Biography

Sarah Miller Senn is a 2020 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied under Dr. Melissa Kraut, and won her position with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 2021. Sarah obtained her Undergraduate Performance degree and Master’s Performance degree at CIM, as well as a minor in Suzuki Pedagogy and full Suzuki teaching certification. Originally from Long Island, NY, Sarah began studying at the age of four at a local Suzuki school and later trained in the pre-college division at the Manhattan School of Music with Deborah Park. Other long-term mentors of Sarah include Hans Jørgen Jensen and Zuill Bailey, as Sarah would study with these teachers over each summer term.

As a soloist, Sarah won first prizes in the 2017 Tennessee Cello Workshop Competition and the 2019 “Getting to Carnegie” competition, where she not only had the opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall but also won a trip to the US Virgin Islands to give a concert tour. Sarah has also been recognized in other national and international competitions, selected as a semifinalist in the 2018 and 2019 Ann and Charles Eisemann International Young Artists Competitions and the 2019 Mondavi Young Artists Competition, and selected as a finalist in the 2019 Emerging Soloist Competition and the 2020 Mika Hasler Competition. Sarah made her orchestral solo debut in 2018 with the South Shore Symphony in New York playing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto. She recently performed as a soloist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 2024.

Sarah has had the pleasure of collaborating with world-renowned musicians in chamber music settings, such as Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Joe Burgstaller, Frank Morelli, Zuill Bailey, Shannon Lee, Chaconne Klaverenga, and Sara Daneshpour. Continuing her love of chamber music, Sarah has become the co-artistic director and co-founder of Knox Music Box, a chamber music society in Knoxville.

In the orchestral field, Sarah has previously held positions with numerous other orchestras, including Principal Cellist in the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra, Assistant Principal Cellist in the Akron Symphony, and Assistant Principal Cellist in the South Shore Symphony. But some of Sarah’s favorite musical memories include performing in the North American National Broadway tour of Hadestown and releasing her album, “Hymns of Grace,” in 2021, a project she worked on with her friends during the pandemic lockdown. This album can be found on all streaming platforms.