Accordion Festival draws top musicians to Lisle
Go ahead, make your accordion jokes.
Snicker about polkas, turn your nose up at oompah bands and mock "Lady of Spain."
Cory Pesaturo has heard it all. But he and the 100 or so other accordionists from across the country and the world who have gathered this weekend in Lisle for the 78th annual Accordion Festival know there's a lot more to the instrument than you might think.
"The image of the accordion is definitely moving in a more positive direction, if only for the fact the younger generations don't know the negative stigma that existed in the late '60s through the 1990s," says Pesaturo, 32, of Rhode Island, who will perform in concerts at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Lisle, 1400 Corporetum Drive.
Pesaturo is a world champion accordion artist and the only person to win the digital, acoustic and jazz categories. He performs on an electronic accordion and also created his own "skinned accordion" that has keys that light up when he plays.
People today are more curious about the accordion than dismissive, he says, and "it's our job as accordion players to show the world what it actually can do."
Keith Sawyer of O'Fallon, Illinois, says the weekend festival is a great opportunity to make an impression and play a variety of music.
"People can hear some of the best accordion players in the world," he said.
The fest, which runs from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. each day through Sunday, includes concerts, competitions, workshops and exhibits. Single-day passes are $20 and evening concert tickets are $15.
"We love to share the beauty and wonder of the accordion with the public," Joseph Natoli, president of the Accordionists & Teachers Guild, International, said in the days leading up to the event.
One of the fest highlights will be a performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday by the ATG Festival Accordion Orchestra, which will feature more than 50 musicians performing, among other things, selection from "West Side Story" in honor of Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday year.