Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox and the accordion have a lot in common when it comes to a rich history and long-standing traditions. Fenway is the oldest major league ballpark, and retains much of the same feel and characteristics as it did at its 1912 opening.
The same could be said about the accordion… until now. 3X World Champion Accordionist Cory Pesaturo uses his ability, artistry, and improvisation skills to bring an entirely new perspective to this much maligned but important instrument as he plays on the most advanced of accordions which he created; all right from the Green Monster! Cory Pesaturo is an American musician from Cumberland, Rhode Island who has been playing the accordion since the age of nine.
Cory has been winning accordion competitions all over the world and is a pioneer of jazz accordion. In 2002, became the youngest person to win the National Accordion Championship. He most recently won the 2011 Primus Ikaalinen World Championship and was the first ever American contestant. Additionally, Pesaturo won the Coupe Mondiale World Digital Accordion Championship in Auckland, New Zealand, and became the first American to win a World Accordion Championship since Peter Soave 25 years ago. In June 2009, he won the Leavenworth International Championship, and International Jazz Championship. Pesaturo performed in 5 different continents during 2009; some countries included Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Tunisia and Japan. Cory is one of only four accordionists in history to win a World Championship on both acoustic and electronic accordion, and is the only person to also win a world championship in jazz.
He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA where he studied Contemporary Improvisation and a variety of music styles, including Italian and French folk music, Bulgarian and Jewish music, Classical music and Jazz. He became the second person to major in and graduate as an accordionist at the New England Conservatory. He also plays the piano, clarinet, and saxophone.
“If anyone can make the accordion hip - and that’s a tall order - it just might be Cory Pesaturo,” said the Boston Globe. “Pesaturo makes the instrument sound as natural and native to jazz as the saxophone or trumpet.” This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx