About Sarah
A versatile musician who feels comfortable diversifying their range of musical settings and genres, Australian violist Sarah Hooton (they/she) is an engaging performer and educator in San Francisco who enjoys maintaining a challenging, varied, and dynamic career. By redefining what it means to be a classical musician in today’s world, they have performed in venues such as Chase Center, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco’s City Hall, Oakland’s iconic Paramount Theatre, and SF Jazz, just to name a few. Most recent festival appearances include Napa Valley Festival (July 2024), Kronos Quartet’s ‘50 For The Future’ Festival (2023) and the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival (2019).
As a passionate chamber musician, Sarah loves exploring how the viola snuggles into and contributes to different instrument combinations, from duos to nonets and everything in between. They have been coached by members of the Telegraph, Avalon, Kronos and Australian String Quartets and is now co-founder of two chamber groups that actively perform around the Bay area - The Bridge Music Collective and The Lazuli String Quartet. They commissioned and premiered a new work for The Bridge Music Collective in 2024 that highlights the special instrumentation of winds and strings together. 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. As an orchestral musician, Sarah enjoys playing with regional orchestras around the Bay area, including Vallejo Symphony Orchestra and Rogue Valley Symphony. In the past, they have had the opportunity to play alongside members of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Camerata Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra (Australia), and the Australian Chamber Orchestra in side-by-side opportunities throughout their school years. 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 is part of the faculty at Little Mission Studio and teaches 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 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.
Originally from Cairns, Australia, Sarah started playing the violin at age 9 but made the switch to viola in 2018. They grew up competing in local competitions, eventually competing at the national level on violin. After placing 2nd in the Australian Vocal and Concerto Competition in 11th grade, Sarah knew that they wanted to pursue music professionally. They received their Bachelor’s from The Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia) in 2019 and their Master’s from The San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2023. Their major teachers are Michele Walsh and Dimitri Murrath (Esme Quartet).
When not practising their instrument, Sarah also enjoys reading, exploring Trader Joe’s, practising Cuban salsa and Yoga, and finding people who will want to watch horror movies with them.
