A Versatile Virtuoso Finds a Home in the Piedmont

A Versatile Virtuoso Finds a Home in the Piedmont

By Peyton Tochterman

Growing up in the small town of Greenville, Tennessee, Sarah McMichen watched films of old musicals on VHS with her grandparents and fell in love with the sounds she was hearing.

Sarah McMichen is a one woman band.

“I had no idea that there were other movies to watch. I thought these musicals were how all movies were,” says McMichen, now getting her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Shenandoah University. She’s also the newest member of the faculty at The Community Music School of the Piedmont (CMSP), based in Upperville, where she teaches flute, saxophone, and clarinet.

Founded in 1994 by Shannon Davis and Martha Cotter, CMSP’s mission is to provide high-quality music instruction and performance opportunities that are affordable and accessible to all members of the Piedmont area.

“Music is crucial to our lives, and we strive to promote it here with 18 deeply dedicated faculty members serving over 500 students,” Cotter said. “Sarah is very approachable and wholly open-minded, and I knew from her sample lesson during the interview process that she was a natural fit for us.”

McMichen said CMSP is the perfect fit for her as well.“Martha Cotter,” she said, “is like having another grandmother.”

McMichen played and studied clarinet throughout her youth and received her undergraduate degree from Tennessee Tech focusing on that instrument. In high school, she found she loved playing for live audiences after she was asked to fill in at a local theater on a different instrument—the saxophone.

“Saxophone music was fun,” she said. “The audiences were receptive to the saxophone, and I hadn’t experienced that on clarinet yet.”

When she applied to graduate school, she initially applied for clarinet at the suggestion of her teachers. Yet, deep down, she also wanted to study saxophone and flute. The music community calls this doubling, or the study of more than one woodwind instrument. The only program offering a degree in doubling at the time was Michigan State.

“They actually had forgotten that they offered a doubling degree,” she said with a smile. “They told me they were phasing it out. I asked if they would wait two years, and they obliged.” For those two years, McMichen had a “blitz” of saxophone, flute, clarinet, and oboe. After graduation, she stayed in Michigan for four years playing musical theater.

“It forced me to have to play many parts, many instruments,” she said. “One week I’m playing flute, the next week, two different saxophone parts. I became very well-rounded, and it forced me to grow.”

She moved to Virginia the Friday before her Shenandoah classes started in August, and now she’s grateful for the thriving music community in the Piedmont region.

“Shenandoah has a competition for soloists, and I’m used to no one showing up for these kinds of things,” she said. “The place was full. So many people show up for concerts and appreciate them. And the music community here is not bound by genre. The community theaters are all packed.”

Her students are equally inspiring.

“Teaching for me, it’s not just a musical experience, but a human experience as well. We’re learning about notes, yes, but also about ourselves. Before I picked my career, I was certain of one thing. I wanted to help people. And now I get to. Music is a profound vehicle to do just that.”