Peggy Monaghan grew up in Anchorage to a large, musical Irish-American family. She began her singing career playing the two venues there were to play in Anchorage’s pre-pipeline days. Knowing she needed to expand her horizons, she moved to the San Francisco Bay area where she studied and played a wide range of musical styles from the San Francisco club scene to the MGM Grand in Reno. After almost a decade and a half of performing lilting Irish songs, blues, country, folk, pop and classical to California and Nevada audiences, Peggy decided to return home to Alaska to open her own music studio.

Landing back in Anchorage, Peggy set out on a mission to challenge the business community to partner with the arts community to offer more and better venues to provide live music. She created Arctic Siren Productions and its subsidiary record label, Arctic Siren Records, to help independent artists with the production and distribution of quality recordings. At Arctic Siren Productions, Peggy has helped many of our local musicians realize their dreams of recording and performing on a professional level. In her nine seasons of the Arctic Siren Cabaret series, she has provided a vibrant venue for performers and has raised thousands of dollars in donations for local nonprofit organizations. Through Arctic Siren Records, Peggy has helped local independent artists release over 25 titles internationally.

Peggy also created a teaching studio at Arctic Siren Productions to share what she has learned about both music and the music business. With over 40 years of teaching experience, she has trained countless singers in the techniques of good sound production. Peggy’s work in studios and on local stages both large and small showcases the talents of her students and the music community at large.  

While experience and knowledge of performance and production have made her a much sought-after instructor and producer in the Alaska music scene, Peggy also continues to be a versatile and entrancing performer. She has released three albums on the Arctic Siren Records label, Lullaby, Seasons of the Witch, and Elements and Elementals, all of which have received local and national acclaim. Peggy’s crowning achievement may be that she is a founding member of cult phenomenon The Derry Aires, with whom she has produced three albums and continues to perform to delighted audiences in Anchorage and beyond. 

In addition to her work teaching, producing, and recording music at Arctic Siren Productions, Peggy is a founding member of the Turnagain Community Arts Alliance and the Irish Music Festival, a past advisory member of the Board of Directors of the Alaska Theater of Youth, producer and director of the Galway Days Irish Music Festival, long-time producer and coordinator of the Alaska Song of the Year contest, president and cultural director of the Irish Club of Alaska, and a YWCA Women of Achievement honoree for her work in eliminating racism and empowering women.

Peggy now enjoys her working hours as a vocal coach, music teacher, recording artist, and producer at Arctic Siren Productions. When not working, Peggy can be found volunteering and spearheading initiatives to further the arts in the Anchorage community. When she’s not working or volunteering or making more work for herself, Peggy can be found spending quality time with her high school sweetheart and husband, Tom, and their two beagles, Kallie and Nessie. 

Interview with Peggy in the Anchorage Press
​Peggy Named Women of Achievement Honoree

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“Proper vocal technique is just the base. Students should also come to believe in their own voices and their right and responsibility to use them in the world. A person’s voice is the most powerful instrument for personal and social change they have. Overcoming the fear of using your voice can be the most challenging and rewarding journey anyone can undertake.”
​                    - Peggy Monaghan

PEGGY'S RECORDINGS

Beautiful. Evocative. Serene. Lullaby is Celtic and folk music at its sensitive best. Featuring memorable melodies and moving vocals, Lullaby is a showcase for the immense vocal talents of Peggy Monaghan. This is a lovesong to all families, from parents to their children, from one generation to the next. This is love that is shared with a touch, a glance and a voice.

Seasons of the Witch is an evocative, earthy delight honoring the Goddess through the movement of the seasons. It features the haunting, powerful music of Peggy Monaghan and her friends, and the poetry of Goddess movement pioneer, Patricia Monaghan. This is a rich, heady brew that recalls starlit nights and voices from long ago. "This album is a true celebration of the Goddess and God." - Miriam Robbins Dexter

The Elements. We consist of them, are defined by them, use them, rail against them , and thrive with and in spite of them. Earth and Air make tornados. Water and Fire make steam. Water and Earth make mud. Water and Air make hurricanes. Any and all combinations live around and within us. This project celebrates them in all their forms.