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‘It’s hard not to understate Sarah’s special influence as a tutor. Both as my Music A Level teacher and latterly, mentor for my application to Oxford University, she was so incredibly giving with her time and intellectual resources. Often able to transcend the confines of the syllabus, Sarah offered university standard insights into numerous musical theories and techniques, an invaluable asset to any student looking to expand and explore their subject knowledge. The scope of her detailed knowledge is boundless. Whether English, music or any feasible subject matter, Sarah was constantly available to give extremely formative teaching and guidance.’ |
Teaching Artistry
Sarah is available for private tutoring online.
Please be in touch to discuss how she might support you in English, Music, Musical Theatre, Drama, the university application process in the US and UK, essay writing, and more.
Please be in touch to discuss how she might support you in English, Music, Musical Theatre, Drama, the university application process in the US and UK, essay writing, and more.
With degrees in English, Music, and Theater, Sarah is a multidisciplinary teaching artist and tutor with extensive experience from elementary school through university level in the US and UK. Sarah prides herself on creating student-driven, project-based curriculum that makes for fun and lasting learning. She is currently tutoring online from Berlin.
Recent tutoring assignments have ranged from enhancing exam technique with GCSE English pupils to developing original essay-writing curriculum for pre-IB students; from preparing Oxbridge candidates in Music and English & History to providing mentorship and dissertation writing support for undergraduates in Liberal Arts and Sociology. Sarah has taught short-term intensives for students in creative writing and A Level Media Studies, and she has developed long-term mentorships with brilliant young musical theatre composers and performers.
Sarah also has many years of experience as a classroom teacher. From 2019-20, Sarah revitalized the music curriculum as Head of Music for the Day School and Sixth Form at Arts Educational Schools, London (ArtsEd), the top-ranking performing arts school in the UK. From 2018-19, Sarah served as Senior Lecturer in Musical Theatre at the University of Chester, where she established a new undergraduate musical theatre program at University Centre Shrewsbury. As Composer-in-Residence at NYC's Nightingale-Bamford School from 2014-18, Sarah founded a unique music composition program for middle and high school students. 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 & 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.
Recent tutoring assignments have ranged from enhancing exam technique with GCSE English pupils to developing original essay-writing curriculum for pre-IB students; from preparing Oxbridge candidates in Music and English & History to providing mentorship and dissertation writing support for undergraduates in Liberal Arts and Sociology. Sarah has taught short-term intensives for students in creative writing and A Level Media Studies, and she has developed long-term mentorships with brilliant young musical theatre composers and performers.
Sarah also has many years of experience as a classroom teacher. From 2019-20, Sarah revitalized the music curriculum as Head of Music for the Day School and Sixth Form at Arts Educational Schools, London (ArtsEd), the top-ranking performing arts school in the UK. From 2018-19, Sarah served as Senior Lecturer in Musical Theatre at the University of Chester, where she established a new undergraduate musical theatre program at University Centre Shrewsbury. As Composer-in-Residence at NYC's Nightingale-Bamford School from 2014-18, Sarah founded a unique music composition program for middle and high school students. 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 & 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.
'Consistently encouraging and enthusiastic, Sarah enabled me to feel confident in my own ideas whilst benefitting from her hugely wide ranging interests and expertise. Not having much contact before being tutored by her, I can confidently say Sarah’s tutoring style, stemming from genuine interest in her tutees, made me feel immediately comfortable and able to share my ideas without judgement. I cannot recommend Sarah enough.’
A Taste of Sarah's Teaching
"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
"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
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 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.
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 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.
The Little Prince (2018)
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls (2017)
"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
Independent Study Projects (ISPs)
Students at The Nightingale-Bamford School can undertake a major creative or research project in the spring of their senior year.
Sarah mentored a wide array of projects during her tenure at Nightingale, including:
Elliot Lee: Purely Coincidental, A New Musical (2018)
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)