Sara Caswell

Sara Caswell (b. Bloomington, February 1, 1978 - ) -- Violinist. Born into a musical family, Caswell flew through the violin Suzuki method, starting at age five, and competed in classical violin competitions at a young age. She was able to work with a trio of diverse masters in Bloomington: Stanley Ritchie (Baroque violin), Josef Gingold (violin), and David Baker (jazz studies). At the undergraduate level at Indiana University, she studied Violin Performance and Jazz Studies and received an M.M. in Jazz Violin from the Manhattan School of Music in 2006. By that time, her performance career was well under way. She has recorded two solo CDs (First-Song, Double-Time, 2000 and But Beautiful, Arbors, 2005) and a joint album Alive in the Singing Air with her sister Rachel (Turtle Ridge, 2014). Sara has amassed an extensive discography as a side player, starting with local artists Monica Herzig, Amy Stephens, Carrie Newcomer, and her sister Rachel. Among the numerous national and international stars she has worked with are Mark O' Connor, Bucky Pizzarelli, Roseanna Vitro, Skitch Henderson, Esperanza Spaulding, Cynthia Sayer, Nadje Noordhuis, and David Krakauer. She also leads her own quartet, plays in a quintet the Caswell Sisters, and is a founding member of 9 Horses, a chamber jazz trio established in 2013. In addition, she has been a member of and a soloist with the New York Pops Orchestra. She has received multiple Grammy nominations; they include "Best Jazz Vocal Album" with Roseanna Vitro, The Music of Randy Newman (2012) and "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album" with Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, Whisper in the Wind (2017), and "Best Improvised Solo" for "Can't Remember Why" on the latter album. In May 2017, Sara won Downbeat's poll "Best Rising Star-Violin." With her strong background in jazz and classical, she plays with amazing technique and creative intuition. Based in New York City, Caswell teaches at the Berklee School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.