Biography

Leading up to college, Sara studied with two-time Emmy-nominated composer, Leonard Azzarello, and Texas Medical Center Orchestra conductor, Libi Lebel.  She finished her Bachelor of Arts in Music at Brooklyn College on full scholarship, as the only music major in the inaugural Macaulay Honors College.  Sara completed her Master's degree under the eminent Peter Basquin, former head of the Piano Department at Hunter College.  She holds a Permanent Professional Certification with Music Teachers National Association, and has taught at Brooklyn College Preparatory Center and Westminster Conservatory in Princeton.  For the last ten years, Sara has been on the piano faculty of Tampa Bay Music Academy.  Through several of her most formative instructors, including Ena Bronstein-Barton and Peter Basquin, she can trace her teaching lineage back to Franz Liszt and Carl Czerny.  

Sara's students have been accepted into piano and composition programs at Westminster Choir College, Berklee College of Music, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Florida State University, University of South Florida, Loyola University New Orleans, and more.  Sara has performed as a soloist and accompanist across the United States, as well as in Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain.  She has a keen interest in personal development and performance anxiety, and was able to further explore other interests when she completed a second Master's degree in Political Science at Brooklyn College in 2009.