It was the summer of 1962 and young David Crohan had just graduated from high school. His aunt and uncle owned a house in the Camp Ground and David had come to visit. They went out to dinner at Munroe’s Restaurant on Circuit avenue (today the site of Seasons). There was a piano bar but no pianist. David sat down to play. The restaurant owner wanted to hire him on the spot, but his mother wouldn’t allow it.

Two years later David began playing professionally on Circuit avenue — and the rest is by now well-known history.

On Saturday night, Sept. 8, David Crohan will celebrate 50 years of playing on the Vineyard at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs. The title of the concert is Chopin and Show Tunes; tickets are $20 at the door. It’s David’s goodbye until next summer and also his thanks to the Vineyard.

“I think about it a lot now; it’s amazing how one seemingly small circumstance can completely alter things. That whole weekend changed my life really,” he said.