Three-Time Accordion World Champion Cory Pesaturo & Violinist Leah Zeger Appear at Sierra Madre Playhouse 1/29/26 at Sierra Madre Playhouse

Sierra Madre Playhouse launches its 2026 season with a dynamic cross-genre musical performance featuring three-time accordion world champion Cory Pesaturo and violinist and vocalist Leah Zeger on Thursday, January 29, 2026, 8:00 pm. The chamber duo traverses a range of jazz standards, Roma-influenced swing, tango, klezmer, and reframed film-score themes connected by exquisite improvisation. 

Pesaturo and Zeger deliver tunes that are deconstructed and rebuilt mid-flight and feature extended solos, real-time call-and-response, and transitions that render the entire program as a through-composed arc rather than a sequence of isolated tunes. 

Zeger’s musical path weaves from the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to major film and TV scoring sessions. She has toured or recorded with artists ranging from Hans Zimmer and Jeff Lynne’s ELO to Annie Lennox, CeeLo Green, Miley Cyrus, and Postmodern Jukebox. A Yamaha Artist and trained opera singer, Zeger is also a songwriter with solo albums that spotlight her hybrid of lyrical violin writing and jazz-inflected vocals.

Pesaturo is the only person to win world championships in acoustic, digital, and jazz accordion. He also holds the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon performance on accordion, which clocked in at 32 hours and 14 minutes. Educated at the New England Conservatory in Contemporary Improvisation, the accordion virtuoso has appeared at the White House four times, as well as on The Late Show with David Letterman and multiple international broadcasts. Pesaturo is committed to expanding the instrument’s vocabulary, often performing largely improvised sets that move from bebop to folk idioms, tangos, and club-tempo textures. He has delivered talks (TED, Google, EG) on the modern accordion and its evolving role in improvising music.

For tickets ($35) and information, please call 626.355.4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org. Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.