Russ Faunce

Biography

Russ Faunce has spent more than four decades at the piano as a piano teacher, accompanist, musical director and choral director, building a career grounded in the everyday craft of teaching music through his keyboard skills. At Syracuse University, he teaches Functional Piano, helping music education students develop the practical keyboard skills that will carry them into any classroom or rehearsal room with comfort and ease.

Faunce is a graduate of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree with a performance concentration in piano. He began his professional journey as a music educator in the Watertown City School District (WCSD), where he inspired high school students through vibrant choral ensembles, musical theater programs and instructional piano. His success in WCSD classrooms led to leadership and administrative roles within the district, overseeing comprehensive academic and extracurricular initiatives with a focus on student-centered learning and equity.

Following his 34-year career in Watertown, Faunce returned to the Crane School of Music, where he has facilitated student teachers in the Central New York area for the past 10 years. His additional contributions to higher education include group and applied instruction at SUNY Jefferson, where his teaching load included Foundational Piano Class, Applied Piano, Fundamentals of Music and Music Theory. He continues to give private piano and voice instruction, working one-on-one with students to build technique, musicianship and confidence.

Faunce’s approach to functional piano favors fluency over formality: he believes that using the piano in the classroom should feel effortless and second nature, not something requiring conscious thought, so teachers can focus on their students, not their hands. His approach comes less from theory and more from time spent at the piano playing, listening and teaching others to do the same.

Education

• M.M., B.M., SUNY Potsdam, Crane School of Music