Russell Haight

Associate Professor

Office: Zankel Music Center 118
Phone: 518-580-5332
Email:  rhaight@record-room.com

Bio:

Russell Haight is Associate Professor of Saxophone and coordinator of the jazz program at Skidmore College in upstate New York. In the jazz idiom he has performed with luminaries such as Bobby Shew, Bill Watrous, Jim McNeely, and George Duke; in the commercial idiom, he has performed with Christopher Cross and earned a Grammy nomination with blues artist Ruthie Foster in 2021. His album Go Forth, released on OA2 Records, recently won a Silver Medal in the Global Music Awards, as did his 2017 release, Destination. In 2019, he released his book, Odd-Meter Etudes for Saxophone with Mel Bay Publishers. He has presented and performed at the International Saxophone Symposium, North American Saxophone Alliance, Jazz Education Network, and Texas Music Educators Association conferences and presented clinics throughout the US and abroad. He earned his Doctorate from The University of Texas in 2009 where his dissertation won the prestigious Outstanding Dissertation Award. Prior to joining Skidmore College, he was based in Austin, Texas, where he maintained at active performance schedule and taught at Texas State University for 12 years.