As a music director and conductor who is committed to diversity, collaboration, innovation and education, Sarah Ioannides invigorates programming and inspires audiences. Praised by the New York Times for her “unquestionable strength and authority”, she is Music Director of Washington State’s Symphony Tacoma. Sarah Ioannides is also the newly appointed Director of Orchestral Activities and Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the School of Fine Arts with Boston University.
Internationally, Sarah Ioannides has conducted on six continents with major orchestras including the Tonkünstler, the Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, the Flemish Radio Konzerthausorchester, Bilbao Symphony, and some of the world’s greatest National Youth Orchestras, including the South African National Youth Orchestra, Andalusian Youth Orchestra and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra.
Sarah began her career with the Cincinnati Symphony, appointed Ioannides as the first woman appointed to a full-time conducting position and she has since conducted extensively in the United States including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Hawai’i Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Rochester Philharmonic, San Antonio Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony (untitled series) and the Toledo Symphony.
A coach and mentor for many young musicians and conductors, she is Artistic Director of Cascade Conducting and Composing, and coaches for The Curtis Institute of Music’s Mentor Network. Sarah Ioannides is in demand as guest speaker, presenter and conductor for institutions, organizations, conservatories and universities.
“The other big discovery was guest conductor Sarah Ioannides…vigorous, solid, and with an unusually vibrant sonority. Her programming ideas were provocative”
-David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Enquirer
What’s New
Cascade Conducting
Cascade Conducting
Eighth Annual Conducting Masterclass Artistic Director
Lake Chelan Bach Fest
Lake Chelan Bach Fest
44th Annual Lake Chelan Bach Fest
8th Annual Cascade Conducting Masterclass & Composer Workshop
The Orchestral Masterclass with Sarah Ioannides, Third Annual Choral Masterclass with Geoffrey Boers, and fourth Annual Cascade Composers Workshop will run from June 13th- June 21st, 2025, giving participants from each class the opportunity to learn from all of the faculty and disciplines at the Eighth Annual Cascade Conducting Masterclass with Sarah Ioannides.
Concert Preview: Symphony Tacoma Romantic Reveries
An evening of lush melodies and intricate orchestral textures that transport you to a world of romantic elegance and grandeur.
Concert Preview: Boston University Symphony Orchestra
Mysterious and noble themes drive the final concert for this season with the Boston University Symphony Orchestra. Conductor, Sarah Ioannides. This concert is free and open to the public.