Dr. Sarah McConnell

Sarah McConnell joined the University of Alaska Fairbanks music faculty in the Fall of 2020.  Her love of music is reflected in the passion and energy in her teaching.  She earned her Ph.D. in Music Theory at the University of North Texas.  Dr. McConnell’s dissertation takes a new look at the instrumental music of Max Reger through the lens of developing variation.  In her master’s thesis she transcribed and analyzed the film score to “Secret Window” (2004) to reflect the score’s role in the overall narrative of the film.  She received a bachelor’s degree in music from Oklahoma City University, a master’s in instrumental conducting from Stephen F. Austin State University and a master’s in music theory from the University of North Texas.  Dr. McConnell won the Robert W. Ottman teaching fellowship award while a master’s student at the University of North Texas. 

Dr. McConnell was an adjunct at Dallas Baptist University from fall 2011 – spring 2012 during her doctoral studies at UNT, as well as a full time lecturer from fall of 2014 – spring of 2015 at Texas A&M Kingsville.

Dr. McConnell’s current areas of research include film music analysis, continuing research on developing variation in Max Reger, music theory and ear training pedagogy, and analysis of choral works from the performer’s perspective.  Dr. McConnell has presented her research on Max Reger at a few graduate student conferences including the 2016 GTA Symposium of Music Theory at Indiana University.  She also had a paper, “Motivic reinterpretation in the instrumental music of Brahms,” published in Harmonia, the graduate student journal at the University of North Texas.  Dr. McConnell is currently studying Alaska Native Music so that she can respectfully and knowledgeably bring it in to her classrooms to be studied and appreciated. She is the music minor advisor and the BA in music advisor for the music department here at UAF.

Prior to moving to Alaska, she sang with the Houston Symphony Chorus for four seasons.  She has also taught private oboe lessons and played oboe with various ensembles since the age of 17.