Sarah Charness has captivated audiences with her vibrant sound and vivacious performances. Sarah is a versatile musician, at home in the worlds of classical, contemporary, and popular music. Her performances have taken her from Radio City Music Hall to the Today Show.

Sarah is a graduate of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she studied violin with Marylou Churchill, as well as voice, chamber music, and orchestral performance. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Performance (Violin) under the mentorship of Andrew Jennings at the University of Michigan. Sarah was awarded a Surdna Foundation Scholarship to attend the Young Artist Orchestra and String Quartet programs at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Sarah also attended the Encore School for Strings, the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp, and the Henry Mancini Institute.

Sarah appeared at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, New York City Town Hall, and the Kennedy Center as a member of the Chamber Orchestra of New York and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. Sarah’s many chamber performances have taken her to Lincoln Center, Brandeis University, the Duxbury Art Complex Museum, the Noon Day Concert Series in Nantucket, the Newton Free Library, the Boston Public Library, the Boston Museum of Science, the Natick Center for the Arts, the DeCordova Museum, and the Museum of our National Heritage. Her performances have been broadcast on WCRB 99.5 FM in Boston, and she was featured on National Public Radio and the Today Show. She was three times a finalist in the New England Conservatory concerto competition, a winner in the Brockton Symphony Concerto Competition,
a semifinalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and a finalist in
the University of Michigan concerto competition.

Sarah has performed at the Nassau Coliseum and the Continental Airlines Arena with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and became a member of the band for their 2010 spring tour (http://www.trans-siberian.com/about/band.php). She has backed up top recording artists Roger Daltry of the Who, Sarah Brightman, and British pop singer Mika. She opened for Diana Ross at the dedication of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium and has toured from Hawaii to New York and Canada to Texas as a member of String Angels. Sarah solos regularly at fashion shows in New York, including Vera Wang, Elene Cassis, and Pronovias, and was invited to open the Elene Cassis 2012 spring collection with her single “Pink Swan” as a part of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. In 2011, Sarah was invited to play the National Anthem and Time Out Show for the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Her work with nationally acclaimed DJ’s has brought her around the world including being a staple at The Plaza Oak Room’s “Day and Night” Brunch. She is currently working on her first solo album and has released three singles, “Pink Swan”, “Toss the Feathers”, and “Tango”, featuring her fluorescent pink six-string electric violin.

Charitable performances include Cipriani for the Mann Foundation, Samsung for City Harvest, Chelsea Art Museum for Stimua, the Rubin Museum for Harboring Hearts, and a collaboration with funk rock band Pants Velour for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure Breast Cancer Walk.

Sarah is a widely sought teacher whose experience includes the New England Conservatory Charter School, Greenwood Chamber Music Camp, and numerous private students. She is a teaching artist for the Noel Pointer Foundation and Midori and Friends, working with fifth graders at PS 9 in Brooklyn and first graders at PS 70 in the Bronx. She is certified in the Mark O’Connor teaching method and has assisted at his Fiddle Camp.