Sarah Hicks

Sarah Hicks’s versatile and vibrant musicianship has secured her place as an in-demand conductor across an array of genres, and as an educator, arranger, producer, writer and speaker committed to creating connections through music. Her career has seen collaborations with diverse artists, from Hilary Hahn, Olga Kern and Dmitiri Hvorostovsky to Smokey Robinson,  Roseanne Cash and the Dirty Projectors; during the summer of 2011 she toured with Sting as conductor of his Symphonicities Tour. Her passion for cross-genre partnerships led to a 2019 album with rap artist Dessa and the Minnesota Orchestra, with whom she holds a titled position. In 2021 she collaborated with gamer DrLupo for an innovative live-play project for Intel Gaming and in 2023 premiered Rufus Wainwright’s Want Symphonic at the BBC Proms.

A highly sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Hicks has worked extensively both in the States and abroad. Notable ensembles include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, RTÉ Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, WDR Funkhausorchester Köln, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Tokyo Philharmonic, among many others. The 2023-24 season sees her returning to the San Francisco, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Dallas and Seattle and marks debuts with the Iceland Symphony and Colorado Symphony, as well as a residency at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

A specialist in film music and the film in concert genre, her live concert recording of “A Celebration of the Music of Coco at the Hollywood Bowl” can be seen on Disney+ and her work on “Little Mermaid Live” was broadcast on ABC; film credits include, “Renfield”, released by Universal Pictures in April of 2023. Her concerts with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra of film music, “The Morricone Duel” was released as an album and worldwide broadcast in 2018 and has garnered over 200 million view on YouTube.

Her opera appearances include the East Slovak State Opera Theater and the Curtis Opera Theater, as well as operas in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra and the RTÉ Orchestra. Her commitment to new music led to the creation of an innovative micro-commission project, and her recording of new concertos, “Triple Doubles” was released on the Bridge label.

Since 2019 Ms. Hicks has acted as advisor on numerous projects for Disney Music Group and is a consultant and frequent collaborator at Disney Concerts. Since 2020, she has been the primary host and writer of “This is Minnesota Orchestra”, broadcast on Twin Cities PBS and streamed globally; in 2022 she won a regional Emmy for her work as producer, writer and host of “Cloud Cult with the Minnesota Orchestra”.

Ms. Hicks is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist and was on faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music from 2000 to 2005 and Staff Conductor until 2012. Her presentation, “The Art of Conducting”, has illustrated collaborative leadership to numerous organizations, civic groups and corporations. Her interest in mental health and music led to the production of a 2019 concert titled “Music and the Mind”; her most recent project, “Music and Healing”, is a collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra. Available digitally, the project includes a concert, commissioned works, interviews, and conversations with neuroscientists, wellness experts and musicians.  Her advocacy for mental wellness and mindfulness continues on her blog and YouTube channel, and she is currently pursuing studies in MBSR and teacher training in Vipassana meditation.

Sarah Hicks was born in Tokyo, Japan and raised in Honolulu, HI. Trained on both the piano and the viola, she was a prizewinning pianist by her early teens. She received her BA magna cum laude from Harvard University in composition. She holds an Artists’ Degree in conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with the late renowned pedagogue Otto-Werner Mueller. In her spare time, Ms. Hicks enjoys running, hiking, her Papillon, cooking (and eating) with her husband, traveling and blogging.