Ruth Ahlers has performed with big bands including the Diva Jazz Orchestra and the New Xavier Cugat Orchestra, and was an adjunct woodwind instructor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. She also performed at the Yellowstone Jazz Festival in Cody, WY. She has performed with The Monclair Women's Big Band, soul bands Stax City and Soul Section, The Women of Brazil (with Fabiana Passoni, Téka, Stephanie Ozer and Ami Molinelli,) Graham Bruce’s Seventh Avenu, big bands, saxophone quartets, and jazz groups from duos through octets. She has been a mentor in educational programs for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and, as such, had the opportunity to perform with fellow faculty members including Babatunde Lea, Teodross Avery, Frank Martin, Gary Brown, Tiffany Austin, Bennett Friedman, Randy Vincent, Kendrick Freeman, Doug Liebinger, Carlitos Medrano, and Cliff Hugo. She was a longtime member of SambaNoma (a Brazilian-tinged jazz group,) and currently appears with her own groups Quarteto Novo and Banda de Cenoura as well as freelancing around the North Bay.