FOR STARTERS
Blackstone River Theatre opens 20th season with Cory Pesaturo
CUMBERLAND — The Blackstone River Theatre will present accordion virtuoso Cory Pesaturo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m., at Blackstone River Theatre, 549 Broad St.
Admission is $16 advance, $20 day of show. Pesaturo will be joined by violinist Jonathan Cannon as they play music from around the world. For reservations call Blackstone River Theatre at 401- 7259272.
A three-time world accordion champion and Cumberland native, Pesaturo is at the forefront of the accordion world, pushing the boundaries of what is possible on the accordion. Pesaturo is the only person to ever win a World Championship on Acoustic, Digital and Jazz Accordion, and the only accordion graduate of the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Mass. His extensive resume includes appearances at the White House on four different occasions; he was also the youngest musician to ever play at a State Dinner at age 12.
In 2017, Pesaturo became a Guinness World Record Holder, as RedBull flew him to Austria to break the Marathon Accordion Record, in which he played for over 32 hours. Cory’s main contribution is his visionary thinking of how the accordion should be used, played, taught, and presented in modern music. This vision led him to give two TED talks, develop his own electric accordion, and make the first ever skinned accordion which includes a symmetric lighting system attached to the keys.
Pesaturo returns to kick off BRT’s 20th season with Jonathan Cannon who performs regularly on violin, sometimes as a member of award-winning Boston klezmer band Ezekiel’s Wheels. Cannon also serves as program chair of the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA).