Clarinetist and bass clarinetist Sarah Connors recently obtained her master’s degree in Clarinet Performance at Temple University as a student of Paul R. Demers. Previously, Sarah earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory/Composition and Clarinet Performance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her musical mentors include Bixby Kennedy, Salvatore Macchia, Romie de Guise-Langlois, Michael Caudill, and Alfred Dentino. As well as teaching at Temple Prep, Sarah is on the faculty for the Antioch Music School and maintains an active online studio.
In addition to teaching, Sarah is engaged in many facets of music, active as a classical performer, liturgical musician, composer, and music theorist. An avid supporter of new music, she has premiered works by fellow composers Hugo Antonio Miranda, Eliza Howells and Jess Larsen. 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 been involved in liturgical music for over nine years, whether as a clarinetist, cantor, or music director. Her home parish is St. Augustine’s in Old City, Philadelphia. When not involved in music, Sarah loves to try new recipes, explore Philadelphia’s many local coffee shops, and make handmade cards.