Violinist Sarah Thomas is a performer and educator based in New York City driven by collaboration and connection with both performers and audiences. Whether she’s performing “old” or “new” music in someone’s living room or a large concert hall, Thomas strives to create an environment for everyone present to share the experience of loving music together.
A staff member at the Peabody Conservatory’s LAUNCHPad, Thomas supports students and recent alumni in their career pursuits through professional skills coaching, grant program management, and curricular support for core Professional Studies courses. She is an Adjunct Lecturer for the Peabody courses Building a Brand & Portfolio and Pitching Your Creative Idea, which she helped develop alongside her LAUNCHPad colleagues.
In addition to her work at Peabody, Thomas is a founding member of the Bergamot Quartet, a string quartet fueled by a passion for exploring and advocating for the music of living composers. Bergamot has performed in venues and series including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Greene Space, Boulanger Initiative’s WoCo Fest, and the Banff Centre, and collaborated with artists including Sō Percussion, arx duo, Claire Chase, Dan Trueman, Courtney Orlando, and Terry Sweeney. Passionate about education, they have served as ensemble-in-residence for the MATA Jr. and Junior Bach programs for young composers and held performances, workshops, and lectures at universities including Princeton University, Peabody Conservatory, New York University, Towson University, Shenandoah Conservatory, and University of Texas El Paso.
Thomas holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Violaine Melançon, and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Mannes School of Music, where the Bergamot Quartet was the inaugural Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet in Residence studying with the JACK Quartet.