Sarah Kervin

Biography
Teacher

Sarah's musical roots began early, taking piano lessons with her dad around age 4 in Atlanta, GA. Equal parts Sara Bareilles and Bon Iver, her music has history, soul, and an inquisitive worldview balanced balanced with undeniable optimism. Her music is influenced by the complex harmonies of jazz, the inspired messiness of gospel, the melancholy passion of the blues, and the frankness and openness of storytelling. Her strong, soulful vocals, hypnotic lyrics, and dense sonic textures mix with driving rhythms to embody discovery, independence, and self-exploration.

Growing up in music, Sarah had many musical interests and decided to study them all - attending the University of South Carolina and the University of North Texas, where she honed her skills in singing, saxophone, and piano in everything from opera to salsa. When she began writing more original music, she realized that they didn’t fit neatly into any one genre, so she embarked on a journey to make her own sound as a singer-songwriter.

Sarah has received international recognition as a performer and songwriter, including as winner of International Acoustic Music Awards in 2020, The Recording Festival in 2017, the Indie International Songwriting Competition in 2017, a finalist in the NewSong Competition at Lincoln Center, a semi-finalist in the American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, six Downbeat Student Music Awards, the Jazz Education Network Composition Award, and research grants in Vocal Pedagogy from the Magellan Foundation. She has shared the stage with great artists such as Jon Hendricks, the Manhattan Transfer, Ben Folds, the Fort Worth Symphony, and Howard University’s Afro Blue, and performed as part of the 2008 Beijing Pre-Olympic Ceremonies. In 2015, Sarah collaborated with the Joyful Heart Foundation to create a special video for her single “The Least You Could Do” to raise awareness for survivors of domestic violence. Sarah is currently on the voice faculty at the renowned Berklee College of Music and is finishing up a master’s degree at New York University in Speech Language Pathology in order to specialize in rehabilitation of injured singers.