Sarah had been the music director at a Methodist church in Woodbury for several years when the church began to transition and joined with two other churches. During Covid music had become less significant in worship as attendance dropped and maintaining distance between attendees and between the pastor and the choir was difficult. Sarah began looking for a church where she felt she could do more and which would be a good fit for her family. When she heard about Saint Matthew and interviewed, it seemed to fit both of those goals and she was pleased to be hired.
Sarah has a long history of being involved in church music. It began in childhood when she was the only child who sang in the adult choir at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in North Jersey. It was a large choir and because they were so close to New York City, section leaders were hired from well respected music colleges like Juilliard. The choir also toured overseas and sang in places like the Vatican and at Notre Dame Cathedral. When she was 16 she was honored to be in a quartet with three section leaders that sang at the Vatican. While in college and graduate school she sang with choirs and other musical groups.
Sarah received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Both her Masters and PhD degrees in Music History were earned at the University of Maryland in College Park. She currently teaches four classes at the University of Delaware and two at Rowan University. At Rowan she teaches Music Appreciation and History of Popular Music in the U.S. At University of Delaware she teaches those two classes plus courses on Western Art Music, Musical Theater, Opera, American Music History, Women in Music and Music and Globalization.
Sarah’s husband Dan received degrees in mechanical engineering from UMDCP but currently works as a manager in electrical engineering for the Navy at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. He is from Hellertown, Pa (near Bethlehem). He and Sarah met at West Chester University where they were in Honors College which consisted of 40 students. His music experience is playing bass when he was a teen. They have four children: Liam, 10; Jacob, 7; Charlie, 5; Madeline, 2. Both Sarah and Dan are very involved with the children. Dan coaches his sons’ teams in baseball and soccer. They have a movie night and a game night each week. Recently for movie night they popped Johnson Farm’s dried corn on the cob in the microwave. The children thought that was “really cool”.
Because she is a very busy person and has a busy household, I asked her how she manages everything. She said being organized is the most important thing. Charlie and Madeline attend preschool in Haddonfield. It is most fortunate that Sarah’s mom lives nearby and can help with the children. On days when Sarah or Dan are not at home, her mom comes over and takes care of the children. She stays for a family dinner two nights each week and the children love having dinner with Nana. When asked how she relaxes her reply was, “I’m fortunate that I do what I love and music making relaxes me.” She also enjoys game night or movie night. She said she and her husband are very competitive at board games, especially trivial pursuit and crossword puzzles.
The Messenger
