Biography

	Doing a gig while in high school

      Peggy, a native of Endicott, NY, shocked her parents one day by coming home with a permission slip to play drums in the school band. Although they tried to persuade her to do something more ‘conventional’ (like flute), the stubborn 10-year old persisted and got her way. She continued playing throughout school, performing with concert, jazz, and marching bands. As a snare drummer in the ‘Tiger’s Pride’ marching band at Union-Endicott High School, Peggy got to do some traveling and performed in halftime shows for the NFL Buffalo Bills, CFL Hamilton Tigercats, and marched in the nationally televised Cotton Bowl Parade.

      Although she wished to be a professional musician, Peggy decided she’d rather not be a starving one. To that end, she opted to major in engineering at a college that also had a good music program, eventually choosing the co-op engineering program at Fredonia State College. In addition to her tech studies, Peggy was able to study with percussion professor Ted Frazeur, play drumset in the "7 O'Clock" jazz band, perform with the All-College concert band, and do demos for the ‘Tonmiester’ Recording Engineering program. Back home during the summer, she played regular gigs with local concert and big bands.

With the Ladies First Big Band

      After finishing part 1 of her Fredonia co-op program, Peggy attended the University of Buffalo for part 2, majoring in electrical engineering and playing in the school jazz band. After graduating, with day job in hand, Peggy continued her avocation by playing in wedding bands, jazz combos, and local concert bands. To push her playing to the next level, Peggy began studying with session guru and UB percussion prof Tony Miranda. Besides the playing aspect, she was the recording engineer/tech director for a weekly live classical music program at local NPR station WBFO.

	With the Ladies First Combo

      A few years later, after balancing day job demands with an increasing number of gigs, Peggy decided to dive into a music career head-first. She kept busy playing with many bands, most notably Ladies First, an all-female jazz sextet, and Blue Fuzz, a jazz-fusion group. She continued doing studio work, performing with pit bands, and playing with many local jazz groups. Peggy also had the privilege of performing regularly with legendary pianist Al Tinney. In addition to drumset work, she kept up her legit chops by performing with the American Legion Post 264 "Band of the Tonawandas" concert band.

      Following a performance with Ladies First, local sax legend Dave Schiavone asked Peggy to join a new quartet he was forming with pianist Joe Brancato, another local music icon. The group gelled together quickly, and soon the Dave Schiavone/Joe Brancato Quartet became a sought-after staple at local clubs. Doing the club scene for a few years and building a loyal following motivated the quartet to do an actual recording. Their resultling freshman effort, "Hidden Treasures", sold extremely well locally and garnered both national and international radio airplay.

With the Dave Schivone/Joe Brancato Quartet

      Throughout the next few years, in addition to regular performances with the (re-named) Dave Schiavone Quartet, Peggy did mixdown on a Blue Fuzz CD "one & only", kept busy with the Ladies First big band/combo, and debuted in NYC's Carnegie Hall with the Tonawanda Legion Band.

      In addition to the Dave Schiavone Quartet and the Ladies First bands, Peggy fills in with many area big bands and small groups. She also does studio work. In between gigs, Peggy runs a teaching practice at her home studio and spends her free time with husband Dave and son Alex.