ABOUT THE ARTIST Sara Powell, Saxophone
Sara Powell is a concert saxophonist native of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. Sara received her Bachelor of Music and is currently working on her Master of Music in Saxophone Performance at the Wells School of Music at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Music has been a part of Sara’s life for a long time. At the age of five, Sara started playing piano and continued lessons for many years. She started her saxophone endeavors at nine years old on alto and transitioned to tenor saxophone as her primary instrument at 12. Sara attended Red Land High School in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania and was involved in the band and choir programs within the school. At the Wells School of Music, Sara has been studying with Jonathan Ragonese for the last six years and has been an active participant in West Chester University’s Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, Saxophone Ensemble, saxophone quartets, and many other chamber music groups. The WCU Wind Ensemble, directed by Andrew Yozviak, has given Sara countless opportunities. She is on three different CD’s that the Wind Ensemble has recorded including Cenotaph (2020), Ribbons (2022), and one to come in 2025. In summer of 2022 Sara traveled to southern Germany with the wind ensemble and had many performance opportunities. Sara completed her undergraduate program only studying tenor saxophone, but in the past several years she has been exploring the soprano and alto saxophones. After graduating, Sara taught private piano, saxophone, and clarinet lessons. In between degrees, Sara had the opportunity to be a featured soloist with the Camp Hill United Methodist Church Bell Choir for a performance at the Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion for a holiday open house in December of 2023. Sara frequently is asked to perform with the church's orchestra, choir, and bell choir, on a variety of instruments and vocals. Sara takes pleasure in performing contemporary classical music, especially works using extended techniques that highlight unique ways of creating sounds out of the saxophone. Sara is a proud member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and hopes to gain opportunities from the organization. Sara is a dedicated supporter of women and non-binary people in music and strives to make the music community a more welcoming space. She strives to create a safe space for her students and colleagues to be creative and express themselves meaningfully.