Teaching Artistry
Sarah holds a PhD in Theater and Performance Studies from UCLA, and she has extensive experience teaching students from elementary school through university. Sarah is currently Senior Lecturer in Musical Theatre at the University of Chester; she is establishing a new undergraduate musical theatre program at University Centre Shrewsbury.
Sarah previously served as composer-in-residence at The Nightingale-Bamford School, a girls' school where she founded a unique music composition program and collaborated with middle and high school students on original musicals, song cycles, operas, and film scores. Sarah has also taught and trained with Roundabout Theatre Company, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Harlem School of the Arts, and UCLA's Musicology and Theater and Performance Studies departments.
Sarah is the recipient of a 2-year fellowship from the Jubilation Foundation, which recognizes "individuals with an exceptional talent for helping young people feel fully alive through rhythm -- as expressed in music and dance." Along with Tony winner Jeanine Tesori and Oscar nominee Diane Lane, Sarah has served on the selection committee for the Elizabeth Swados Inspiration Grant, given by The Ziegfeld Club Inc. to an influential female music educator in NYC.
Sarah previously served as composer-in-residence at The Nightingale-Bamford School, a girls' school where she founded a unique music composition program and collaborated with middle and high school students on original musicals, song cycles, operas, and film scores. Sarah has also taught and trained with Roundabout Theatre Company, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Harlem School of the Arts, and UCLA's Musicology and Theater and Performance Studies departments.
Sarah is the recipient of a 2-year fellowship from the Jubilation Foundation, which recognizes "individuals with an exceptional talent for helping young people feel fully alive through rhythm -- as expressed in music and dance." Along with Tony winner Jeanine Tesori and Oscar nominee Diane Lane, Sarah has served on the selection committee for the Elizabeth Swados Inspiration Grant, given by The Ziegfeld Club Inc. to an influential female music educator in NYC.
Independent Study Projects (ISPs)
Students at The Nightingale-Bamford School have the opportunity to undertake a major creative or research project in the spring of their senior year. Sarah has mentored a wide array of projects over the years, including:
Jordan Polycarpe: Chapter Two, A New Musical (2018)
Zoe Rose: Thinking Critically: Cultural Commentary and Performing Arts in NYC (2018)
Katie Daddi: Lights Out, A Horror Film (2017)
Paola Perez Reyes: How to Create Meaningful Music When You're a Not-Yet-Fully Formed Person (2017)
Julie Coleman: A Song Cycle Inspired by The Great Gatsby (2017)
Summer Cody: Seventy, Program Music for Piano (2016)
Phelize Bristol: Exposed, An EP of Original Songs (2015)
Students at The Nightingale-Bamford School have the opportunity to undertake a major creative or research project in the spring of their senior year. Sarah has mentored a wide array of projects over the years, including:
Jordan Polycarpe: Chapter Two, A New Musical (2018)
Zoe Rose: Thinking Critically: Cultural Commentary and Performing Arts in NYC (2018)
Katie Daddi: Lights Out, A Horror Film (2017)
Paola Perez Reyes: How to Create Meaningful Music When You're a Not-Yet-Fully Formed Person (2017)
Julie Coleman: A Song Cycle Inspired by The Great Gatsby (2017)
Summer Cody: Seventy, Program Music for Piano (2016)
Phelize Bristol: Exposed, An EP of Original Songs (2015)
Eighth Grade Original Musicals
Eighth grade composers at the Nightingale-Bamford School collaborate on a full-length musical as a capstone to their middle school experience. Students explore adaptation theory as they write book, music, and lyrics for a brand new show, presented as a staged reading at the end of the school year. Students are not only involved as actors, but also as directors, designers, stage managers, and more. Below is a list of original musicals by year:
The Little Prince (2018)
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls (2017)
Eighth grade composers at the Nightingale-Bamford School collaborate on a full-length musical as a capstone to their middle school experience. Students explore adaptation theory as they write book, music, and lyrics for a brand new show, presented as a staged reading at the end of the school year. Students are not only involved as actors, but also as directors, designers, stage managers, and more. Below is a list of original musicals by year:
The Little Prince (2018)
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls (2017)
"Shipwrecked"
Composed by The Spleen Gang, a rock band of 5th and 6th graders at the Nightingale-Bamford School, 2018
Mentored by Sarah Taylor Ellis and Hannah Hens-Piazza
Making the Band Mini-mester
Composed by The Spleen Gang, a rock band of 5th and 6th graders at the Nightingale-Bamford School, 2018
Mentored by Sarah Taylor Ellis and Hannah Hens-Piazza
Making the Band Mini-mester
"In the Name of..."
Composed by Class VII at the Nightingale-Bamford School, 2016
Mentored and arranged by Sarah Taylor Ellis
Inspired by sacred stories and big questions from an array of world religions
Composed by Class VII at the Nightingale-Bamford School, 2016
Mentored and arranged by Sarah Taylor Ellis
Inspired by sacred stories and big questions from an array of world religions
"Dream Leap"
Lyrics by Aubrey Lynch
Music by Sarah Taylor Ellis
Performed by students of Aubrey Lynch Extra Essential Arts, 2015
Lyrics by Aubrey Lynch
Music by Sarah Taylor Ellis
Performed by students of Aubrey Lynch Extra Essential Arts, 2015