Sara Scanlon, cello
Cellist Sara Scanlon, known for her passionate performances and musical artistry, is quickly becoming a sought-after talent in classical music. She made her solo debut performing the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and has performed as a soloist with the Chappaqua Orchestra, Greater New Haven Orchestra, Hamden Symphony Orchestra, and the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra. Sara was featured soloist on NPR’s nationally broadcast program From the Top and served as principal cellist for the Emmy Award–winning Night of Georgia Music on PBS.
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An avid and dedicated chamber musician, Sara has performed at esteemed chamber music festivals including Music@Menlo, SPIRITUS Festival, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the PyeongChang Music Festival, and the Finckel–Wu Han Chamber Music Program at the Aspen Music Festival. She appears regularly in the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players Music Series, the Fabian Concert Series, the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, the Chamber Orchestra of America with Joshua Bell, and the Rome Chamber Music Festival. Sara also showcases her unique musical voice and resonant sound as a member of the Trio Ariél. ​​
Sara attended the Juilliard Pre-College Program, where she studied with Clara Kim and Richard Aaron. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree, graduating summa cum laude from The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings on a full merit scholarship, studying with Julie Albers, Richard Aaron, and Leo Singer. She continued her graduate studies at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Joel Krosnick and received a Master of Music degree in May of 2024. Sara has also had the opportunity to perform in masterclasses with esteemed artists such as Lynn Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Paul Katz, Colin Carr, David Finkel, Philip Glass, Edward Arron, Peter Stumpf, Michel Strauss, Laurence Lesser, Yegor Dyachkov, Amir Elden, Brian Manker, and The Emerson, The Brentano and Miro Quartets.
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Sara has the pleasure of performing on two extraordinary cellos with rich chamber music histories: a 2002 Samuel Zygmuntowicz cello, and an 18th-century instrument once owned by Eleanor Aller-Slatkin, the first woman to hold a principal cellist position in an American orchestra and a member of the Grammy Award–winning Hollywood String Quartet. The historic cello appears in the 1947 film Deception.