Sara Penny

About Teacher

Sara Penny directed Suzuki Strings Cedar City for 36 years. It is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit. She is the past president of the Orchestra of Southern Utah. She plays viola in the orchestra and viola in the Southern Utah String Quartet. She has played in orchestras and ensembles in Utah, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Cork, Ireland. Sara teaches violin, viola, and cello private lessons. She helped start annual Music Festivals which now serve over 1000 students in southern Utah. She has attended numerous Suzuki workshops with clinicians such as John Kendall, William Starr, Terry Durbin, Gabe Bolkovsky, and Tom Wermuth. She was an adjunct music professor at Southern Utah University for seven years before focusing on her private studio. Her B.A. is from the University of Utah in communications with a music minor and she has extensive string training since age 8. She was named the Educator of the Year for the Utah Chapter of the American String Teachers Association in 2005 and Studio Teacher of the Year in 2016. Other honors include a Mayor Award for helping procure a concert hall for Cedar City and a Chamber of Commerce Award for service to the Arts. Sara has raised thousands of dollars for the Orchestra of Southern Utah, including four National Endowment of the Arts grants. She also originated the fall community recital series for the orchestra and serves on the Cedar City Arts Council Board. One of her favorite musical jobs was as the voice of classical music on public radio for southeast Texas in the early 1980s. Her husband Des was a retired engineering professor who subsidized her love of music so she could be of service. Their two children both play cello. Their son Brian is a sound engineer in New York and is now focused on the guitar. Their daughter Bridget is married and is busy raising four small children. Sara loves live music, art, photography, friends, and family. It is a joy to teach children how to make their own music.

Experience