About Sarah Watts
Sarah Watts studied the bassoon and piano at the Royal College of Music London and also plays the flute and saxophone. She has become well-known all over the world as a prolific composer, particularly of colourful and inspiring music for education.
Her early music making was encouraged by inspiring and creative parents. Her mother played jazz piano and her father was a talented artist and cartoonist. Her teenage years were greatly influenced and encouraged by the Dankworth “Allmusic Philosophy” and later she went on to encourage this broadminded musical thinking as Artistic Director of The National Youth Music Camps (Formally the Avril Dankworth Children’s Music Camps).
Sarah has several hundred published works. Most of these are published by Kevin Mayhew Publishers, but she has also written for the ABRSM, Trinity, Cambridge University press, Longmans and for various individual commissions. She has written for most solo instruments, large scale choral works, musicals, for string orchestra and more.
Sarah has had several works performed at The Schools Proms. Her large scale composition Jigsaw Jam was commissioned by Music for Youth and written for all beginner instrumentalists using the first five notes taught on each instrument. Jigsaw Jam is made up of ensemble pieces for different instrumental groups which can be played separately or altogether. The work can be played by any number of performers and the music can be downloaded free from the Music for Youth website.
Sarah’s books for beginner and intermediate flexible ensemble have been highly acclaimed and award nominated. Five Note Philharmonic and Five Note Philharmonic and Friends were shortlisted for a music Teacher printed music award. For her new series Flavour Fusions she has collaborated with respected composers and arrangers from different musical traditions to produce a diverse collection of flexible and colourful intermediate ensemble books.
Sarah is keen to provide new repertoire for instruments often overlooked. Her new series Hub contains several books of new compositions for instruments such as oboe, bassoon, and treble recorder. Sarah’s piece Everything Is Somewhere Else for bassoon and string orchestra was premiered at “St Martins in The Fields” by The London Chamber Ensemble. It is published by Kevin Mayhew with piano accompaniment, string parts are also available.
Sarah believes strongly in the importance of music as part of mainstream education. She has lead teachers’ workshops in this country, Europe and America. She has been a mentor for Music for Youth for many years and is a member of the Court of Assistants for the Royal Society of Musicians.
Sarah is best known for her inclusive educational writing; series such as Razzamajazz, Red Hot, Class act, Band in a book and Five Note Philharmonic have become best sellers and staples in British educational music making. Her work appears in all the major music exam syllabuses. lately she has been delighted to become a mentor for the excellent ABRSM “Writing for Music Education” project which gives opportunities and experience to a new generation of composers.