Sarah was born in Wigan, Lancashire where she began learning cornet at the age of eight, and went on to attend the Royal Northern College of Music Junior School and Chetham’s School of Music. In 2009, she received a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music with Paul Beniston where she graduated with a First Class Honours Degree, before completing a Master of Arts in trumpet performance at the Royal Academy of Music.
Sarah is in demand as a versatile orchestral player throughout London and the rest of the UK. Recent appearances include with the Philharmonia Orchestra, performing at the BBC Proms with the London Sinfonietta, and recording a series of new commissions for the BBC John Cage Music Walk. Sarah has also appeared on television and radio, recently recording Christmas and Easter Songs of Praise with a brass quintet for the BBC, performing live on BBC Radio 3 as part of Wagner Week and in live concert broadcasts from the Barbican. Sarah also performs as a soloist, with upcoming recitals in London and Surrey.
Sarah has an active interest in music education and has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as part of their education and outreach projects. Current projects include helping to set up the East London Music Group, a new organisation which exists to present brilliant, professional performances of exciting music in East London. The group will connect with the community through performances, workshops in schools, work with local amateur musicians, and work at secondary schools and higher education institutions.
Which three people, living or dead, would you like to have dinner with.
Stravinsky – I find his music and the circumstances it was written fascinating. He seemed to know everyone who was artistically important while he was alive.
Caitlin Moran – I love her book How to be a Woman and I share a lot of her views on feminism and what it means to be a woman today. She seems like she is full of life and doesn’t hold back.
Ella Fitzgerald – one of my favourite singers; an amazing, inspirational female musician. Maybe she would sing for me too?!
What’s on your playlist right now?
The Book of Mormon soundtrack; Adele 21; Sibelius Symphonies - Sir Simon Rattle and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet – Valery Gergiev and London Symphony Orchestra
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise us.
I was on You’ve Been Framed when I was a baby – my parents sent in a video of me sitting on a balloon which pops and I cry. A lot.