Dena Tauriello currently holds the drum chair for the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, nominated for a 2021 Grammy for best Musical Theater album. Previously, Dena held the drum chair for the musical, Head Over Heels, which ran in San Francisco before premiering on Broadway in the summer of 2018. The show was on Entertainment Weekly’s list of Top 10 shows of the year.
In addition to her Broadway projects, Dena has worked on a for-hire basis with local artists as well as international artists, including Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty) as a member of his “RT Quartet” in 2017. She continues her work as a clinician and private instructor, is a Certified Drum Therapist with the DAD (Drums & Disabilities) program and a freelance writer for Modern Drummer magazine. She was featured in Sticks n Skins, a photography book on the drumming community and in the September 2018 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, and also served as a commentator and contributing member of Carpenters: An Illustrated Discography.
Dena is also a former member of the New York City-based rock band, Antigone Rising. The band toured constantly for several years, racking up 260+ shows per year. They were signed by Lava/Atlantic Records and released From the Ground Up, in conjunction with Starbucks’ Hear Music Debut series, selling well over 250,000 copies. Over the course of her 20 year tenure with Antigone Rising, the band enjoyed many high profile gigs, including a VH1 Special (Listen Up), appearances on the Today Show and Tonight Show, A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts and Emeril Live, and opening slots for the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Allman Brothers, Rob Thomas, Joan Jett, Cheap Trick, B-52’s & the Bangles. Additionally, they served as cultural ambassadors to the US Embassies in Israel, Palestine, and Vietnam.
Dena endorses Zildjian cymbals, Pearl drums and hardware, Evans drumheads, Promark sticks, Drumtacs, SledgePad Innovations, Ultimate Ears and SKB cases.