Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah McSweeney.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started playing piano when I was six years old, and in many ways music has been the continuous thread running through my entire life. What began as childhood piano lessons eventually grew into classical training, a Bachelor of Music Education from Simpson College, and a career that has spanned more than three decades. I was trained primarily as a pianist, but over the years my musical world continued to expand into classical and operatic voice, flute and other instruments, accompanying, directing, songwriting, composition, improvisation and teaching. I’ve never fit particularly neatly into one musical box, and I think that has ultimately become one of the things I value most about myself as an artist.
After college, I began teaching piano and voice professionally while continuing to perform. Teaching became an unexpectedly important part of my musical life. Over the years I have worked with students of many ages and levels, from very young beginners discovering an instrument for the first time to experienced singers and musicians preparing for performances. I’ve taught piano, voice, ukulele, guitar and other instruments, as well as music theory, songwriting, composition, improvisation and performance skills. I eventually opened my own private studio and spent 15 years as Music Director at Wimberley Montessori School, where I had the opportunity to introduce children to music in a way that was creative, experiential and joyful. Today I continue teaching privately and through Blue Frog School of Music in Austin, and I have also stepped into directing high school choir. I love helping people discover that musicianship is something they can develop rather than some mysterious gift they either possess or don’t.
At the same time, I have always remained a performer. My career has taken me into a wonderfully eclectic collection of musical worlds. I spent years singing, playing piano and flute, and accompanying at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Sedona, Arizona. I later performed at Enchantment Resort, and over the years I have sung and played for concerts, weddings, corporate events, private celebrations, churches, resorts, festivals and community events. I’ve performed classical music, opera, jazz, folk, sacred music, musical theatre, pop and contemporary repertoire. I have sung opera in Italian, Spanish, French and German, performed intimate piano and vocal programs, and worked in settings ranging from elegant private dinners to large public events.
There have also been some wonderfully surreal moments along the way. I had the opportunity to open for Colbie Caillat and Michelle Branch, and I’ve sung the national anthem before a Major League Baseball crowd of approximately 40,000 people. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some of my most meaningful musical experiences have happened in very intimate settings, including singing meditation music and mantras in Costa Rica. I’ve come to appreciate that performing for thousands of people and singing for a handful of people can each be powerful in completely different ways.
Another major chapter began when I started taking my own songwriting more seriously. For many years I was so accustomed to interpreting other people’s music that writing and releasing my own work required a different kind of courage. My original music tends to live somewhere between cinematic indie folk, indie pop, classical influence and ethereal vocal music. I also recorded a couple mantra albums. I’m drawn to emotional storytelling and to songs that have a strong visual quality, where you can almost see the scene while you are listening.
That eventually led me toward composing and writing specifically for commercial use. Sync licensing has become an exciting focus for me because it brings together so many seemingly separate pieces of my musical life. My classical background gives me a strong understanding of harmony, melody and arrangement. Performing has taught me how music communicates emotionally. Teaching has kept my musicianship and theory skills active. Songwriting has taught me how to tell a story concisely. And my interest in composition allows me to think beyond the traditional singer songwriter format and create instrumental and atmospheric music as well.
In recent years I’ve invested heavily in developing that side of my artistry, working and studying with accomplished songwriters, producers and sync professionals and collaborating with musicians in different parts of the country and internationally. I’ve released original music including “Radio Silence,” “Black Swan” and “Crash Landing,” while continuing to write new material and create music with potential applications in film and television.
Today I’m still doing many of those things simultaneously. I perform professionally as a pianist and vocalist for corporate events, weddings, private celebrations and concerts. I teach piano, voice, ukulele and guitar and work with young musicians. I direct and collaborate with ensembles. I write and release original songs. I compose instrumental and cinematic music. And I continue pursuing sync placements for television, film and other visual media.
After all these years, I’m just as curious about music than I was when I began. There is always another sound to explore, another instrument to understand, another song to write and another way to communicate something that ordinary language can’t quite reach.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. In fact, I think one of the biggest lessons of my career has been learning how to keep choosing music even when there was very little external evidence telling me that I should.
I was waitressing and pregnant with my daughter when I made a decision that became a turning point in my life. I essentially announced to the universe, “I only want to work at a job that is music related.” I knew I didn’t want to spend my daughter’s childhood waitressing while dreaming about making music someday. I wanted to find a way to actually build my life around it.
That decision certainly didn’t guarantee financial security. There have been plenty of times when things were tight, but I’ve always been someone who figures out how to make ends meet. I taught piano and voice, performed, accompanied other musicians, took private events and whatever musical opportunities came my way. Over time I learned that making a living as a musician requires wearing many hats
There have also been so many moments when I felt incredibly close to a major breakthrough. At one point I had a manager who believed I could be opening on world tours for established artists and was actively pursuing those opportunities for me. Unfortunately, the industry was changing dramatically at the time and record companies were becoming much less willing to invest in developing new artists. I had to learn that talent and hard work don’t necessarily guarantee that the door opens when you arrive at it. So I kept reinventing myself.
I learned email marketing and took courses on how to market myself as an independent artist. I joined communities of musicians and songwriters, collaborated with other artists, produced original mantra music, explored indie and dark cinematic music, continued performing, and kept looking for new ways to make music sustainable. I have spent way more on marketing myself than I have seen in return.
There have been plenty of disappointments. Venues where I had regular performances closed. Opportunities I thought might lead somewhere didn’t. I’ve pursued sync licensing and still haven’t landed that commercial placement I’m working toward yet. I’ve been on tours where I felt almost completely unseen. I’ve entered contests, sent songs into the world, heard no, heard nothing at all, and sometimes wondered whether continuing to pursue music made any sense.
There have even been times when I seriously considered giving it up. But anytime I’ve gotten very close to that point. Someone or something seems to appear and remind me why I started. Sometimes I feel like I’m hanging on by a thread and then I’ll receive an unexpected message from someone encouraging me to keep going.
I’ll sing somewhere with absolutely no expectations, no career opportunity attached to it and nothing to be gained, and I’ll look out and see someone in the audience having an emotional response. Sometimes they approach me afterward and tell me what the music meant to them. Sometimes they don’t have to say anything because I can see it on their face.
Those moments bring me back to something deeper than career achievement. Music can reach a place in another human being that ordinary conversation sometimes cannot.
Professionally, I’m proud that through all of those ups and downs I’ve maintained a five star reputation as a performer and built a career largely through people recommending me, hiring me again and trusting me with important moments in their lives.
So no, it hasn’t been a smooth road. There have been disappointments, financial uncertainty, missed opportunities and moments when I questioned whether I should keep going. But perhaps the greater story has been learning that success in music isn’t one giant moment or being “discovered”. Ive had to let go of a lot of dreams I thought were in my best interest only to find the beautfy in all these collective “smaller” moments.
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?
One of the things I love most about my professional life is that I’ve never fit neatly into one musical box. I’m a vocalist, pianist, songwriter, performer and music educator, and over the years I’ve built a career that allows all of those parts of me to coexist.
As a performer, I’ve sung everything from opera and classical music to jazz, pop, folk and contemporary music. I perform for weddings, corporate events, celebration of life, children’s birthday parties, private celebrations and public events, sometimes singing and playing piano and sometimes collaborating with other professional musicians. I’ve had opportunities to perform for audiences of thousands, but some of my favorite experiences have happened in very intimate settings where music becomes part of an important moment in someone’s life.
I especially love helping students thru teaching music to discover that musicianship isn’t reserved for people who were somehow born knowing how to do it. These things can be taught, confidence can grow and people can discover voices they didn’t know they had.
What ties all of these different pieces together for me is connection. Whether I’m teaching a student, singing at someone’s wedding, performing for a room full of strangers or writing a song that I hope someday accompanies a scene on television, I’m interested in what music can make someone feel.
At this point in my career, I’m less interested in fitting someone else’s definition of what a successful musician is supposed to look like. I’m interested in continuing to grow, taking creative risks, collaborating with talented people and making music that has somewhere meaningful to land.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Some of the best networking in my life has happened organically. I go to open mics, concerts, songwriter events and other places where musicians and creative people naturally gather. I talk to people, ask questions and let people know what I’m working on and what I’m looking for. I’ve found that simply asking around can lead to surprising connections.
I also try to say yes when I’m invited somewhere, especially if it puts me in a room with people I might not otherwise meet. I’ve learned that you never really know which conversation or introduction might lead to a collaboration, mentor, opportunity or friendship.
When it comes to mentors, I look for people who are already doing something I genuinely want to learn rather than simply choosing someone because they’re successful. I’ve taken classes, joined songwriting communities and sought out coaches who have experience in areas where I want to grow.
My biggest advice is to be curious and build real relationships rather than approaching every interaction wondering, “What can this person do for my career?” Support other people’s work, ask thoughtful questions, show up consistently and be willing to contribute something yourself. The music world can feel enormous, but over time it becomes surprisingly small. Relationships matter.
I’ve also done my fair share of manifesting, sending prayers to the universe, and taking action on my intuitive impulses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gigsalad.com/sarah_mcsweeney_austin
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmcsweeneymusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahMcSweeneyMusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SarahMcSweeneyMusic
