Sarah Hooton

As a passionate chamber musician, Sarah loves exploring how the viola fits into and contributes to different instrument combinations and sizes, from duos to nonets and everything in between.

They are the co-founder of two chamber groups that actively perform around San Francisco - The Bridge Music Collective and The Lazuli String Quartet.

Their drive to explore music as a community-building tool has motivated Sarah to curate chamber performances that aim to bring the genre of classical music into unique spaces and away from traditional concert halls, as well as playing music that ranges in genre, style, and instrumentation.

Apart from classical music, Sarah also enjoys playing jazz and contemporary music, which has led them to share the stage with many innovative musicians in the industry, including John Adams, Chris Potter, and Brandee Younger.

As equally passionate about teaching as they are performing, Sarah maintains their own private studio and is part of the faculty at Little Mission Studio, teaching the instruments they grew up learning - piano, violin, and viola. They also work as a Teaching Artist with Music Mission SF, an El-Sistema based music education program for underserved children in San Francisco’s Mission District. After being an educator for more than 7 years, Sarah loves to develop strong and trusting relationships with each of their students, no matter what age or level. They are quick to adapt their teaching style to each individual student, bringing their emotional intelligence and sensitivity to meet their technical and detailed approach.

Sarah as teacher