ABOUT
Music Meets Mindfulness
Vocal Awakening is rooted in the belief that you already are a singer capable of touching people’s hearts simply by being you.
I created this approach to provide a safe space that will help you awaken to the power and beauty of your voice, encourage and inspire you, and equip you with solid vocal and artistic skills so that you can sound and feel amazing, make great music, have FUN, and shine your unique light and love in the world.
-Ruth Levy
Hi there, here’s a bit about me….
How far back should we go?
I was practically raised at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. I started there at age five as a precocious and serious conservatory kid who won competitions and awards. For a good portion of my adult life, I was a professional classical pianist, performing as a soloist, teaching music and accompanying singers for a living. But despite my success, I craved a more direct and personal connection with the audience.
I wanted to write and sing my own songs.
Singing was always part of my life, but writing my own songs and singing them in public made me feel vulnerable and stretched me out of my comfort zone. Playing NYC venues like Rockwood Music Hall and the Bitter End was a long way from Lincoln Center and the classical concert halls I was used to. My unique singing journey and the wide range of artistic experiences I've had as a musician is what enables me to coach my clients on their music with both skill and sensitivity.
Before Vocal Awakening...
I was a certified vocal technique instructor with the Speech Level Singing organization for over six years and maintained my own studio in Manhattan. I led singing workshops internationally from Buenos Aires to Tel Aviv and at holistic centers like the NY Open Center, all while performing regularly with my band and teaching Yoga at the Juilliard School and the City University of New York. Before that, I chaired the Piano Department of the Boy’s Choir of Harlem school, studied mantra singing in India and even sang in a salsa band - true story.
So that’s my professional story, but who am I, really?
When I’m not ‘vocal awakening’ anybody or doing my own music or writing, I can be found vacuuming cat fur, volunteering at an animal sanctuary, enjoying nature walks, baking vegan pumpkin pie, dancing in the living room, and dreaming about traveling the world in a tiny house on wheels that somehow, magically, has enough space for my grand piano.