Biography
Sara began to play the piano aged four and the cello aged seven, joining the National Youth Orchestra at thirteen. At the age of sixteen she was offered places at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, but opted to study at the Royal Northern College of Music where she gained her G.Mus. with honours. From there she went on to study at the Royal College of Music, taking an Advanced Performers Course and gaining her Diploma RCM (teachers) with honours.
Photograph of Sara courtesy of Bruno Schrecker
Influences
In Manchester, Sara studied with Raphael Sommer and in London with Joan Dickson, Nancy Green and later Bruno Schrecker. As a winner of the Norman Educational Foundation trust, she also played in numerous masterclasses both in England and abroad, notably with Ralph Kirschbaum, Zara Nelsova and Arto Noras.
Career to date
Sara has played in concerts at the Lucerne festivals; at the International Cello Festival in Nemours, France and has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras, most recently the English Baroque Ensemble. She has both recorded and broadcast live for radio, recorded for film and appeared in solo recitals and talks for festivals and music societies throughout the UK, Canada, the EU and Switzerland to wide acclaim, and currently works with several chamber ensembles as well. Sara has been teaching for over twenty years and has an elite teaching practice in the SouthWest of England, which concentrates on the use of accelerated learning techniques both up to and including degree and diploma level. She gives talks, workshops and masterclasses on the subject of accelerated learning.
Her first book, 'Cellotude - a Fast track to Brilliance', has already been highly acclaimed by the conductors Peter Stark and Marin Alsop, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music, Chetham's School of Music and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and was published by Beautiful Books Ltd.
Sara produced her first CD in 2004, which resulted in a highly acclaimed double album release of the Bach Cello Suites in May 2005. She has been described as a 'musical dynamo' by Musical Opinion and completed a highly successful solo tour of Eastern Canada in May 2006. Recent performances include the Brahms 'Double' concerto, the Haydn C major concerto and many other concerts - the latest recital being with Nicholas Oliver at St Georges, Bristol.
