Meet Josée Klein | Artistic Director and Owner of Rhose Studio Strings

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josée Klein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josée, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I wanted the freedom to make my own decisions and the flexibility to run my own company from wherever! I had such a strong vision of where I wanted to take my company and my music. I knew there would be struggles along the way as a new business owner, but I knew I had grown a great community around me to help me through. I’m the proud owner of my own wedding and event strings company, Rhose Studio Strings.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
This is my fifth year working professionally in the Nashville wedding and event industry, but I’ve been working as a professional musician for about 12 years. I love telling the story about how in middle school and high school, a group of string players from my hometown in Wisconsin and I started up a wedding ensemble. With our moms as our managers and personal drivers, we performed all over West Bend, WI and Milwaukee, WI. Those were the days! We (I) had no idea what we were doing, it was just such a cool opportunity to get started in something so professional at a young age.
I obviously give a lot of credit to my mom and dad, who paid for music lessons and very expensive instruments while growing up and sacrificed their time driving me all over the place. It’s so hard to pursue music without that support. And the teachers that were hard on me and helped me when I struggled, that was important too. I was very involved in youth orchestras in the Milwaukee area (the Milwaukee Symphony Youth Orchestra and others) which provided exceptional leadership and mentorship.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve had many friends visit me in Nashville! Broadway is always a big hit. I’ve taken friends to the Nashville Parthenon, Nashville Shores in the summertime, dancing at Wildhorse Saloon, shopping in 12 South, hiking, Five Daughters Bakery. Food is always a big draw here. My parents came down to see me perform with Smokey Robinson at the Ryman and that was cool. I’m really enjoying Assembly Food Hall these days for a bite of local food while downtown. Hampton Social is great for drinks with a view. You can’t go wrong with the Nashville Symphony or a musical at TPAC. Lastly, I always take my friends and family who are visiting to the Union Station Hotel where my string company, Rhose Studio Strings, has a weekly Friday night residency.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. Growing up, I saw my dad work day in and day out to provide for our family with his own construction business. There were hard years and there were winning years. To my young eyes, he always kept the faith and provided an excellent example of a provider and business owner. He truly cared about his customers and still does to this day. When I got married in 2022, I also married into a family of entrepreneurs. Both my husband, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law all run their own companies! It’s inspiring to see their hard work, craftsmanship, care, growth, and ultimate joy in doing what they love everyday and helping people.

Website: https://www.rhosestudiostrings.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhosestudiostrings?igsh=ZDk3M2Rmbnplb3E0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/fwk3q7naX5AaWT7z/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rhosestudiostrings?si=5WnZiGg5iFv7vmul

Other: We’ll he releasing music on Spotify soon (classical and pop), so check there this summer!

Image Credits
Photographers:
Rachel Santos
Kathy Thomas
Charlie Colleton
Isaiah Mitchell
Josée Klein