ABOUT DONNA O

Singer/songwriter, Donna Occhipinti (aka Donna O) --  In her high school years at Lawrenceville Catholic, Donna sang in the choir and glee club.  But it was life at home that was perhaps laying the greatest part of her musical foundation.  Donna’s father sang when he was a boy, and his sister was a singer in the big band era.  And when it came to listening to music at home, Donna was bombarded with the awe-inspiring sounds of artists like the Beatles, Carole King and Carly Simon.  In response to her growing musical passion, she signed up for guitar lessons.  Just six months after she began studying guitar, she joined her church’s folk group and it wasn’t long before her bandmates encouraged her to sing.  She continued guitar lessons for another three years, but it was clear that her focus was shifting to singing.  Donna also performs an entertainingly eclectic selection of pop, rock and folk covers as well as original tunes at a variety of local venues as a solo artist.  Donna previously performed as lead singer with Pittsburgh-based cover band Ready Or Not in which her vocal explorations ranged from Cyndi Lauper and Stevie Nicks to Led Zeppelin and Journey.