Elmira: Age 94, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, at St. Joseph's Skilled Nursing Facility on Thursday, September 10, 2026. He was predeceased by his parents, Franchesco and Felicia (Gramuglia) Sgro; wife Angeline "Angie" (DiNardo) Sgro; Brothers, Ralph Sgro and wife Beattie, Pete Sgro and wife June and Antonio "Tony" Sgro and wife Dorothy; sister, Josephine Sgro and brothers- and sisters-in-law, Lucy (DiNardo) Sgro, Rose (DiNardo) and Gerald McLaughlin and Michael DiNardo.
Dom is survived by his daughters, Mary Angela (John) Mendonca, Dr. Madonna M. (Jose) Santos and Martha Anne (Jason) Macari; grandchildren, Maria Regina (Nathan) St. George with children Damien, Anthony, Cecilia, Joan and Francesca; Rachel (Michael) Hasenbein, Michael (Destiny) Mendonca and Francis (Amber) Mendonca; Maria Fatima Santos, Ana Maria Santos and Mario Santos, Jaimie (Jay) Neveu with their children, Liliana Marie, Violet Grace and Noah Alexander; Micah Macari, Joshua Macari and Mary Macari and several nieces and nephews.

Dominic Sgro was known throughout the world as a master of the chromatic harmonica. In and around Elmira, New York, he was also known as a business owner and insurance agent.

The role he cherished the most was being a father. He and his wife raised their girls in a loving home, rooted in the Catholic Faith. He was proud of his family, and rightly so.

Dom's journey through life was unconventional, to say the least. He was born into an immigrant family in Wellsville, Ohio. His parents spoke Italian at home and music played a central role in their lives. Dom's father played guitar, mandolin and violin but made his living as a janitor in the Sterling Pottery Factory. Every Saturday the Sgro family would gather around the radio and listen to the Metropolitan opera. The music was foremost, but Dom's parents loved the fact that most operas were written in their native tongue. Even in his old age, Dom could remember the operatic melodies he heard as a child.

Dom and his younger brother Antonio "Tony" were close in age and developed a bond that lasted throughout their lives. One Christmas they were each given a harmonica. They taught themselves to play and were soon performing together at church services. As the saying goes, "from little acorns grow the mighty oaks". The Sgro Brothers had no idea where the harmonica was going to take them, but the seed was planted early in life.

In High School Dom played first clarinet in an all-state band. To get to that level of musicianship would have taken a single-minded dedication, an amazing amount of talent and lots and lots of practice. It's a special person who has that inner drive.

One Saturday Dom and Tony went to the movies, where they saw Borrah Minevitch and his Harmonica Rascals. Dom and his brother were impressed with what they saw and decided to form their own harmonica band. They worked odd jobs and saved up the money to buy three harmonicas. One was a chromatic harmonica ( the one with the button on the side ). They also bought a chord harmonica and a bass harmonica, which was to be played by a friend down the street, Ed Sedor. Through hard work and practice they became very good and were soon playing for shows and dances around Wellsville, with Dom playing the melody on the chromatic harmonica.They called their band The Harmaniacs.

After performing on a radio show in Pittsburgh, the three teens received a call from Borrah Minevitch, asking if they would like to audition for the Harmonica Rascals. Tony still had a year of high school to go, but they jumped at the chance and soon found themselves in New York City. They were excited to be in the Harmonica Rascals, but found they were not paid enough to live comfortably, so they returned to Wellsville so Tony could finish high school.

As fate would have it, Dom's number came up in the military draft. The boys wanted to keep their band together so they auditioned for the Marine Corps special services and, after basic training, found themselves as members of the Marine Air Wing Band at Cherry Point, North Carolina. Dom played clarinet in the band. Tony was given the cymbals and Ed Sedor played bass drum. Their harmonica trio was featured at every concert and they were billed as "The Marine Corps' Own Harmaniacs".

It didn't take long for the top brass of the Marine Corps to realize the recruiting potential they had with the Harmaniacs. Dom Sgro found his trio appearing on network TV shows like "The Easter Parade of Stars" and "The Ed Sullivan Show". Dom and Tony's family, back in Wellsville, could not afford a television set. When the news came out that they would be appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, their father's employer invited the Sgro family to his home so they could see the show.

During their enlistment, the Harmaniacs were sent to Chicago to record 52 radio shows for the Marine Air Reserve. Each show called for three songs.

A month before their enlistment was up, the Harmaniacs appeared on a prime-time television game show, " Two For The Money " with host Herb Shriner. Herb was a humorist and harmonica player and he allowed the Harmaniacs to perform a number before they played the game.

While serving as Marines, the Harmaniacs were offered a recording contract for four songs with RCA Victor records. By the time they became civilians again, the music industry had undergone a shift and RCA was no longer promoting harmonica groups. The record producers had their mind on something else - Elvis Presley. RCA offered to buy out their contract, but the Harmaniacs wanted to record, so the record company released two 45 rpm records and, to add insult to injury, they changed the name of the band to " The Leathernecks ". With their dreams of becoming recording stars going nowhere, Ed Sedor opted out of the music business, leaving Tony and Dom on their own. At this point they became The Fabulous Sgro Brothers and made a pact that they would never record or perform individually. It was together, or nothing.

Dom and Tony settled into the life of the hustling musician in New York City. They appeared with Herb Shriner, promoting his Hoosier Boy harmonica when it was released by the Hohner Harmonica Company. They also performed with an all-star group of harmonica players billed as Herb Shriner's Harmonica Orchestra which recorded four songs for one of Herb's record albums. The Harmonica Orchestra also appeared on the short-lived Herb Shriner Show on CBS TV. They also worked as studio musicians, recording harmonica parts ( including a great solo by Dom ) on Dinah Washington's "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof ".

During this time in New York the Sgro Brothers met the DiNardo sisters who were working as nurses in a New York hospital. The DiNardo sisters hailed from Hornell, New York. To shorten the story - Dom fell in love with one sister and Tony fell in love with the other and the two brothers married the two sisters.

After Dom's marriage, the Sgro Brothers were contacted by Johnny Puleo. At four feet, nine inches in height, Johnny Puleo had been the comedic star of the Harmonica Rascals . Borrah Minevitch had died and Johnny kept the band going, renaming it "Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang".

Johnny was looking for new talent and the Sgro Brothers were looking for steady work. Johnny Puleo had changed the dynamic of the group. Unlike Borrah Minevitch, he paid his musicians well and gave them extra for recording and television work. Johnny Puleo will go down in history as the band leader who recorded the first album released in STEREO, and on that recording were Dom and Tony Sgro. The Sgro Brothers went on to record six albums with Johnny Puleo. Two albums of Italian music were released and Dom Sgro played the lead solo part on every track.

The Sgro Brother's first gig with Johnny Puleo was at the Tropicana Club in (pre-Castro) Cuba. The band did a two-week booking in England, performing at the Palladium Theater in London. It served as a honeymoon trip for Tony. They toured the States and Canada while their wives returned to Hornell to set up their homes.

When the Sgro brothers had time off from toring they would fly into the Elmira-Corning Airport and then drive to Hornell. This led to renting an apartment in Elmira and, when they decided to leave Johnny Puleo's group, they settled in Elmira. They bought a restaurant and named it "Sgro's", performing there four or five nights a week. On Saturdays they played for wedding receptions or anywhere else that would hire them. They also took day jobs as representatives of the Metropolitan Insurance Co. In Tony's own words, "I wasn't really successful at it but Dom was." And so, during the years he was raising his family, Dom Sgro was selling insurance during by day and running a restaurant and performing at night. He had a tireless work ethic.

Before Dom and Tony sold their restaurant, they met country singer George Morgan. When he heard the Sgro brothers play he told them if they ever wanted a job they could travel with him doing "Nashville package shows". Their agent had also lined up work on cruise ships.

Selling the restaurant opened up more time for performing. They were featured guests on the "Nashville Now" television show and performed on the stage of the Grand Ol' Opry. They performed at the White House for President George Bush (the younger) and they were always ready to play smaller venues like the Moose Club in Horseheads.They even did some shows with a local bluegrass band called the Corning Grassworks . A point of pride for both brothers came when they were elected into Lou Holtz's Ohio Hall of Fame.

On a national level, Dom and Tony were special performers at harmonica conventions and, as they aged they became known as elder statesmen of the instrument. People who play the harmonica revere them as two of the best players ever. Truth be told, there aren't many harmonica players who can keep a dance floor occupied for an entire evening.

His remarkable and unconventional life may be over, but Dom Sgro lives on in the daughters he raised and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. he also lives in the music he left behind. Since we live in the age of recorded sound, his influence on the harmonica community will continue to inspire younger players as they discover his work.

Written by Ken VanEtten, who performed with the Sgro Brothers for more than 25 years.

Family and friends are invited to McInerny Funeral Home, 502 W. Water St., Elmira, on Thursday, September 17, 2026 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, September 18, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church, 604 Park Pl. Elmira with military honors to follow. The Mass will be livestreamed. Please click the following link to watch: Elmira Catholic - YouTube. Burial will take place at St. Mary's Cemetery in Hornell.