Emily Pecoraro
"I religiously use the Key Leaves props and Spit Sponges. They are life savers. Since I started using the props on my alto, tenor, and soprano a few years ago, I haven't had a single sticky G# or C# key. And the Spit Sponges are absolutely essential to have on hand in a pit orchestra; With the subtle temperature changes that any horns might be subjected to during a Broadway show, having water stuck in a clarinet or flute key can be stressful and annoying. The Spit Sponges are by far the best way to quickly dry out any and all tone holes!" - Emily Pecoraro (winds player)
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 an active member of the Broadway pit orchestra community, having worked on or subbed on over a dozen Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and having been a chair holder in the orchestra for The Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes for the last 5 seasons.
For many years Emily has 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 previously a regular tenor and alto saxophone soloist with The Temptations Revue featuring the late Motown legend Dennis Edwards. She has also played with such luminaries as Kate Nash, Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster, Phillipa Soo, Bill Frisell, Laurie Anderson, Steven Bernstein, Ed Palermo, Billy Martin, Teddy Thompson, and Jennifer Charles. 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.
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 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.
With a creative output embracing both groove-based and classical music, Emily has performed and recorded with such groups as: Hal Willner’s Amarcord Nino Rota, Red Baraat, Dingonek Street Band, 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.
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.
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. She currently resides in Ridgewood/Bushwick with her husband, jazz trumpeter Bobby Spellman, and their two toilet-trained cats (yes, really).