Joey Driscoll ’26 doesn’t need you to tell her she’s holding her violin wrong. Instead of searching for technical mastery and outside approval, you’ll find Joey learning new pieces and collaborating with peers. For emerging musicians, noncompetitive performance and unstructured creativity are sometimes scarce, but Joey reminds us of the power in embracing the art we love — for our own sake.
Joey has always been deeply immersed in music. Growing up in Woodstock, NY, she was no stranger to a vibrant music scene, bolstered by her parents’ early music careers. Her father was a singer and pianist in his 20s, while her mother sang and played the Irish whistle in Nashville’s Irish music scene. Woodstock, particularly its folk music, inspired Joey to learn the violin. Moved by the stirring melody and rhythmic pattern of “The Wizard’s Walk” by Jay Ungar, Joey began to teach herself folk violin by ear in the fourth grade. As she continued, she included more classical sonatas and concertos into her repertoire. While this may seem like a standard violin progression, Joey is uniquely self-taught. Without private instruction, Joey nurtured her love for music through her high school orchestra and its musical library.
When Joey arrived at Swarthmore, she considered a music minor, but quickly decided a less academic and more creative and experience-based approach would suit her better. Over the next three years, Joey was part of the College Orchestra and Lab Orchestra, the Fetter Chamber Music Program, and private music lessons through the college.
Joey found community and mentorship in the orchestras, crediting Director Andrew Hauze ’04 with creating an inclusive environment. “[Hauze] is incredible, so supportive and accepting of people from many different music backgrounds. Even as someone who is self-taught and who might not have the rigorous technical background that many of the students here have, I’ve been able to play first violin every semester,” Joey said. Although she is not in ensembles this semester, Joey looks forward to leading the second violin section next semester after encouragement from Hauze.
Along with the orchestra, Joey took advantage of a special music course offered at Swarthmore, MUSI 048, where students take subsidized private music lessons on campus. Although she is grateful for the opportunity, Joey admitted, “I wasn’t a huge fan of [lessons] because I grew up self-taught. Switching over to a lesson-based [way of learning] felt really weird.” She continued, “For me, [music] is really just for enjoyment. I don’t [desire to be] technically perfect. When I practice, I want it to be because I enjoy listening to the music I’m playing.” By staying true to her philosophy, Joey works beyond the strict parameters of classical music. In her practice, her main focus is always gratification, never perfection.
Last year, one of Joey’s childhood dreams came true. She was in a chamber music quartet that performed Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, a piece she had wanted to play since seventh grade. Joey collaborated with Kielor Tung ’25 (viola), Tabitha Parker-Theiss ’26 (violin), and Hannah Rowland-Seymour ’27 (cello) to breathe life into the fiery composition. The movement performed by the quartet drove forward with fervent urgency as instruments clashed with haunting harmonies and percussive bowings. Joey described the process of interpreting and working on the piece as empowering. Taking initiative, once again, to engage with music meaningfully.
Masterfully, Joey manages to balance her musical commitments with a double major in linguistics and educational studies. When asked how music can act as a language, Joey laughed and shared, “The theoretical linguist side of me [argues that], No, [music] is not [a language].” But she recognized that “[music] does function as communication. A lot can be said through music, a lot can be said without words.” This exemplifies Joey’s resonance with music. Instead of mechanically producing notes and rhythms, Joey creates an emotional connection with her audience and her collaborators. Joey knows bonds take time and effort, recalling “practicing for three months [with the Shostakovich quartet] on how to evoke emotion in an audience, and how to specifically work your instrument so that people feel something.” Although Joey spoke eloquently about the ways music draws emotion, she conceded, “Music cannot be condensed into words. It’s more than that.”
Music intersects with another important part of Joey’s life: the Deaf community. Joey is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and student teaches at The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Joey explained that deaf people often experience music by feeling dissonance through the vibrations of music. She incorporates music by creating songs that use rhyme and rhythm. ASL creates rhymes when similar handshapes are accompanied by dissimilar movements. She noted that these songs increase students’ phonemic awareness and help them understand how changes to signs impact meaning.
Like many Swarthmore musicians, Joey noted, “I had my fair share of competitive music in high school. I led my orchestra in high school, I did all-state [auditioned honor orchestra], all-county [auditioned honor orchestra], I played at all the big places, and did my solos.” In this next stage, however, Joey is taking a different approach. “I just want to say yes for fun.”
Near the end of the conversation, Joey admitted she was surprised to receive an Artist of the Week interview. “I really struggle with identifying as an artist.” Joey continued, “By saying I’m a musician, I’m presuming that I have some level of prowess. [I believe something important] about being an artist or musician is that you don’t have to be [an acclaimed performer] to [identify with the terms]. That’s something that I’ve been trying to come to terms with over the past few years. You can call yourself an artist because you love art. You don’t need to publish anything. You don’t even need to show anyone anything. Art can be really personal in that … you can do it for your own enjoyment, and that’s fine.” Joey embodies true artistic expression. Enthusiastic and intentional manifestations of emotion in both the artist and the art. Dissolving boundaries and expanding her joy — Joey is everything an artist should strive to be.
