Sarah Ioannides

Who is Sarah Ioannides?

Sarah Ioannides is a Greek Cyprtiot-Scottish-Australian conductor. Her father, Ayis Ioannides, is a conductor and composer of Greek Cypriot ancestry. Her mother is of Scottish ancestry.

Ioannides grew up in England and studied piano, horn and violin. She played in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She later earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Music from Somerville College, Oxford University. In 1996, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia to study conducting. She was subsequently awarded a Presser Foundation Scholarship to study in St. Petersburg. Ioannides earned a Master of Music degree in conducting at the Juilliard School, where she received the Bruno Walter Scholarship and was assistant conductor to Otto-Werner Mueller.

Ioannides has conducted several premieres and has collaborated with composers including Louis Andriessen, Richard Danielpour, Stephen Paulus, Steve Reich and Tan Dun; she served as assistant conductor on international tours with Tan for four seasons. Ioannides has also held positions as assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra. During her 2003-2004 season with the Cincinnati Symphony, she was one of two recipients of the Bruno Walter Assistant Conductor Chair by the Bruno Walter Foundation.