When Diane Guffin retired in 2013, she thought it might be fun to rekindle her childhood passion for the accordion.

Stepping away from her role as vice president of sales in the Water Division of Itron, Inc., she blew 37 years’ worth of dust off of the unique instrument and decided to enroll in classes at Bartell Music Academy. She worked under the tutelage of Patricia Bartell, who asked Guffin an unexpected question in the fall of 2018.

“Have you been to Portugal?”

Flash forward to one year later and that question has led Guffin to a first place standing in one of the most prestigious accordion competitions in the world.

The decision

In the six years since Guffin got back into playing the accordion, she’s already managed to earn several honors. On top of bringing home multiple awards from the Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration hosted out of Washington, she also claimed second place in the Bartell Music Academy Accordion Orchestra.

A snowbird, she and wife Cherie Pepiot spend part of the year in Fountain Hills, where Guffin enjoys playing in a women’s golf group and, of course, entertaining friends with her accordion.

When Guffin’s teacher asked her if she had ever been to Portugal, she was actually asking if she would consider taking part in the 2019 Trophee Mondial de L’Accordeon. Guffin, which was scheduled to take place in Portugal this past November.

“I knew little about the Trophee Mondial, except that it was a really big deal in the world of accordion and attracted the most talented and dedicated accordion players from across the globe,” Guffin explained.

In 2018, Guffin was informed that the organization running the competition had added a new category described as “Adult amateur, 36 years and over.” Her teacher thought she’d be a prime candidate to take part in this competition. Guffin, though, wasn’t so sure.

“I spent the following month debating with myself,” she said. “At age 58, I would be competing on a European stage, where accordion music is woven into the fabric of the culture of these countries. There would be a lot of serious musicians and none of the beer garden variety of music that Americans typically associate with this misunderstood, often underappreciated instrument.

“More importantly was this jury of highly decorated professors and uber-talented accordion professionals, hailing from 26 different countries.”

These would be coach Bartell’s peers, and Guffin knew her performance would be a reflection on her coach as much as herself.

“That was what I feared most of all,” Guffin said.

Practice

Despite all of that anxiety, Guffin decided she would compete. The lessons she typically took every other week became weekly, and her usual hour-long daily practice routine evolved into two hours, twice daily. She had 11 months to prepare for Portugal and even took measures to make sure she couldn’t change her mind.

“To ensure that my self-doubt wouldn’t convince me to back out, I booked non-cancellable travel plans and began telling my friends that I was going to compete in the 69th International Open Trophy 2019,” Guffin said.

Guffin knew that managing her nerves would be tricky, considering the caliber and scale of the competition.

“I enjoy playing for people, but the added elements of the large jury panel, bright lights and, for me, my first international stage, would surely send my heart rate soaring,” Guffin said.

To combat this, she created opportunities to play under more pressure. She played for groups of friends, her local golf crew, as well as her fellow students at Bartell Music Academy and “unwitting house guests.” She tasked these folks with evaluating her progress over all those months, helping her gauge how much progress she was making.

Before she knew it, it was time to compete. Guffin and Pepiot boarded a plane with accordion in tow, accompanied by a dear friend and fellow Fountain Hills snowbird, Bobbi Sandkuhl, to help fill out the cheering section.

Portugal

“Before I knew it, I was on the ground in Lisbon, driving my enduring entourage toward Loule,” Guffin said.

The 2019 iteration of the Trophee Mondial de L’Accordeon was hosted from Nov. 3-9, boasting the largest field of candidates in the competition’s 69-year history. The weeklong competition boasted 164 of the world’s best accordion players from 26 countries competing in 29 categories. A total of 42 judges were on hand to weigh in on the performances.

Arriving a day before the opening ceremony, Guffin learned that her competition would not take place until the fifth day of the event.

She said she had a “Good Diane” thought and a “Bad Diane” thought. Good Diane was excited for the extra five days of practice while Bad Diane just wanted to get her performance out of the way so she could be done with the nerves and enjoy her visit to Portugal.

“We managed both and had a wonderful time exploring the Algarve region from its eastern border with Spain to the ‘Edge of the Earth’ southwestern tip. We sampled amazing cuisine and wine and soaked up the welcoming spirit of the Portuguese locals.”

When her competition finally came up, Guffin learned 82 candidates would be competing on that day alone.

“I was the only American in the 20 categories of the IOT section,” she continued. “There were a mere three candidates from the USA of the 164 in the competition overall.”

Guffin described her experience as an impressive display of diversity, dedication and appreciation for the accordion. She played her heart out when it was her turn to take the stage and, in the end, all of that hard work paid off.

“At the end of the evening I was awarded a first place trophy and a medal and a diploma of participation,” Guffin said. “The accomplishment felt wonderful, and equally rewarding were the congratulations from the other international judges to both me and to [coach] Patricia Bartell for a job well done.”

Guffin noted that during her company’s retirement tribute in 2013, she stood at a podium in front of a screen displaying a giant photo of her 10-year-old self, holding a blue and white pearled accordion.

“Before 200 of my colleagues I said, jokingly, ‘I am retiring in order to travel the world playing accordion.’ Little did I know, six years later, this tongue-in-cheek comment would become a reality and a truly inspiring experience.”