Music grad's unexpected path leads her to Northwestern

When flutist and School of Music senior Sarah Mitchener graduates from UNCSA, it will be with her eyes on Northwestern University, just north of the city of Chicago. Her journey from undergraduate to graduate school was filled with long days, uncertainty and valuable lessons. Mitchener talked with us about her time at UNCSA and the strength she's discovered within herself and her peers:

Tell us what you'll be doing after graduation.

I’ll be heading to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, to pursue a master’s degree in flute performance—studying with Professor John Thorne.

If you could say thank you to one person at UNCSA, who would it be? Why?

I would give a huge thank you to my flute professor, Dr. Tadeu Coelho. He believes in my ability as both a musician and as an individual, and he supports all of his students the same way.. Though he refused to accept less than my absolute best and constantly whooped me into shape, there was never a doubt in my mind that he was with me every step of my journey at UNCSA.

He presented me with every possible opportunity at UNCSA that he could and inspired me to grow into the artist I am today. He encouraged individualism and enthusiasm, and did everything he possibly could, as a male professor, to empower me as a female artist. You don’t find that in all of your usual teachers. His mentorship is one I will always cherish.

What's your favorite performance you were a part of at UNCSA? Why?

The two years I was a part of the Nutcracker pit orchestra… I always had the most fun performing on Campus Night! When describing it to non-UNCSA folks, I’d say, “It’s the closest thing we have to a football game and a pep rally wrapped up into one.” The amount of energy in the audience on that one night fuels the musicians, the dancers and the crew, which fuels the audience even more. It’s explosive, really.

Tell us something you wish someone had told you when you were a new student at UNCSA.

Be kind to yourself. We’re taught in this conservatory environment to criticize ourselves and our art, and while some criticism is productive for improving, too much leads to a never-ending cycle of perfectionism and disappointment. Craft your art to the best of your ability and then let it stand on its own. Be kind to yourself physically. All-nighters and 14 and 16-hour days become regular, and some days you have to skip meals and drink way too much coffee to survive. However, take one day a week or every other week to recover and to do something for yourself. There are enough hours in a week to keep time for yourself. 

Share one of your failures during your time at UNCSA. What did you learn?

During my senior year, I went through the graduate school application and audition process—by far the most trying and strenuous period of time in my entire undergraduate career. I waited for prescreen (audition before the audition) results, endured four auditions in three different cities, waited for acceptances, begged for money (because tuition is still expensive once you reach the graduate level) and finally had to make a decision.

I had dreamed of going to the Eastman School of Music for years. I established connections and did everything I could to leave an impression prior to sending in prescreens to the professor for grad school. I passed prescreens and had the opportunity to audition for the program. Honestly, I thought this was prime time for me, and the stars were lining up. Come mid-March, however, I found out I was waitlisted to the school. And, a couple of weeks following, I was told I didn’t have a spot.

This felt like failure. I gave so much of myself preparing for this massive audition that would impact the rest of my career. I felt that I had done everything I should have and landed smack on my back. This is what I learned from it:

1. There are politics in everything. I could have never known what was going on behind the scenes or every person who was auditioning, their connections to the teacher, so on and so forth.
2. Things have a way of working out the way they are meant to, and what at first appears to be a failure can be turned into a massive success. In retrospect, I realize now I wouldn’t want to be heading anywhere else. Chicago is my favorite city in all of the United States, after all!
3. As artists, we will make our art no matter where we are. We are trained to be self-motivated, tenacious and resilient, because we will face constant critique and judgment in this field.

What did you learn from working alongside your peers?

There is so much talent here, and every day I am humbled by my peers and colleagues. They provide so much motivation and inspiration for me to improve myself and my craft. Some days, it’s impossible not to compare myself to others, because everyone is extremely talented and similarly working their tails off to better themselves as artists. What I learned from this is to do my best not to compare. The high school students are often on par with the undergraduate students and the undergrads are often on par with the graduate students and so on. It’s something about this school that is so unique and additionally provides an amazing opportunity for all of the students.

Over time, I realized that I have my own individual strengths and I learned to use my strengths as an advantage and as part of my “brand” as an artist. Recognize your strengths and use them as tools in your art.

by Corrine Luthy