Dr. Sara Bennett Wolfe

Dr. Sara Bennett Wolfe is the Director of SBW Cello Studio in Norwalk CT. She was Cello Department Head at the Talent Education Suzuki School (TESS) in Norwalk CT from 2012-2016. In summers, Sara is on the rotating faculty at the Ithaca, Ozark , Belize, and Intermountain Suzuki Institutes, and she taught at Kinhaven Music School’s Junior Session from 2011 to 2019.

Previous teaching positions include the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Sato Center for Suzuki Studies, Westminster Conservatory of Westminster Choir College, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts—Extension Division, Point CounterPoint Chamber Music Camp, and Ithaca College, where she was the graduate teaching assistant to cello professor Elizabeth Simkin. Sara is in demand as a cello clinician, directs the annual Fairfield County CelloFest, and was the Guest Artist at Montana State University’s 2013 Cello Festival.

Sara earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Cello Performance from Rutgers University. She completed a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and also earned a Master’s degree in Cello Performance from Ithaca College. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance with distinction from Indiana University.

Sara has held the position of Principal Cellist with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, Opera in the Ozarks, and the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed with the Mimesis Ensemble, Metamorphosis Chamber Orchestra, Symphony of Westchester, Norwalk Symphony, Canton Symphony, Ashland Symphony, Binghamton Philharmonic, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. Venues include Carnegie Hall, NJPAC, Ravinia, and performances in Italy and Switzerland. Sara is a founding member of the Thales Piano Trio, which concertizes regularly throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. She has recently participated in commercial recordings and premieres for two new choral works in New York City, where she is an active freelancer. 

Sara’s primary teachers include Jonathan Spitz, Merry Peckham, Elizabeth Simkin, Emilio Colon, Jodi Beder, and Elizabeth Loughran. She has completed Suzuki Teacher Training with Beth Cantrell, Carrie Reuning-Hummel, Pam Devenport, Melissa Kraut, Heather Hadley, Alice Vierra, and Mark Mutter. Sara is a winner of the Mason Gross School of the Arts Chamber Music competition, the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale competition, and the Brevard Music Center’s Advanced Chamber Music Fellowship.

Sara believes deeply in the power of music education to teach students about sensitivity, self-discipline, and perseverance. She enjoys being an integral part of her students’ “village,” and is thrilled to witness each small step as she and their parents guide them towards growing into Dr. Suzuki’s image of “noble human beings.”