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Emily Pecoraro

Emily Pecoraro

She/Her

Biography

Brooklyn/Queens-based saxophonist and woodwind doubler Emily Pecoraro is known for her divergent ventures across the musical spectrum. In addition to her myriad creative pursuits, Emily is a staple of the Broadway pit orchestra community, and has worked or subbed on over a dozen Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. She has also been a chair holder in the orchestra for The Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes for the last 5 consecutive seasons.

Emily has played for such luminaries as: Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, Marc Shaiman, Kate Nash, Joshua Groban, Sara Bareilles, Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster, Bobby Cannavale, Amber Gray, David Hyde Pierce, Micaela Diamond, Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Shamos, Rachel Bay Jones, Phillipa Soo, Jennifer Simard, Alex Brightman, Bill Frisell, Laurie Anderson, Steven Bernstein, Billy Martin, and Teddy Thompson. Her playing can also be heard on the South Park 25th Anniversary Special from Comedy Central, as well as in a handful of commercials, indie films, and other such similar projects. And for many years, Emily played lead alto saxophone for both The Temptations and The Four Tops “New York” horn section, backing up the living Motown legends Otis Williams and Duke Fakir, and was also a regular tenor and alto saxophone soloist with The Temptations Revue featuring the late Motown legend Dennis Edwards.

With a creative output embracing both groove-based and classical music, Emily has performed or recorded with such groups as: Hal Willner’s Amarcord Nino Rota, Lady Lamb, Red Baraat, The 8-Bit Big Band, Billy Stritch, Dingonek, NYChillharmonic, Aberdeen, Shubh Saran, The Ed Palermo Big Band, The Big Apple Circus, Brooklyn Wind Symphony, and many others. Emily is the leader and composer for EMPECTET, a Chamber Jazz group based in Brooklyn.

As an administrator, Emily was the Founder and Program Director for WIJO Mentors, the Women in Jazz Organization’s collegiate mentorship program, from its inception in 2018 through the conclusion of the 2021 academic session. She also was the Founder, Artistic Director, and Curator of The Variousound Sessions, an experimental concert series which held monthly residencies at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and previously Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Emily was the Founder and Co-Director of the Quarantined Woodwind Ensemble, a Covid-era virtual project featuring a rotating roster of 160+ woodwind and percussion players from the Broadway and Jazz communities in New York.

Emily holds her M.M. in Multiple Woodwind Performance from The Boston Conservatory, with concentrations in saxophone, clarinet, and flute. She also holds a B.M. in Music Education from Ithaca College, with an additional emphasis on jazz performance and pedagogy alongside traditional studies in music education.

And because variety is the spice of life, Emily also works professionally as a freelance florist in and around the New York City area, where she has designed arrangements for the Comedy Central television program “Broad City” as well as a handful of other celebrity clients.

Emily currently resides in Ridgewood/Bushwick with her husband, jazz trumpeter Bobby Spellman, and their two toilet-trained cats (yes, really).

Professional Experience

  • Broadway
  • Off Broadway
  • Regional
  • Concerts/Cabaret
  • Education
  • TV/Film
  • Tours
  • Community Theatre
  • Bachelor’s Degree
  • Master’s Degree

Regions

  • NYC/Tri-State Area
  • Boston/New England

Maestra Expertise

  • Instrumentalist/Pit Musician

Primary Instruments

  • Clarinet
  • Clarinet (A)
  • Clarinet (Bass)
  • Clarinet (Eb)
  • Flute
  • Piccolo
  • Saxophone
  • Saxophone (Soprano)
  • Saxophone (Tenor)

Additional Instruments

  • Piano

Software

  • Finale
  • Logic

Additional Skills

  • Arts Administration
  • Home Studio Whiz

Affiliations

  • THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS (AFM)