A Brief History
David DiGiuseppe’s musical career began at the tender age of three in the local barber shop, where he was often lifted onto a chair and encouraged to sing his favorite songs. At the impressionable age of eight, he was taking accordion lessons, becoming a model student at Petteruti’s School of Music in Providence, RI. By twelve, the accordion was in the closet and Beatles’ tunes could be heard emanating from his guitar.
David began playing music professionally as a mandolinist in 1978 while living in Worcester, MA. Never content at doing too much of the same thing, from 1978-1985 he performed with: Steamfoot, a bluegrass band; Castle Hill String Band, a bluegrass and jug band; Musique Noveaux, performing avant-garde classical music; Two Finger Snap, an acoustic jazz quartet; the Providence Mandolin Orchestra; and the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra.
In 1985 he moved to Durham, NC where for three years he toured and recorded with the well-loved Big Zucchini Washboard Bandits, performing throughout the United States and Canada.
Since then he has performed as part of the acoustic roots music trio Craicdown, as a member of Nee Ningy Band, with nationally acclaimed Cajun singer and songwriter J.J. Reneaux, singer and songwriter Jonathan Byrd, guitarist Danny Gotham, flutist Mike Casey, multi-string player and story teller Joseph Sobol, songwriter Tokyo Rosenthal, and many others.
Playing accordion for New England-style contra dances, David has toured the US with the bands FootLoose, Contrazz, The Avant Gardeners, and Playing with Fyre.
As a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and story teller, David has presented programs for schools, arts councils, libraries, and museums throughout the Carolinas, offering family concerts and educational lecture/performances on American and Carolina history.
In 1989 David received an Emerging Artists Grant from the Durham (NC) Arts Council to study Irish accordion styles with the noted Irish American musician Jimmy Keane.
In 2009 his composition Le Vin was nominated for a Just Plain Folks Music Award in the World Song category.
David has written eight books for accordion published for Mel Bay Publications—two tutorials on left hand technique, a guide to learning blues accordion, a collection of tangos, a collection of gospel songs, a collection of wedding songs, and two extensive collections of traditional tunes arranged for accordion. -click here for more publications info-
David has released three recordings showcasing his playing on music from Celtic, Parisian, and American traditions. He is also featured on many releases with his various bands and appears on numerous CDs backing other musicians. -click here for David’s full discography.
