Dr. Sarah Bassingthwaighte loves to play, teach and compose music. She has received accolades in these roles in Iceland, England, Europe, Russia, Mexico, and the United States. The London Symphony Orchestra recorded Dr. Bassingthwaighte’s Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra in 2023. Her compositions won the Newly Published Music Competition of the National Flute Association in both 2013, 2018, 2019, and 2020. She is the flutist for The Sound Ensemble, the Ecco Chamber Ensemble, and Windsong Classical Trio. Dr. Bassingthwaighte is the Interim Instrumental Music Director and teaches flute and composition at Seattle Pacific University. Shas served on the faculties of University of Washington, Seattle University, the Rachmaninov Institute in Tambov, Russia, the Seattle Youth Symphony, Music Center of the Northwest, and was Founding Director of Affinity Chamber Players during its 13-year lifespan. At the age of 18, she performed Jacques Ibert’s Concerto with the Seattle Symphony, and has since received numerous awards. Her solo CDs include Songs from the Caucasus, Stalks in the Breeze and Flute Meets Machine, and she and Mark Wilson recorded Around the World and Through Time as the ensemble Sirocco. The British journal Pan Magazine acclaims her “hypnotic and rich sound” and goes on to say “The tone quality is full of depth and power. Bassingthwaighte seems to have a particular talent for communicating the message of contemporary pieces,” which are “performed with polish and virtuosity.” A past president of the Seattle Flute Society, Sarah has been a featured lecturer and performer for the National Flute Association, and a presenter at College Music Society conferences.  She actively commissions new pieces for solo flute or chamber ensembles, and has been responsible for the commission, performance, and recording of more than 30 new pieces. Dr. Bassingthwaighte is included in the Who’s Who in Music, Who’s Who in American Women and Who’s Who in America, and is featured as a composer by the Seattle Mayor’s Office. Some of Sarah’s premieres include: House of Doors for Merrie Siegel and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, A Mountain Symphony for the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Voices in the Wind for flute quartet, Missing for bassist Todd Gowers. Her published compositions include House of Doors, Voices on the Wind, and Echoes of the Ancients. She has a DMA in flute performance and an MM in composition from the University of Washington, an MM in theory and pedagogy from Central Washington University, and a BM Honors in performance from Indiana University, Bloomington.  Her flute teachers include Carol Wincenc, Julius Baker, Peter Lloyd, James Pellerite, Felix Skowronek, Bonnie Blanchard and Hal Ott and her composition teachers include Richard Karpen, Diane Thome, John Mickel and Margaret Brouwer.  Besides playing music, Sarah loves to hike and travel, especially with her son Izzy and her dog Tessa.  They’ve gone to Kenya, Uganda, Ecuador, Peru, Norway, Italy, Russia, Iceland, and more, in a spirit of adventure and broadening perspective. www.sarahbassingthwaighte.org