photo by William McCrary

Nicole Russell (b. 1997) is an African-American and Mexican-American composer, pianist, and vocalist born and raised in Austin, Texas. Her work includes art songs, choral music, chamber music, band music, and electro-acoustic music.

Her work was featured on the Calliope’s Call “Sounds of Unity” program and the 2019 Women in Music Festival on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women. She was also a selected student composer for the 2019 CISUM Percussion Workshop in New York City, and will be a composer fellow at the upcoming 2021 Alba Music Composition Festival. Nicole is an active pianist and mezzo-soprano, performing as a soloist or accompanist in styles from classical to jazz. She has a background in teaching private lessons in piano and voice, and previously worked at Central Christian Church in San Antonio, Texas, singing alto in the Chancel Choir and also playing with the Handbell Choir.
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Nicole completed her bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and is pursuing her master’s in Music Theory and Composition at New York University. Her past teachers include Ethan Wickman, James Syler, and Andrew Lloyd.
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