Sarah Mitchell

Sarah Mitchell is a Southern native, having “grown up” in Alabama, Tennessee and Texas, and began studying the violin at age 4 1⁄2 as a Suzuki student of the late Dr. Michael Gattozzi at the University of Alabama. After moving to Tennessee, she continued her violin study with Mary Kathryn Vanosdale at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music. Her other teachers have included Soh-Hyun Park Altino, Beverly Shin, Julianna Waller and William Hayden. She received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Western Kentucky University and began her Suzuki violin teacher training at the University of Memphis with Kimberly Meier-Sims, earning a Master of Music in Suzuki Pedagogy while completing violin units 1-10. Her violin teacher training also includes courses and workshops with Lorraine Fink, Carrie Reuning-Hummel, Carol Smith, Mark Bjork, Hiroko Driver, Joseph Kaminsky, Mary Cay Neal and Terry Durbin. In addition to her violin study, Sarah has also trained with Dorothy and Sharon Jones to become a Suzuki Early Childhood Education teacher.

In 2003, Sarah was invited to help launch the Pre-College String Program at Western Kentucky University teaching Suzuki violin and beginning viola, and to help introduce string education in the Bowling Green/Warren County public schools as Professional-in-Residence. While in Bowling Green, she was a member of the Bowling Green-Western Symphony Orchestra and the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra and played with the Owensboro Symphony on occasion.

For the past ten years, she has been a full-time faculty at Buffalo Suzuki Strings in New York, teaching Suzuki students from birth through 18 years of age. Her advanced students have been invited to perform at the Suzuki Association of the Americas conference, and around the world as members the Buffalo Suzuki Strings Friendship Touring Ensemble. Besides her violin teaching at BSS, she served as lead teacher for the Suzuki Early Childhood Education program for infants and toddlers and directed the Fiddle Club performing group made up of violin, viola, cello and guitar students. Sarah enjoys fiddling, and as a fiddler has performed with Brother Trouble, Danny Potter and Rory Feek.

She is very excited to be back home in Middle Tennessee!