2009 World Digital Accordion Champion Cory Pesaturo is a graduate of the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, where he was the first musician ever to major and graduate in the accordion. Accordion Legend Dick Contino said, “Of all the accordionists I’ve seen over the years, Cory is the one to pass the torch to, the only one who has all the tools to bring the accordion back to its former glory.” Pesaturo's extensive resumé includes appearances at the White House for President and Mrs. Clinton on 4 different occasions. On one of those occasions, he became the youngest person ever to perform at a State Dinner. He is also featured in Mrs. Clinton’s book “An Invitation to the White House”. In 2009 alone, Cory performed in 5 different continents, from Italy, to Canada, to New Zealand, to Japan and Tunisia.
At 11, Pesaturo opened at the former Warwick Musical Theater for the ill Myron Floren. He has also opened at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, the Waterfires in Providence, and as a guest star at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, CT. For nine consecutive years he has performed at the Sergio Franchi Memorial Concert in North Stonington, CT. Other past concerts include Festa Italiana in Milwaukee, numerous appearances with crossover Tenor Aaron Caruso, and Duo performances with World Champion Accordionist Mario Tacca. In July 2002, Cory became the youngest ever National Accordion Champion and went on to Copenhagen, Denmark for the Coupe Mondiale World Competition. A win in a concerto competition at the New England Conservatory of Music gave Pesaturo the rare opportunity to perform at the 2003 Christmas Pops Concert with the Brockton Symphony Orchestra as a featured soloist, where he became the youngest accordionist to ever solo with a symphony orchestra.
Cory is known as a sort of rebel with the main United States "accordion world" much like Dick Contino was in his early days, and is outspoken with his dislike for the way it runs itself, and also how they teach the instrument in a manner that he says heavily discounts musicality and theory and is further hurting the accordion image. Although because the overall accordion world is so small, he feels everyone must stick together to further the revival of the instrument, even if there are large differences in opinion on the inside issues.
Concerning his Jazz side, Pesaturo has recently recorded two CD’s with saxophone legend George Garzone and his famous band “The Fringe”, and has been performing with them in the Boston and Providence region. 2 years ago at the Coupe Mondiale World Competition, Cory was hailed as the world’s best young Jazz Accordionist.
Mr. Pesaturo is also heavily involved with the weather and motor sports worlds as well. From 2005 to 2006, he composed the Official list of records set by the inconceivable record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Furthermore, his music is regularly played on Formula 1 broadcasts and he is currently working on a Formula 1 book that will change the way people look upon the sports history and its champions.
Moreover than that concerning diversity, Cory is one of the "Best Sticker's" in the world wide #1 video game HALO 3, and is noted for his skill in any racing video game. He is also known to have odd yet amazing records, the most prominent of this type being that if you type "Paul Kocin" in google (Cory's Hero in weather, and arguably the Most Respected Meteorologist in the Country's history of meteorologists), a blog Cory wrote about him comes up as the First written link!
Major Records
- Youngest person to ever play at a State Dinner at the White House – 12 years old
- Youngest person to ever win the US National Accordion Championship – 15 years old
- Youngest person ever to be an accordion soloist with an orchestra – 16 years old
- Only Person to Major/Graduate in Accordion at the New England Conservatory