Sarah’s Story
Born in Spartanburg, SC and raised in Alpharetta, GA, Sarah Gibson was enamored with music at an early age. She begged her parents for piano lessons and it quickly paid off. By the time she graduated high school, Sarah was an accomplished performer — winning competitions and playing with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. She was already making waves as a composer, too, and went to Indiana University, double majoring in piano performance and music composition. Sarah later received an MFA and a DMA from the University of Southern California.
Sarah was known as a warm and passionate instructor, eager to share her love for new musical ideas. She taught at USC, Colburn, the University of California - Santa Barbara, and most recently, California State University - Long Beach. She also spent ten years as a teaching artist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Composer Fellowship Program, in which she mentored high school-aged composers and facilitated the performances of their original compositions.
Sarah also rapidly became a fixture in the new music community, especially within Los Angeles. As a performer, she had a reputation as a first-rate collaborator. Her piano duo HOCKET (with Thomas Kotcheff), which the Los Angeles Times deemed “brilliant,” was a constant in the L.A. new music scene, performing frequently and commissioning dozens of new pieces, which quickly led to booking performances around the country. HOCKET’s success in the field led to Sarah and Thomas’ induction as CORE artists into PianoSpheres, a premiere collective of pianists who focus on new music.
Sarah’s compositions, meanwhile, gained increasing notice. She regularly channeled her passions and curiosities into inventive pieces for everything from solo piano to full orchestra. She received a Copland House Residency and commissions from the League of American Orchestras and the Toulmin Foundation, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Summer Music Festival & School, Grossman Ensemble, and Seattle Symphony, among others. Her music has been performed all over the world, by such esteemed bodies as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, and the Seattle Symphony, to name a few. And her work has been performed at such venues as the Hollywood Bowl and Royal Albert Hall in London.
Sarah had almost completed a new orchestra composition for the BBC, beyond the beyond, when she passed away. Thomas Kotcheff is putting the finishing touches on it for her and it will be premiered by the BBC Philharmonic in March in Manchester, England.
Sarah was not only an inspiring teacher and singular talent. She was also a wonderful, devoted wife, mother, daughter, and friend. Her generosity of spirit and commitment to lifting up other creatives is the very soul of The Sarah Gibson Foundation and all its efforts.
To hear more of Sarah’s music and learn more about her career, please visit sarahgibson-music.com.