Judith Insell, violist and an established Music Education Advocate & Consultant, is a native New Yorker who openly cites that her career as a musician began with her introduction to the viola in her public middle school in the Bronx. She feels fortunate to have continued her musical studies at LaGuardia High School, the Juilliard School, Pre-College Division and then received both her Undergraduate and Master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

As a Music Education Administrator, Ms. Insell previously held the positions of Director of Music at the Harlem School of the Arts and Assistant Director of Instrumental Studies at Mannes College, The New School for Music. She also headed the string programs at three NYC institutions: The Collegiate School, The Juilliard School- MAP Program and The Bloomingdale School of Music.

Throughout her career as a music educator, Ms. Insell has instructed multitudes of students in the art of string playing, the skill of improvisation, and the rich history behind music and its’ most notable composers.

Serving the Harlem community, Ms. Insell is the former 2nd Vice Chair of Community Board 9, serving on 2 Sub-Committees: the Arts and Cultural Committee and the Youth, Education, and Libraries Committee. She is also a Community Board 9 Representative for the “Uptown Education Collaborative” and the Teacher’s College Community School (SLT) “School Leadership Team.”

Ms. Insell has also lent her expertise to American Center for Musical Arts as a member of their Board of Trustees and has participated in grant adjudication panels for the City Parks Foundation and Harlem Arts Alliance.

Ms. Insell is a proud recipient of a “2012 Community Heroes for Education Award,” presented by the office of NYC Councilman Robert Jackson.

As a performer, Ms. Insell continues to be an active violist on the classical, jazz, Broadway, rock and pop music scenes. Past collaborations include performances with the New Jersey Symphony, The National Chorale Orchestra, Lee Konitz, Greg Osby, Miquel Zenon, Beyonce, India.Arie, John Cale and Suzanne Vega.

She has also performed on Broadway in the orchestras for Gypsy, Ms. Saigon, Tommy, Carousel, and Kiss of the Spider Woman.

She is currently a member of the Greenwich Symphony and performs regularly with her avant guard jazz trio: “Twisted Standard.”