About Rose City Folk School

Rose City Folk School was founded in 2018 in Portland, Oregon and is the brainchild of Leela Grace. The school is home to a variety of in person and virtual classes and lessons for all ages, as well as pop-up workshops and concerts. Our focus is on making the joy of music accessible and welcoming to all, regardless of background, "talent," or experience. We offer skilled, accessible instruction in clawhammer banjo, by-ear harmony singing, jamming, Appalachian clogging, and more. We provide exceptional and community-oriented instruction to anyone with a desire to learn (be you a complete beginner or an experienced musician seeking a new challenge). Find your voice. Find your joy. Find your community. All are welcome. 

From a student

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"Leela Grace is a vivacious, creative, inspiring, loving, knowledgable, and thoughtful teacher, performer, and musical mentor. Her breadth and depth of knowledge of her instruments and musical styles is astounding, but she somehow manages to avoid being intimidating. Leela builds confidence no matter the level of her students and I would recommend her to anyone, regardless of past musical experience or innate "talent". For Leela, music is community and love and joy, and it comes across in every note, every class, and every interaction. Take a class with Leela or catch one of her shows - you won't regret it!"

​Leela Grace

Founder & Primary Teacher

Leela Grace is a nationally-known singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, percussive dancer, and teacher of music and dance originally from Missouri. Since moving to Portland, Oregon in 2007, she has built a tremendous following, teaching popular banjo, by-ear harmony singing, and Appalachian clogging classes. She has also made a name for herself performing locally and nationally as a solo artist, with her sister, Ellie Grace (as Leela and Ellie Grace), and with some of the finest musicians in the Northwest. To every lesson, every performance, and every class, she brings a wealth of experience, a seemingly infinite enthusiasm for sharing the joy of music, and a deep commitment to making music accessible to all. 

Leela has performed and taught for over 30 years, starting out as a young child in a family band. Over the years, she has earned critical and audience praise for the "great depth and insight" of her original songs, which have been featured on NPR's All Songs Considered and chosen for inclusion on a "Best of Portland Acoustic Music" compilation CD. She picked up the banjo as a young teen and has developed her own exceptional clawhammer banjo style, marked by clear, bright melodies and powerful rhythm. Leela is also recognized as a dynamic percussive dancer whose style draws most strongly from Appalachian clogging, but also incorporates Irish step dance, rhythm tap, and body percussion.

In the midst of a global pandemic, a world literally and figuratively on fire, and a seemingly endless array of injustices mounting, Leela is raising young children and seeking small, imperfect ways to make a difference. She hopes to use her music and her teaching to uplift her fellow humans, fight for the most vulnerable, and bring her intersecting and often far-flung communities together in harmony. 

You can find more about Leela at leelagracemusic.com.

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