Hi - good to see you! I’m so glad you’re here. 👯‍♀️

I’m Sarah, Head Nerd here at SPARK Practice. I love chamber music sight-reading parties, indie rock, neurobiology, stargazing, pho, and Kung Fu Panda. But what I absolutely love the most is making music - and supporting people like you to find ways to make music as fully and whole-heartedly as possible. Which can be hard, because, well… classical music 🤦‍♀️

In music school, when my teachers gave me feedback, I felt SO inspired and then SO…lost. I was at a top conservatory (CCM), surrounded by such an imposing wealth of excellence - but wasn’t equipped to get it all into my music making. There was such a huge difference between us and our professors (some of whom were international soloists) - and even they couldn’t articulate exactly what to do to get there. Burnouts/breakdowns were de rigueur.  As a student, we only had coaching (lessons) for 1-2 hours/week, and after graduation - well I got a piece of paper and good luck. 🤷‍♀️

It was so different from what I learned at crew (I'm a former Division One Scholarship rower, which basically means that I woke up at 4:15am & owned a LOT of spandex). I had detailed training programs from the next 5 minutes to a year from now. I had a plan, and I had coaches present 5-6 hours/day. My training was calculated to avoid physical & mental burnout. I had great coaches, and I knew that I could trust the system. In rowing, all I had to do was show up and push myself.  In music (just like pretty much any musician I’ve ever met) - I was alone in a barren wasteland. 😕

Anyway, like we learned in Kung Fu Panda - there’s no secret ingredient. Something is special because we believe it’s special. You are special because you are YOU. But how to know that you’re on track, realize your potential, and to be confident in your progress was a secret. (Don’t worry - it’s not anymore!) 🌱 

As a life-long nerdy-pants nerd-face, I’m constantly inspired by the science and neurobiology of self-compassion, creativity, and competitive response. My crazy background and experiences finally all came together into the 5 Pillars, and the SPARK Practice Formula. Now I’m the Head Nerd at ⚡️SPARK Practice, and I love finding simple, clear, repeatable ways to support professional & aspiring professional musicians to kick butt (& be nice to yourself in the process!). Yaaaaay! 🚀

I think it’s ridiculous that learning how to practice isn’t part of the standard conservatory curriculum, so let’s change that.

I’m so excited for you and your journey to become the musician you want to be. I want you to have the BEST musical life, and it’s been thrilling to see SPARK Practice have such an impact for musicians and teachers alike - to speak a common practicing language so that we can talk more about the good stuff - the music. 😎

Happy Practicing!

⚡️ Sarah ❤️