Largo native Natalie DePergola has been drumming since she was 6 years old. She learned the basics from her Uncle Bill, quickly graduating from a toy store drum kit to a full-size
Pearl set. Since her first public performance at age 9, she has gone on to play at venues throughout Tampa Bay, Nashville and even Canada.
After winning first place in a talent contest sponsored by the St. Petersburg Times, DePergola’s star has continued to rise. In 2013, she was chosen for the GRAMMY
Museum’s Music Revolution Project at Ruth Eckerd Hall, where musically gifted high school students explore songwriting, production, performance, and the business
of music.
Other notable achievements include her top-three finishes in the 2014 and 2015 Hit Like a Girl drumming competition, as well as her strong showing at the 2015 Guitar Center Drum-Off in Clearwater. She also holds endorsements from international brands ddrum and Zildjian.
Lessons provide foundation for music career
Much of DePergola’s early music education took place at Seminole Music & Sound, under the guidance of manager John Spinelli. She has studied with legendary drummers
John Blackwell, Vinny Appice and Brent Easton, and cites local musician Rodney Rocques as another mentor. DePergola is currently a junior at Florida Virtual School, and recently entered St. Petersburg College’s Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) as a dual enrolled student. Fall 2015 marked her first semester at the college; her classes included Fundamentals of Music and Critical Listening, as well as a weekly private drum lesson with professor and MIRA Academic Chair Patrick Hernly. Because DePergola is such an advanced drummer, Hernly’s lessons explore different types of percussion, such as batá, cajón, and timbales.
“By learning these styles on authentic instruments, it increases the breadth of
musical styles that Natalie is acquainted with and allows her to apply those concepts
to the drums,” he explained.
DePergola expresses great appreciation for her classes and instructors at SPC.
“Patrick is an amazing drummer, and he helps me identify and improve on my weak
areas,” she noted. “His Critical Listening class has completely changed the way I listen
to music; I’m now hearing so much more than just chords and instrumentation. And
in Fundamentals of Music, Austin Vickrey has been teaching me how to read, play,
notate, and write music for the piano and other instruments.”
A Passion for Learning
While DePergola is enrolled in MIRA’s Artist with Performance Focus subplan, she is
eager to explore all facets of the program. “I want to be more than just a musician; I want to know how to record and produce, and how to write songs. I want to be a well-rounded professional, and there are so many people here who can help me do that,” she asserted.
DePergola also enjoys getting to know her fellow MIRA students. “They often ask me to help with their side projects and lay down drum tracks in the studio. I love doing that,” she said. “And I love playing with musicians who are better than me; I can learn so much from them.”
Hernly’s comments echo DePergola’s eagerness to learn and the ways MIRA can
benefit her. He notes that she is “extremely teachable” and credits her “excellent
combination of pattern recognition and audio-motor feedback loop” as an advantage,
enabling her to quickly figure out and emulate new techniques.