A woman with glasses and blonde hair holding a French horn, smiling and looking to her left in a music concert hall during a rehearsal.

It all begins with a love for the horn.

Since joining the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (OH) as 4th horn in 2023, Sarah Yarbrough enjoys an ever-growing rotation of orchestral and freelance playing. She regularly performs with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra on 2nd horn, and plays often with other orchestras. These include the Dayton Philharmonic, Ohio Valley, Lima, and more! Not limited to orchestral playing, Sarah also plays in pit orchestras for musical theater and ballet companies, and has a fondness for non-traditional horn playing, including playing horn for a Stan Kenton-style big band! She recently joined the sublist for the prestigious New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami, FL, and looks forward to subbing during the 2025-26 season.

Large group of people, including musicians and performers, pose together in a spacious hall for a group photo. Some are dressed in formal evening gowns and tuxedos, while others are in casual attire. There are three individuals seated on the left side, including elderly people, one in a motorized wheelchair. The background is a plain white wall, and the floor is wooden.

Alongside her career as a performing musician, Sarah has the privilege of developing her administrative side in the summer season at the Perlman Music Program. Beginning as a fellow in 2021 for the Summer Music School (or “littles” program), and continuing as an administrative assistant for the Chamber Music Workshop, Sarah garners experience in a multitude of roles. Among these include music librarian for orchestra, chorus, and chamber music; stage management and crew for concerts and the annual gala, running sound and lighting for concerts and masterclasses, and audio engineering for the annual Family Concert. She also serves in roles involving event planning: coordinating receptions, parties, creative activities, and even a legendary line dancing night! Her responsibilities extend to many other facets of the program, such as coordinating schedules, running concerts, and leading light physical training to ensure a summer full of healthy playing for the students.

A woman with glasses smiling while holding a shiny brass musical instrument, likely a French horn, in a group setting with other people.

Before her time working on the administrative side at the Perlman Program, Sarah spent her summers playing at music festivals–many with fellowship or merit scholarship status. These included Texas Music Festival as a fellow, and Madeline Island Chamber and Marrowstone music festivals, receiving merit award scholarships for each. Sarah spent two consecutive summers as a Young Artist Merit Award scholar at Eastern Music Festival, where she performed with the faculty orchestra and their two student orchestras, under the direction of Gerard Schwarz, Grant Cooper, and Jose-Luis Novo. Her second wonderful summer at EMF was highlighted by the opportunity to play principal horn on Brahms’s Third Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, where she “acquitted [herself] honorably and with distinction,” according to the North Carolina Arts Journal. Sarah has also attended Denise Tryon and Karl Pittuch’s Audition Mode seminar, where she was the sole finalist in the high horn audition, and winner of the low horn mock audition.

A woman lying on a fluffy surface, smiling and winking at the camera, with a French horn and a pair of glasses nearby.

Sarah received her Masters of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2022, studying with Denise Tryon, Elizabeth Freimuth, Margaret Tung, and Sean Yancer. She received her Bachelors of Music from the University of Houston Moores School of Music in 2020, studying with Robert Johnson.

Since working at a bakery during her grad school days, Sarah has continued to enjoy baking and cooking when she’s not playing the horn. She also loves curling up with a good book, going for long walks, and trying her best not to get too frustrated at her sewing machine!

Sarah Yarbrough is professionally affiliated with the American Federation of Musicians local #160, and is a member of the International Horn Society.