SARAH HICKS, CONDUCTOR
Sarah Hicks's versatile and vibrant musicianship has secured her place as an in-demand conductor across an array of genres, and as an educator, arranger, producer, writer and speaker committed to creating connections through music. Her career has seen collaborations with diverse artists, from Hilary Hahn, Olga Kern and Dmitiri Hvorostovsky to Smokey Robinson, Roseanne Cash and the Dirty Projectors; during the summer of 2011 she toured with Sting as conductor of his Symphonicities Tour and led King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in their North American tour in 2025. Her passion for cross-genre partnerships led to a 2019 album with rap artist Dessa and the Minnesota Orchestra, with whom she holds a titled position. In 2021 she collaborated with gamer DrLupo for an innovative live-play project for Intel Gaming and in 2023 premiered Rufus Wainwright’s Want Symphonic at the BBC Proms.
A highly sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Hicks has worked extensively both in the States and abroad. Notable ensembles include the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Toronto Symphony, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, WDR Funkhausorchester Köln, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Tokyo Philharmonic, among many others. The 2025-26 season sees her returning to Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas, and marks her debut with the Royal Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic.
A specialist in film music and the film in concert genre, she conducted the film premier of Disney's new live action "Moana" at the Hollywood Bowl in July of 2026. Her live concert recording of “The Music of Coco” and “The Lion King 30th Anniversary” can be seen on Disney+ and her work on “Little Mermaid Live” was broadcast on ABC; her first major feature film credit, “Renfield”, was released in April of 2023. Her concerts with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra of film music, “The Morricone Duel” was released as an album and worldwide broadcast, and has garnered over 200 million view on YouTube. Ms. Hicks has conducted over 60 different films and film products and is continually adding new films to her repertoire; she has acted as advisor on numerous projects for Disney Music Group and is a consultant and frequent collaborator at Disney Concerts.
Her opera appearances include the East Slovak State Opera Theater and the Curtis Opera Theater, as well as operas in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra and the RTÉ Orchestra. Her commitment to new music led to the creation of an innovative micro-commission project, and her recording of new concertos, “Triple Doubles” was released on the Bridge label.
Since 2019.
Ms. Hicks is a frequent guest lecturer, teacher and panelist and was on faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music from 1999 to 2005 and Staff Conductor until 2012. Since 2020, she has been a host and writer of “This is Minnesota Orchestra”, broadcast on Twin Cities PBS and streamed globally; in 2022 she won a regional Emmy for her work as producer, writer and host and was been nominated twice in 2024. An increasingly in-demand keynote speaker, her presentation, “Orchestrating Excellence” has illustrated collaborative leadership to numerous civic groups and corporations. A mindfulness and mental health advocate, her large-scale project, Music and Healing, a collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra, includes a concert, commissioned works, interviews, and conversations with neuroscientists, wellness experts and musicians, all available digitally. Her advocacy for mental wellness and mindfulness is inspiring several new projects for 2027, and she is currently pursuing studies in MBSR and teacher training in Vipassana meditation.
Sarah Hicks was born in Tokyo, Japan and raised in Honolulu, HI. Trained on both the piano and the viola, she was a prizewinning pianist by her early teens. She received her BA magna cum laude from Harvard University in composition and holds an Artists' Degree in conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music. In her spare time, Ms. Hicks enjoys running, hiking, her Papillon, cooking (and eating) with her husband, traveling and blogging.