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Sarah Gromko

Compared with Sarah Vaughan, Patsy Cline, K.D. Lang, and Annie Ross by professional musicians and critics alike, Sarah Gromko’s vocals “show a deep sense of artistic maturity.” Her debut recording as a bandleader was nationally recognized as “intimate,” “eclectic,” and “undeniably killer.” The attention led to a licensing contract with Rescue Records.

Gromko’s live work focuses on original compositions and modern arrangements reminiscent of the fusion of jazz and rock in the ’60s when jazz harmony, syncopation, groove changes, and odd meters/phrasing melded into a new genre. Unlike the instrumental and synthetic direction fusion took into the 70s and 80s, she writes emotional melodies and lyrics that emphasize her wide vocal range and colors but focus the listener on the story more than the virtuosity of the songs’ individual players.

Over the years, Sarah has been recorded as a background singer, a featured jazz vocalist, and for both national and international commercials and TV spots. Under her direction, Gromko’s jazz quartet held residencies at New York City’s Puppets Jazz Bar, Kavehaz/Mannahatta, and Blue Water Grill, and since 2013, a Friday- night residency at Pearl Wine Co. in New Orleans. Her most recent album, "Jump in Mud," was released and unpromoted due to an unforseen global virus, but is being rereleased in January 2023.

Sarah has been singing professionally since age 15 and has been trained vocally by teachers from the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, and jazz stages. She has a film-scoring degree from Berklee College of Music, where she studied composition under Bob Pilkington, Richard Davis, Ruth Mendelson, and Vuc Kulenovic and vocal technique under Bob Stoloff, Maggie Stone, and Anne Pekham. Most influential to her compositions however, has been her professional work with Wynton Marsalis and James Oliverio (orchestrations for "All Rise"), Howard Shore (on 'Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring"), and her mentorship from entrepreneur, composer, vibraphonist, and bandleader Mike Mainieri of Steps Ahead (with whom she worked from 2008-2011 in New York and transcribed the "Mike Mainieri Songbook").

Gromko has also worked professionally in the fields of choral conducting, music 
business, and education (www.gromkomusic.com). She served on the Executive 
Board of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), New Orleans until 2018. During the pandemic, she relocated to Connecticut where she is now a speech-language pathologist and vocologist who provides gender-affirming voice therapy and voice therapy for professional voice users and singers.

Awards

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, New Line Cinema; 2001 (Music Crew, Assistant Music Editor)

  • 2002 ACADEMY AWARDS – Best Music (Original Score)
  • 2002 GOLDEN GLOBE – Best Original Score
  • 2003 GRAMMY AWARDS – Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, TV or Other Media
  • 2001 LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARD – Best Music
  • 2002 CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARD – Best Original Score
  • 2002 SIERRA AWARD – Best Score
  • 2002 GOLDEN REEL AWARD – Best Sound Editing - Music - Feature Film, Domestic and Foreign
  • 2002 PHOENIX FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS – Best Original Score
  • 2002 WORLD SOUNDTRACK AWARD – Best Original Soundtrack of the Year

Suburbia, Nicu’s Spoon Theater Company; 2004 (Sound Designer)]

  • 2004 OFF-OFF BROADWAY REVIEW AWARD – Sound Design

Burning the Old Man, Boomerang Theater; 2004 (Sound Designer)

  • 2005 NEW YORK INNOVATIVE THEATRE AWARD

BERKLEE ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIP; 6 semesters


Tags

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Recording

Gromko. Announces Release of "Convert Augustine"

Gromko. Announces Release of "Convert Augustine"

Source: All About Jazz

The band, GromKo., has announced their release of their first album in this incarnation of players. Their funk-influenced jazz contains lyrics that, only upon close inspection, reveal the Christian nature of the album. But this isn't your grandma's Christian music. It dives very much into the turmoil and inevitable failures and doubts of maintaining a spiritual life in a secular world. The line-up on this album combines the well-renowned jazz pianist Art Hirahara on Fender Rhodes, the incredibly busy funk ...

"Sarah Gromko’s voice encompasses the range of a fine dramatic actress, in turn conversational, sultry, emotional, and angelic." —The Victory Review "Sarah Gromko’s husky vocals are a solid contribution…delivering an upper-echelon change of setting."

—Mark Sabbatini, All About Jazz


"[Sarah’s] music is truly inspired/inspiring. [She is] such a complete musician."

—Javier Arau (Saxophonist, Acclaimed Educator, and DownBeat Magazine and ASCAP Award winner)

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Location

New Haven

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

“Sarah has reinvented our group by challenging us to stretch our abilities rather than keep us in our ‘comfort zone.’ We learn something new at each rehearsal and she keeps it fun. She is patient but demands the best from us all, and makes the best use of our limited rehearsal time.” —Michael Economos, Singer, Actor and Member of MMC Chorale Your situation: • You are part of a band that needs a reliable, outside musical opinion with concrete ideas on how to improve. • You are a musician who wants to work on your voice. • You aren’t a singer, but you love to sing and want more confidence at it. • You are a singer who needs a coach. • You are a non-singer who wants to sing in a group of like-minded individuals. • You are part of a band that needs to perfect (or come up with) some vocal harmonies. Why me: • In vocal coaching, I use the same basic breathing and vocal techniques for all styles, and let the feels of the genres branch into different territory. • My innovative techniques as choir director and vocal coach cater to each singer’s personality to acquire the most positive result. • As a bandleader, I emphasize the group dynamic as the key to an engaging musical performance. • I use unique vernaculars and techniques for instrumentalists, singers, and non-musicians. • Even if you gig regularly, it’s important to occasionally have a critical outside ear/eye. I can come in to one rehearsal and give critical tips to give your performance that extra edge. • I am a professional singer who began her singing career in 1993 and has been a bandleader/conductor since 1998. • I trained classically, moved to Broadway, and currently focus on contemporary and jazz genres.

Clinic/Workshop Information

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jump in Mud

GromKo. Music
2018

buy

Three Strikes and...

GromKo. Music
2018

buy

Convert Augustine

Unknown label
2007

buy

Videos

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