Sarah Jane Hargis

Sarah Jane Hargis is an internationally acclaimed flutist and composer of classical, modern and improvisational music. She pairs a full, rich classical tone with a passionate exploration of electronic sound effects, using pedals the way a guitarist would across piccolo, concert flute and alto flute. Her sound blends blues, jazz, electronic music, pop and improvisation, and has been described as "an improvisational playground", "melodically purifying" and "electronic space pop". She is an artist for Altus Flutes and Earthquaker Devices and performs as a soloist and with groups around the world.

Sarah Jane was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains and grew up above a flower shop run by her father and paternal grandmother. Music was the soundtrack of her youth. She learned theory and piano beside her grandmother, then guitar and cornet from her father. Her band director in middle school recognized her potential as a flutist. She also played saxophone and percussion, and toured with Drum Corps International on mallet percussion in college. In the flute, she found her voice.

She was the first in her generation to attend college. She earned a Bachelor's of Music Education from Eastern Kentucky University and a Master's of Music in Flute Performance from the University of New Mexico. Her teachers include Alexa Still, Jim Walker, Valerie Potter, Adam Kunzel, George Pope and Toshio Takahashi. While working as a school Director of Bands, she began to lose some of her hearing. After stepping away from teaching, she studied Neurological Music Therapy and returned to flute performance. She shares with her students and colleagues the drive to follow your dreams whatever the challenges.

Her Healing Sound Project 1:1, released in 2019, is a collection of ambient sound meditations for flute, harp, electronics and pedal effects. She made it with Neurological Music Therapist and electronic harpist Andrea Cortez, whom she met during her music therapy studies. She has also appeared on recordings with artists including Nestor Torres, Alex Coke, Matt Hubbard, Todd V. Wolfson Rio Trio and Steve Haskin. She is based in Austin, Texas.