Hello Everyone!
Although I use MyMusicStaff to manage my private studio, I'd like to use this page as a personal biography:
****For parents who are interested in knowing my high school background and marching/region/state band experience, here is a little bit about me: I moved to San Antonio in the middle of 4th grade and started percussion in 6th grade at Barbara Bush Middle School. Every summer since then I attended some form of band camp: Texas Lutheran Band Camp, Stephen F. Austin Percussion Camp, Juilliard Percussion Seminar, UT Honors Ensemble and Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar. I went on to Ronald Reagan High School where I was introduced to competitive marching band. The first two years I played marimba in the front ensemble, snare drum my junior year and then back to marimba where I was the section leader my senior year. From 6th grade until 12th, I participated in UIL Solo and Ensemble and received a 1 (highest score) on every solo excepting my sophomore year when i received a 2. My senior year, I took my solo to state and received a 1 along with the Outstanding Performance Award, which is only given out once by each judge. From 7th grade until 12th grade, I also made region band every year. My senior year, I made the Texas All-state band and was placed in the 2nd orchestra.****
A San Antonio native, Sarah Jayne Gartin, holds a Bachelors degree in Music Performance from The Florida State University where she studied with Dr. John W. Parks IV. While at FSU, Ms. Gartin participated in the percussion ensemble/studio, which won the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition in 2011 and in 2012. Ms. Gartin also participated and won first prize at the PAS Orchestral Mock Audition. She performed with many of the school’s ensembles such as the University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble and more.
After graduating Cum Laude, Ms. Gartin went on to receive her Master of Music degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music where she had the privilege of studying with Michael Burritt, John Beck, Bill Cahn, Chip Ross, Lee Vinson, Jake Nissly, and Leigh Howard Stevens. While studying at Eastman, Ms. Gartin achieved the Performance Certificate award which is given to students with the highest level of performing ability. The Eastman Percussion Ensemble, which includes upperclassmen and graduate students, performed at PASIC in 2013 as a winner of the International Percussion Ensemble Competition.
Since 2007, Ms. Gartin has participated in many prestigious Summer Music Festivals: Juilliard Percussion Seminar (twice), UT Honors Ensemble, Eastern Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, Ohio Light Opera (three seasons), and Texas Music Festival. After moving back home to San Antonio, Ms. Gartin began to establish herself as an avid freelancer and percussion specialist. She has played with the following orchestras and theaters since the fall of 2015: The San Antonio Symphony, The Mid-Texas Symphony, The Abilene Philharmonic, Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale, The Woodlawn Theatre, The Public Theater of San Antonio, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, San Antonio Viva and The United States Air Force at Lackland AFB. (Also receiving invitations to sub with Baton Rouge Symphony and Arkansas Symphony).
As an educator, Ms. Gartin has been a private lesson teacher for the last 5 years and will continue to do so while taking on her new positions as Associate Director of Percussive Studies at Brennan High School and Adjunct Percussion Instructor at Trinity University. When Gartin is not freelancing and teaching, she likes to spend her time with her dog Emma, experimenting with her coffee bar, cooking, exercising, and enjoys a good tv show and film.
If you have any questions or inquiries my contact information is below:
Email: sjgperc@gmail.com
Phone: 210.382.5533