the tunes that I know so well from dancing, is an indescribably delicious experience. Just like dancers, we connect with each other through the music - every time it is new and exquisitely alive."

Ruth is a sensitive and generous teacher. Her knowledge of music ranges from western European classical and Indian classical music to Tango. In her private as well as her group classes, Ruth always aims to find new, creative approaches to learning.