About Sarah
Sarah Molenaar has performed solo piano recitals across Ottawa in venues including Dominion Chalmers United Church, Rideau Park United Church, First Baptist Church, 10,000 Hours Piano Rehearsal Studios, and the Steinway Piano Gallery. In 2018, she released her debut solo album Hommage à Chopin, featuring works deeply influenced by Chopin’s compositional style. Her second album, Undercurrents (2022), was inspired by the diverse expressions and characteristics of water. In 2023, Sarah collaborated with her sister, Caroleen Molenaar, to release Carols and Classics, a piano four-hands Christmas album. She has also been invited to perform in masterclasses led by Stephan Sylvestre at the Orford Arts Centre in Quebec (2020, 2021, 2023), one of Canada’s most prestigious music academies.
Sarah completed the Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) in Piano Performance and the Associate of the Canadian Conservatory of Music (ACCM) in Piano Performance with First Class Honours in 2014. She also holds a Bachelor of Music degree, specializing in music education, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Her piano studies were with Cécile Desrosiers from 2008 - 2019 and have continued with occasional lessons from Stephan Sylvestre since 2020.
Recognized for her sttudents’ achievements in competitions, festivals, and piano and theory examinations, Sarah became a Royal Conservatory of Music Certified Teacher in 2019 and joined the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association in 2017. She has also earned multiple certificates of outstanding teaching excellence from the Canadian International Music Competition and the Quebec International Music Competition.
In addition to performing and teaching, Sarah is the author of The Advanced Piano Technique Book (2023), which has sold over two hundred copies worldwide. She is currently working on companion volumes: The Intermediate Piano Technique Book and The Elementary Piano Technique Book. As an arranger, she has created several works for piano four-hands, including You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.