Sarah Blythe Shapiro

Biography

Sarah Shapiro, an undergraduate majoring in Vocal Music Education at St. Olaf College, studies conducting with Drs. Anton Armstrong, Therees Hibbard, Timothy Mahr, and Mr. Tesfa Wondemagegnehu. She currently acts as Music Director of Ole Ave Vocal Jazz at St. Olaf, also having held the position of Chancel Choir Director at River Hills United Methodist Church in Burnsville, Minnesota. Most recently a participant at the Conductors Retreat at Medomak, studying with Maestro Kenneth Kiesler, Sarah has also worked with Drs. Kevin Sütterlin and Mathias Elmer through the Sinfonietta Memphis Conducting Academy.

Having sung in an Anglican church choir through the Royal School of Church Music program since the age of five, Sarah has attended a variety of vocal and choral intensives, namely Aspen Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp Classical Voice Program, University of Central Florida Summer Opera Institute, and East Carolina University Summer Vocal Intensive. Sarah was a three-year member of the Illinois Music Educators Association; additionally, she attended Merit School of Music for Opera and Musical Theatre. Sarah has soloed with numerous choral ensembles in the Chicago area, including St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Bella Voce, Elgin Choral Union, and the Northwestern Summer Chorus. She currently studies voice at St. Olaf with Dr. Tracey Engleman and sings Alto in the St. Olaf Choir with Dr. Anton Armstrong.

An avid choral composer, Sarah has explored both sacred and secular texts, including the works of Sara Teasdale and Robert Frost; her most recent composition, "breathless," was written in memory of those who have passed from COVID-19, and premiered by St. Olaf's student ensemble, Spiritus Novus, which performs works by composers on campus. Sarah has been named a National Finalist for the American Prize in Choral Composition (student division) for three of her choral pieces: "After Death," "The Years," and "Lux aeterna."