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
Carnegie Hall Link Up Panelist
Carnegie Hall Link Up Panelist
Panelist for the National Convention of the Carnegie Hall Link Up program
Czech Philharmonic - Assistant Conductor
Czech Philharmonic - Assistant Conductor
Conductor, Barbara Hannigan | Ives: The Unanswered Question | Haydn: Symphony No.45 in F sharp minor | Schonberg: Transfigured Night Op.4 | Gershwin: Girl Crazy, suite from the musical (arr. Bill Elliot)
Assistant Conductor for the Weimar State Orchestra
Assistant Conductor for the Weimar State Orchestra
Conductor, Frank Strobel | The Adventure of Prince Achmed
Cascade Conducting
Cascade Conducting
Ninth Annual Conducting Masterclass
Blog: Symphony Tacoma “A Grand Finale”
Saturday night’s performance was a concert like no other! It will remain unforgettable. Not only because of the program, another collection of firsts for the group, Elgar “In the South”, Peaslee “Arrow’s of Time”, the world premiere of Elsie Winklers’ “Metamorphosis”, and William Grant Still’s Symphony No.1 “Afro-American”, but for the warmth and love that I felt between us.
Concert Preview: A Grand Finale
Celebrate Sarah Ioannides’ final concert on the Symphony Tacoma podium with a robust program featuring Scott Hartman on trombone and a rich blend of timeless and contemporary works that explore history, hope, and the future.
Article Featuring: Musings
Associate Professor of Orchestral Conducting & Director of Orchestral Activities, Sarah Ioannides, recently debuted with the Phoenix Symphony…