Clarinetist and bass clarinetist Sarah Connors is obtaining her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance at Temple University as a student of Paul R. 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.
Sarah can be heard on the album “Synchronous,” recorded by Greg Spiridopoulos and the UMass Wind Ensemble, and the upcoming. 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 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 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, producing fragmental material that inspired a work for clarinet and piano called The Human Obscured.
Sarah has participated as a singer and/or clarinetist in liturgical ministry for over seven years, and was a featured St. Cecelia Scholar at St. Katherine’s of Siena in Wayne, PA in 2025. She currently directs 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.