Antonio Peluso is a drummer and percussionist born and bred in the Bay Area, California. In fall of 2017, he moved to Washington, DC where he now teaches and freelances as a drummer and percussionist. Antonio was a core member of the late indie-pop group Frass Green and has performed with other local acts including: Bottled Up, Reed Appleseed, You and Me and You, Tuff Lover, and more.
Over the years, Antonio performed with drumlines, marching bands, jazz ensembles, big bands, punk bands, surf-rock bands, and more. In California, he trained as a classical percussionist, studying theory, musicianship, ethnomusicology, performance, and audio engineering before shifting his focus to jazz. He continued on to study jazz drum set, vibraphone, composition, and theory under legendary saxophonist Bennett Friedman at the Santa Rosa Junior College. During that time, he performed with small jazz ensembles and the college’s award winning big band before moving to the University of California, Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz, he studied and performed in ensembles under the direction of Paul Contos, Stan Poplin, and Karlton Hester. During his time, he studied drum set intensively under George Marsh in the Northern Bay Area, and under Ken Dalluge in Santa Cruz, CA.
Antonio taught as a private instructor at Art & Soul School of Creative & Performing Arts before relocating to Washington. His experience ranges diverse styles and genres, with particular affinity for indie rock, surf-rock, Brazilian percussion, and jazz.
Outside of his time teaching, practicing, and performing, Antonio works as a cultural anthropologist and communications professional for an organization working to protect the Amazon rainforest in partnership with Indigenous peoples--The Amazon Conservation Team.
Over the years, Antonio performed with drumlines, marching bands, jazz ensembles, big bands, punk bands, surf-rock bands, and more. In California, he trained as a classical percussionist, studying theory, musicianship, ethnomusicology, performance, and audio engineering before shifting his focus to jazz. He continued on to study jazz drum set, vibraphone, composition, and theory under legendary saxophonist Bennett Friedman at the Santa Rosa Junior College. During that time, he performed with small jazz ensembles and the college’s award winning big band before moving to the University of California, Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz, he studied and performed in ensembles under the direction of Paul Contos, Stan Poplin, and Karlton Hester. During his time, he studied drum set intensively under George Marsh in the Northern Bay Area, and under Ken Dalluge in Santa Cruz, CA.
Antonio taught as a private instructor at Art & Soul School of Creative & Performing Arts before relocating to Washington. His experience ranges diverse styles and genres, with particular affinity for indie rock, surf-rock, Brazilian percussion, and jazz.
Outside of his time teaching, practicing, and performing, Antonio works as a cultural anthropologist and communications professional for an organization working to protect the Amazon rainforest in partnership with Indigenous peoples--The Amazon Conservation Team.