A passionate musician and scholar, Chan hails from Hong Kong and received her training in the United States and in France.  She holds the degrees Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature, with Minor in Music Theory and Theory Pedagogy, from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester; Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University; and Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music.  She trained furthermore at Le Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (The Paris Conservatory of Music) and at the University of Michigan.  Concurrent with her musical engagements, Dr. Chan pursued liberal arts studies at La Sorbonne, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan, concentrating in French language and literature, with cultivated interest in 17th- and 18th-c. French literary works.  She holds a certificate in highest level French studies from La Sorbonne's Cours de Langue et de Civilisation Française.  Among her academic awards are the full scholarship Wolaver Award, Branstrom Prize, and James B. Angell Scholar Award from the University of Michigan, and the Harry M. Roth Scholar Award from the University of Rochester.  Possessing a keen interest in cultural-historical periods of artistic dialogue, Dr. Chan spent her residency in Europe examining the aesthetic and cultural interchange resonant in turn-of-the-twentieth-century French and Spanish art, architecture and music, from which work culminated her lecture-recital:  "Between Paris, Barcelona and Madrid:  Flourishing Musical Liaisons in French and Spanish Piano Music at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century".  Continuing an interest in cultural dynamics of historical significance, Dr. Chan is currently researching Chinese piano literature in its compositional, aesthetic, and historical relationship with the language of Western art music.

A committed educator, Dr. Chan serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where she is Director of Keyboard Studies / Music Theory in the Department of Fine Arts.  She additionally teaches French at Northwestern under the auspices of the Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Humanities.  Dr. Chan was nominated in 2012 for the John Barton Award for Distinguished Teaching and Service at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.   Previously, she taught at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, where she received the Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work in studio piano instruction.  She has additionally taught at L'Institut de Culture Musicale (Paris), Hochstein School of Music and Dance (Rochester, NY), and Harford Community College (MD).  With instructional expertise and experience in piano, chamber music, music theory, music history, music history/arts leadership colloquium, French, aural skills, vocal coaching, and pedagogy, Dr. Chan seeks to demonstrate a dynamic, focused, and comprehensive approach to training in higher education.  Dr. Chan is adjudicator for The American Prize Competition and serves as Arts Advocacy Captain for Oklahomans for the Arts.

Engaging an ongoing passion for the musical development, academic excellence, and artistic inspiration of others, Sarah Chan is committed to motivating and training a new generation of artist-musicians, thinkers, and innovators.  She is enthusiastic to serve a new era of movers and shakers in the performing arts, education, culture and society, and to see a flourishing of the arts and humanities demonstrated in multidimensional sectors of life.

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Northwestern Piano Festival 2013 - Information