Hi, I’m Russle! I’m a folk musician, visual artist, and teacher to all ages in Philadelphia. As a little kid, I loved to sing and perform – I would belt out show tunes from the front porch and the bathtub, leading me to a lifetime of music! I grew up playing Suzuki violin for nearly a decade as well as violin in my school’s orchestra and briefly trombone in the school band. Additionally, I sang as an alto in my school chorus and in the youth choir at my local UU church from K-12! As my relationship to music changed, I also taught myself piano and guitar while growing up. I began improvising original songs and have been songwriting ever since, with an interest in fiddle and folk music. 

As a student at Oberlin College, I began teaching interdisciplinary arts to students k-8 and to my college peers, including topics in music, fiber, and dance. Now based in Philadelphia, I teach interdisciplinary music and art to kids and adults in many capacities. I also organize music sessions where I sing, play guitar/violin/autoharp/piano, and play with found objects to create collaborative improvisational songs with my friends! Additionally, I’m a part of the Spiral Q Peoplehood Pageant Band and the No Arena Flash Chorus. 

As a teacher, I am warm, patient, and curious, and I believe everyone has the capacity to be an artist. I love teaching all ages in creative, interdisciplinary ways that center confidence, skill building, experimentation, and improvisational play!

When did you begin playing Violin, and why?

I began playing violin around 1st grade when my mom signed me up for classical suzuki lessons seeing that I loved music. I also took small group suzuki lessons with the same teacher for a few years, and played in my school orchestras. After playing throughout grade school for nearly a decade, I picked up violin again to learn improvisation, folk, and fiddle music.

What other instruments do you play, and what is your experience with them?

I sang as an alto in my UU church choir for 12 years and I sing daily with my other instruments when songwriting. I play intermediate guitar and beginner piano, from being self/community taught over the past 10-20 years including ~1 year of lessons for each. I also play beginner autoharp from being self/community taught, and beginner trombone from 1 year in middle school band!

What are your personal goals as a musician?

I hope to continue fiddling, playing folk music, and collaborating with other musicians! I’d like to produce and publish my music, improvisation processes, and found audios. I’d also like to gain more experience performing in different contexts. Developing my music teaching practice is also a personal passion project through which I aim to achieve a deeper understanding of my instruments and pedagogies.

Do you have a memory of a time when a musical concept or technique really clicked?  Something you’ll remember forever?

In lessons with my violin teacher, I will always remember drawing with different colors in my sheet music to indicate mood changes in the story within Humoresque. This experience helped instill the importance of connecting emotionally with the instrument and the song, of thinking of songs as journeys or stories, and how powerful it can be for a student to have their learning style and strengths validated and catered to.

What is your favorite piece of advice from one of your past (or current) teachers?

My violin teacher framed repetition as building muscle memory, emphasizing whatever is repeated will stick. This motivated me to be diligent and detail-oriented when practicing specific techniques and was a nice way to think about the brain and body while playing. I learned to tune into my physical experience and notice how my body is always listening and learning too, alongside my brain.

What was your most challenging moment learning an instrument?

I had a classical piano teacher in childhood who took a traditional approach that was too rigid for me, being that I tended to learn intuitively and by ear. After around one school year I ended the lessons, but I maintained a positive relationship with the piano through improvisation and experiencing other teaching methods!

What is your biggest musical achievement?

Learning to comfortably improvise with myself and with others and gaining confidence in my composition has helped me to find endless therapy and connection through music. Each time I improvise or collaborate and get into a satisfying flow, the healing feeling in my body or the collective joy created is my new favorite musical achievement!

Favorite thing about teaching?

I love fostering a flow of creativity, collaborating with students, and supporting students in overcoming challenges. All of these can foster a sense of belonging and closeness with oneself, and is an honor to witness and facilitate.

What is a piece of advice you would like to share with anyone learning music?

Music is an expression, so it can sound any way. Mistakes can be portals and we can make satisfying music at any skill level when approached playfully! Music, like drawing or movement, can provide a mirror to see, accept, soothe and push yourself.

Personal music projects:

• I hosted a Porchfest variety show in 2024 where I got to play my original music arranged with a group, and perform in a live collaborative improv musical comedy set! In addition to daily songwriting on guitar, violin, piano, and voice, I love to pass folk tunes and play improv with friends and community. I also play violin in the Spiral Q Peoplehood Pageant Band and sing in the No Arena Flash Chorus.