A Massachusetts native, Clarinetist Sarah Connors is obtaining her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance at Temple University as a student of Paul Demers. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory/Composition and Clarinet Performance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, studying with Bixby Kennedy, Romie de Guise-Langlois, and Salvatore Macchia. She has participated in masterclasses with Steve Cohen, Alicia Lee, Philip Paglialonga, and Welsey Ferriera. Sarah can be heard on the album “Synchronous,” recorded by Greg Spiridopoulos and the UMass Wind Ensemble, and performed in Ecuador with the ensemble in 2024. An avid supporter of new music, she has premiered works by fellow composers Eliza Howells and Jess Larsen. Sarah also teaches clarinet and saxophone for the Community Music Scholars Program.

Equally talented as a clarinetist and researcher, she won the Charles Moran Best Text Award for her paper “Separating Debussy from Impressionism: How Non-Western Scale Patterns, Parallel Harmony, and Heterophonic Orchestration Truly Create the Unique Sound of Debussy” in 2022.  Her undergraduate thesis, “Thinking Like Debussy: Algorithmic, Social, and Statistical Approaches” continued this research using Artificial Intelligence and inspired a work for clarinet and piano called The Human Obscured.

As a lifelong Catholic, Sarah has participated as a singer and/or clarinetist in liturgical ministry for over seven years. She currently organizes the choir and cantors for the Temple University Newman Center. When not involved in music, Sarah loves to try new recipes, craft, or spend time with loved ones.