Contact Information
Name: Dr. Sarah Wald
Email: sarah.wald@csus.edu
Office Phone: 916-278-7493
Education : Ph.D., UC Davis
Courses Taught : Music Theory
Profile
Get to Know Me!
1. What inspired you to pursue music?
Growing up in Chicago, I was exposed to a lot of music from an early age. I was lucky enough to attend concerts with my parents throughout my childhood, and I began flute lessons early on as well. (I decided I wanted to learn flute after hearing one in The Lion King soundtrack.) I didn’t know until much later that I would pursue music as a career, though. In fact, up until I was about 17, I thought I would be an English literature or comparative literature major. But music started gradually taking over my life: In my spare time, I found myself listening to music almost constantly, looking up composers, playing in extracurricular ensembles, and practicing more. By the time I entered college, I knew I wanted to major in music.
2. What has surprised you most about your career in music? How have your musical aspirations changed over time?
While I had decided that I wanted to major in music around the time I started college, I didn’t know exactly what specialty I wanted to pursue. I really enjoyed playing the flute (and still do!), and I worked really hard to improve at it, but a career as a performer somehow didn’t seem like the right fit for me. I enjoyed the academic disciplines, like music history and music theory, so for a little while, I thought I might become a musicologist or theorist. But then I started composing, and that changed everything. I realized very quickly that composition was the path for me.
So, my whole career trajectory had changed within a few short years, from literature to music to composition specifically. I would say that was the most dramatic shift in my aspirations. The remainder of my education after college, and my work since then, has been focused on building a career as a composer. And pretty early on in my composition journey, I knew I would likely wind up teaching music theory and ear training—after all, most of my theory and ear training teachers were composers!—and that prediction has come true.
One fortunate thing about composing that I didn’t fully consider at first is that I actually have many opportunities to combine my love of literature with my love of music. That’s part of the reason I enjoy writing vocal pieces so much: I get to interpret texts and find ways to complement their themes, emotions, and images with music.
3. What keeps you coming back to music?
While I find great fulfillment in my work as a composer, teacher, and performer, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time. You get tired or overwhelmed sometimes, or you hit a stagnant period creatively and/or professionally. At times like those, it’s easy to wonder if your life wouldn’t be easier, or if you wouldn’t be happier, just doing something else. And yet, somehow, those periods haven’t been enough to strip away my commitment to my musical career. I think it’s because something always happens, even during those times: I hear a piece of music that is unexpectedly uplifting, or inspiration strikes at a random moment, or I have a rewarding day of teaching or playing. And those events are enough to reel me back in with renewed focus and energy.
I also try to maintain perspective. No matter what you do, life will be full of ups and downs. So you have to zoom out and try to see the big picture, even when that’s hard. I ask myself, “Even if I’m struggling at the moment, on the whole, is music what I truly feel called to do?” The answer so far has been yes, which means I just have to power through the difficult times.
Professional Bio
Sarah Wald holds degrees from Columbia University (BA in music), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (MM in composition), and the University of California, Davis (Ph.D. in composition and theory). Sarah's music has been featured at festivals in the US and Europe and on WFMT’s Relevant Tones. Over the last several years, her pieces were selected from calls for scores for New Music on the Bayou (2016), Vox Musica (2017 and 2022), North/South Consonance (2018), and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival (2020). Sarah has also received a number of grants and commissions from organizations such as the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Saint Xavier University Flute Choir, the University of Tennessee Martin’s Contemporary Music Group, Keyed Kontraptions, and Access Contemporary Music.