Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Slipp
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For as long as I can remember, music has been a persistent passion of mine. I grew up in a small town in New Brunswick, Canada. I started piano lessons at a young age and picked up the flute in 5th grade. While I also loved playing sports and participating in other extracurricular activities, music always held an extra special place in my heart. Some of my favorite memories from growing up were playing flute in my middle school band or acting in our school musicals. When I turned 13, I was craving more of a challenge on the flute. I auditioned for the Fredericton Youth Orchestra (which was an hour away from my hometown) and was accepted. Every Saturday, for an entire year, my parents (whom I can’t thank enough) drove me to my orchestra rehearsal, followed by a flute lesson and a music theory class. I was way below the level of the other players in the orchestra and also quite a bit younger than everyone there, but I was so grateful for this challenge. I developed more as a musician during that year than perhaps I ever have since.
In high school, I threw myself into the arts as much as I could. I was always involved in our school’s musicals and plays, played in the band, and sang in the choir. I loved every single second of it. When it came time to decide where I wanted to go to school and what I wanted to study, I was told by a lot of adults that music would not be the smart move. It wouldn’t provide me with a stable future. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I auditioned for a variety of music programs, and I was accepted into the music school at Acadia on the Chancellor’s Scholarship. I studied flute performance for my first two years at Acadia and, as a result of extra credits completed in high school and a few completed at Acadia, I found out that I would be able to graduate a year early. Eager to jump on this opportunity, I decided to take on the challenge. It would require me to pick another principal applied study (such as flute) in order to complete the credits that I would normally be completing in my fourth year. I had taken an “Intro to Composition” class in my second year and loved it, so I decided to take on composition as my second principal applied study. I fell deeply in love with composition.
I had always dreamed of going to Tisch School of the Arts in New York City one day. I love musical theatre, and there was a program there called “Graduate Musical Theatre Writing” that felt perfect for me. However, after deciding to graduate a year early, I also decided to apply to law school. I loved being on the debate team in high school, so law just seemed like the next step in my life. So, during my third year at Acadia, I studied for and wrote the LSAT. I was actually accepted into multiple law schools and had accepted my offer at one of them. I was looking at apartments in the area and preparing for this next step in my life when I remembered the Graduate Musical Theatre Program. I had started an application for it when I was 17 and first found the program, simply because I was so excited about the idea. I ended up applying, thinking that I had no chance of getting accepted, and was accepted on a scholarship that allowed me to attend.
In 2022, I moved to New York City by myself at only 20 years old to begin a master’s degree. I learned so much from my program, and had such a great experience. I graduated this past May, and this year has been my first year out of school, and I have finally started to see some of my hard work pay off. It’s been such an incredible feeling. Our thesis musical was accepted to the Syracuse New Works, New Voices Festival and the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. I have also been selected for the Maestra Mentorship Program (which has been such an incredible experience) and the Maestra First Takes Program, where I met so many wonderful collaborators. I’ve been working and collaborating with so countless brilliant artists, and every day genuinely feels like a dream. I am so grateful that music brings me the joy that it does every day.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges that I have faced was imposter syndrome. For starters, I was only 20 years old when I started my master’s degree. I had never lived in a city before, and I was moving to a brand-new country in a big, scary city. I was the youngest person in my program, and almost everyone in the program had written a musical or an album before attending. I had always loved composition and music, but I was only studying flute performance until my third and final year at my undergraduate university. While I had experience writing music for plays and films, I had only ever written one full musical theatre song. I have always been a big fan of musicals, but my knowledge of shows was nothing compared to my peers. I didn’t know a lot of the “classics,” and I didn’t understand the terminology that was used to speak about writing or setting lyrics to music. It was so overwhelming, and I honestly considered leaving quite a few times.
What also made it difficult was that I was supposed to be “living my dream.” So, when I went home to my hometown, everyone would speak to me as if my life couldn’t be anything other than perfect. When someone tells you that they envy your life, and you’re living the dream, how can you tell them that you’re actually more miserable than you’ve ever been, and you feel like you don’t belong?
It took me a while to learn that everyone has unique skills when it comes to writing music. Everyone has something different to offer, and that is a beautiful thing. I would bring in a song, and each of my professors would have a completely different opinion on it. This really opened up my mind to the subjectiveness of music. My favorite song is probably someone else’s least favorite song. And that is great. Because that means that, even if someone really doesn’t like something that I write, someone else could love it. And as long as I love it and am proud of what I’ve written, then that really is all that matters.
After a year or so, I fell in love with the city and made a lot of incredible connections. I still struggle at times with feeling like I am not deserving of the opportunities that I am receiving, and that I am not “good enough” to be here. However, I have definitely gotten better and being confident in my work and my abilities. And, the greatest part about music is that there is always room for improvement. You are never too old to practice, and learn a new instrument or skill. I also have such a strong support system now, with incredible friends and collaborators. We are each others biggest fans, and I think that that is so important in such a competitive field.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a musician, but primarily a composer, orchestrator, and flautist. As a composer, I specialize in composing for musical theatre. I love how music can be used to help portray a story to an audience more clearly and to help bring out the emotions within a story. I am most proud of the musical that I wrote for my thesis in the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. I wrote it with lyricist and bookwriter, Bryce Palmer, and we are still working on it today. We are currently on our third draft of the show, and we just recently did a reading of it at the Dramatists Guild Foundation in February. We were also selected for the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival and the Syracuse New Works, New Voices Festival and will be excitedly attending both in April. I am so proud of the work that we have done on the show so far and am so excited for future rewrites.
I feel like the thing that sets me apart from others is my willingness to jump into whatever musical genre or style and give it a try. I am always excited to dive into researching a style and challenge myself in writing music that fits that style. It might not always turn out perfect, but I will never shy away from a compositional challenge. I feel like that is the best way to grow.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
As a flautist, I studied classical flute performance in my undergraduate degree. However, my biggest passion when it comes to the flute is playing the Irish flute. I started playing the Irish flute in high school, with one of my best friends, Martha Pitre, playing the fiddle. We created a little band and played Canadian Celtic traditional music. I am from the Maritimes, so I was constantly surrounded by fiddle tunes growing up. When I got to Acadia (my undergraduate university), I met another fiddle player named Klorissa Farnsworth, and we would frequently just get together to play fiddle tunes. It was a big stress reliever and helped me to remember why music is my passion in moments when school made it a little difficult to remember that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarahslipp.ca/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_slipp/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sarahslipp445
Image Credits
Headshot and b&w photos: Aaron Pierce
