Sarah Ioannides

Now in her seventh season as Music Director of Symphony Tacoma, Sarah Ioannides has gained recognition as one of the most inspiring and creative conductors of her generation. Active as a guest conductor internationally with orchestras such as the Tonkünstler, Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, Seattle Symphony (Untitled Series), Calgary Philharmonic and Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, she has recorded world premieres with the Royal Philharmonic and most recently with the Malmö Symphony and Nordic Chamber Orchestra with a CD of music by Marie Samuelsson released in 2019. 

Previously Music Director of the El Paso Symphony, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, under her leadership, both Symphony Tacoma and Spartanburg Philharmonic have received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for creativity in collaborations, community and commissioning projects.

Sarah was named by the Los Angeles Times as “one of six female conductors breaking the glass podium”and was included as one of the top female conductors worldwide by Lebrecht’s “Woman Conductors: The Power List.” 

She is the Artistic Director of Cascade Conducting, a weeklong international masterclass held in partnership with Symphony Tacoma and Pacific Lutheran University. She continues to stay on the faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music’s Summerfest. As an arts advocate, Ms. Ioannides is an active adjudicator, panelist, public speaker, and educator. And has served both as a delegate at the World Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi and as NEA Panelist for the US Government.

Admitted as an instrumental scholar on violin, Sarah was granted both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oxford University. Furthering her education at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she received her Advanced Certificate in Conducting. As a Fulbright Scholar, Sarah pursued further training at The Curtis Institute of Music, earning a Diploma in Conducting; she was honored with the Presser Award and the Friends of Curtis Fellowship. She then chose to deepen her knowledge with a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Juilliard School.

Sarah Ioannides has performed 500+ works of orchestral repertoire with 40+ world premieres and numerous US premieres. She has most affinity with Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Beethoven, and Sibelius and her full repertoire listing is available upon request. Sarah connects with communities to create programs that are poignant at relevant to this moment in society.