Sarah's experience as a piano teacher and ethnomusicologist have taught her the fundamental role that music plays in societies throughout the world. Born in France and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Sarah began classical piano studies with Erika Nickrenz at age six and attributes much of her love for playing and teaching piano to her. Playing and teaching music are two of Sarah's greatest joys. She believes in the skills, such as focused listening, and in the dedication required for learning an instrument. Striving to provide students with a solid basis for the lifelong enjoyment of playing music, she focuses on technique, reading music, theory, and interpretation, while also encouraging students to develop their musicianship through improvisation and composition.

As a music major at Amherst College, Sarah received the Sophia Lerner Piano Award and graduated magna cum laude with a written and performance thesis on Cuban classical piano repertoire. It was the fieldwork component of this project, in Cuba, that initiated her interest in ethnomusicology. She went on to earn a MA in Ethnomusicology from the City University of New York and is completing a PhD in Ethnomusicology at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her dissertation focuses on Occitan music of southern France.

Sarah has performed in numerous capacities. Formative performance opportunities included those at Alice Tully Hall, as a winner of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center competition, and at New York City's Town Hall. She has since performed in chamber ensembles in New England, Milan, and Vienna and as an accompanist. Since moving to Vermont, she has performed with violinist Emily Sunderman and is currently collaborating with guitarist Dayve Huckett.

In addition to teaching independently for many years, Sarah taught piano for the Third Street Music Street Settlement in New York City. She is delighted to be on the faculty of the Middlebury Community Music Center, where she has taught piano since the school's founding.