♪ Russell Graham ♪

CATCH RUSSELL GRAHAM AND TANYA DIONA on NBC's "THE SINGING BEE"
Tanya and Russell are proud to be members of Ray Chew & The Groove on NBC's "The Singing Bee" - please tune in!
Russell Graham first showed an interest in the piano at age three, and began his formal musical training a year later. He studied classical and jazz piano, as well as jazz theory and vocal technique, at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School and at Eastman School of Music, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Composition from Harvard University. In 2005 Russell completed a two-year private class with Richard Pinter, head of acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse in Manhattan.
Russell entered the professional music world in his early teens, playing with bands in clubs and at private events. Now a keyboardist and guitarist for Ray Chew And The Crew (house band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and for the TV show Showtime At The Apollo), Russell has played and/or sung with a staggering list of artists, ranging from Ashford & Simpson to Chaka Khan to Dionne Warwick to Ruben Studdard to Fantasia Barrino to Sting to Elvis Costello to Smokey Robinson to Nile Rodgers & CHIC to Kirk Franklin to Stevie Wonder to James Taylor to Omarion and beyond.
Russell has written music and lyrics for ballet and musical theater, and has been a session musician with artists including Shaggy, RikRok, Prince Mydas, Freddie McGregor, and Maxi Priest. In addition to his live performance skills, he currently works as a songwriter and producer, creating original material for himself, in collaboration with his fiancée, Tanya Diona, and also for up-and-coming recording artists.