Awards, Festivals, & Prizes
2008 Featured Recording Artist, Stewart Title Holiday CD
2007 Artist Diploma, Indiana University
2007 7th USA International Harp Competition, Bloomington, IN
2007 Victor Salvi Awards, Finalist, Chicago, IL
2006 Aspen Summer Music Festival, Aspen, CO
2006 Harp Instructor, University of Nevada, Reno
2006 Principal Harpist, Reno Chamber Orchestra
2005 3rd Prize, AHS National Harp Competition, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Travel Grant Award Recipient, Indiana University
2004 6th USA International Harp Competition, Bloomington, IN
2004 Master's Degree, Harp Performance, Indiana University
2003 Anne Adams Award Winner, National Contest, Salt Lake City, UT
2003 4th Prize, AHS National Harp Competition, Salt Lake City, UT
2002 Bachelor's Degree in Music, Indiana University
2002 Anne Adams Award Finalist, National Contest, St. Paul, MN
2001 5th USA International Harp Competition, Bloomington, IN
2001 Anne Adams Award Finalist, National Contest, Baltimore, MD
1998 13th International Harp Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel
1994-1999 Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Lenox, MA
1995 Concerto Soloist, Houston Symphony, Educators Concert
1995 Concerto Soloist, Brazosport Symphony
1995 Concerto Soloist, Texas Music Festival, Houston, TX
1995 All-State 1st Chair, Harp, San Antonio, TX
1994 All-State 1st Chair, Harp, San Antonio, TX
1992 All-State 1st Chair, Harp, San Antonio, TX
Sara grew up in Lake Jackson, TX. At the age of eight she was inspired to begin piano lessons after hearing the Van Halen song Jump. After three years of piano lessons she also took up the
harp. During the first several years of playing she studied with Maria O'Brien and Bea Rose, former harpist with the Houston Symphony. During the summers she attended Susann McDonald Masterclasses in Indiana and Switzerland and spent five consecutive summers with Lucile Lawrence at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts. Sara studied in Boston, Houston, and New York prior to enrolling at Indiana University where she completed three degrees in harp performance. Indiana University has the largest harp department in the world and is also home to the USA International Harp Competition. Both the department and competition are headed by Susann McDonald, Artistic Director and founder of the World Harp Congress. While at Indiana Sara completed her Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, and Artist Diploma with Miss McDonald in harp performance. For her Artist Diploma audition Sara was the only candidate to be admitted unanimously by the 10 member panel, which included the Dean of the School of Music as well as other distinguished music professors. She has also competed in several national and international harp competitions including the USA International Harp Competition, The International Harp Contest in Israel, The American Harp Society Competition, and The Anne Adams Awards. She has garnered several top prizes in national competitions and has given many noteworthy performances.
In 2006 she attended the Aspen Music Festival and studied with Nancy Allen, New York Philharmonic Principal Harpist, and Gretchen Van Hoesen, Pittsburgh Symphony Principal Harpist. During that summer Sara performed Britten's Opera Albert Herring with ACE, conducted by Robert Spano. She currently lives and performs throughout the Houston area. For a more detailed listing of previous experience please visit the Awards page.
Venues Teachers Susann McDonald, Indiana University
Ashton Gardens, Houston, TX
Brady's Landing, Houston, TX
Chateau Polonez, Houston, TX
Courtyard on St. James, Houston, TX
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion The Woodlands, TX
Endeavor Marina, Clear Lake, TX
Fontenot Grand Mansion, Spring, TX
The Gallery, Houston, TX
The Galvez, Galveston, TX
George Ranch, Richmond, TX
Groovey Grill Mansion, Houston, TX
The Grotto, Houston, TX
Harrah's at Lake Tahoe, CA
Immaculate Conception, Houston, TX
Jones Hall, The Wortham, Houston, TX
JW Marriott, Houston, TX
The Magnolia Hotel, Houston, TX
Marriott West Loop, Houston TX
Oakwind Bed & Breakfast, Alvin, TX
The Parador, Houston, TX
The Plaza Club, Shell Building
Ritz Carlton, Houston, TX
Signature Manor, Houston, TX
St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica, Galveston, TX
St. Patrick's Chruch, Galveston, TX
St. Regis Hotel, Houston, TX
The Tuscany Villa, Katy, TX
Vargo's, Houston, TX
The Vineyards of Waverly Manor, Huntsville, TX
Walden Yacht Club, Montgomery, TX
The Westlake Club, Houston, TX
Lucile Lawrence, Boston University
Nancy Allen, Aspen Music Festival
Gretchen Van Hoesen, Aspen Music Festival
Bea Rose, Houston, TX
Maria O'Brien, Houston, TX
Indiana University, 2002, During McDonald Sabbatical
Naoko Yoshino
Jana Buskova
Sebastian Lipman
Isabelle Perin