Bio
Sarah Parker is a composer, saxophonist, and improviser whose music contemplates patient stillness and explosive chaos. Described as “imaginative” and “nicely out of the box,” her conceptual writing explores themes of nature, memory, translations of research into musical material, and the analysis and manipulation of real-life sonic phenomena. She has composed for wind ensemble, orchestra, string quartet, and numerous contemporary chamber ensembles. Her music has been performed by airborne extended, Rebekah Heller and Dan Lippel of International Contemporary Ensemble, SPLICE, Sound Icon, the New Composer’s String Quartet, Wieldflower Arts, the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, and the Berklee Symphonic Winds.
Her recent work, so many warnings of an eternal future draws parallels between sonic interruptions noted in Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s historic memoirs to the ever-present distractions of our time. This electroacoustic saxophone quartet is part of her exploration of music as resistance against the attention economy. Sarah believes that by choosing what to listen to and committing for the entire duration of a piece, we can reclaim our attention and turn it towards things that give us deeper meaning.
Her approach to the saxophone is fueled by a sense of openness, experimentation, improvisation, and a passion for ultra-gritty multiphonics. She is drawn to augmenting the saxophone by adding tubes, percussive preparations, effects pedals, and other electronics to create a captivating and unique sound world. She has over a decade of experience performing in wind ensembles, marching bands, and chamber groups, and regularly performs new works by living composers.
Sarah is pursuing her M.M. in Composition at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studies with composer Sky Macklay. Sarah earned a B.M. in Composition from the Berklee College of Music, where she studied with Marti Epstein and Nomi Epstein. While at Berklee, Sarah was awarded the Amy Beach Composition Award.
She is also a former competitive dog show handler, embroidery/fiber artist, self-proclaimed bad meditator, avid meanderer, kayaker, vegan-food enjoyer, and nature enthusiast. She is based in Baltimore, MD.
Photo by Britt Olsen-Ecker
