The Story
Sarah Yingst began playing the violin at age 11, using an old fiddle her grandfather had found at a garage sale for $50. She studied violin through her school orchestra and private lessons, eventually joining local orchestras such as the Northwest Indiana Symphony Youth Orchestra and the South Shore Orchestra during her high school years. In 2009, she began taking fiddle lessons with Kenny Stone. This provided Sarah with the opportunity to learn more about the genre she loved most: country music.
Following her dream of becoming a fiddler, Sarah moved to Nashville, TN., in 2011 to study music at Belmont University. There, she received her Bachelor's Degree in Commercial Music Performance and gained priceless experience studying with studio recording legend Buddy Spicher, as well as with Billy Contreras, Elisabeth Small, and Tammy Rodgers King. In addition, Sarah studied voice with Kathy Chiavola and Stephanie Adlington. Her time in Nashville also provided Sarah with the opportunity to play with recording artists Ricky Skaggs, Michael W. Smith, Laura Bell Bundy, Cece Winans, Hanneke Cassel, and Rayvon Owen. In 2015, Sarah moved to Indianapolis, Indiana where she became heavily involved in the music scene, performing in bands such as Backroad 39 and, currently, Highland Reign. She also began giving private music lessons through local stores and schools. This experience revealed a new passion for Sarah, music education. Following this new passion, Sarah began investigating the Suzuki Method of violin instruction. This method, developed by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, is built on the concept of the mother tongue language. Kids all over the world learn complicated languages from infancy as they learn to communicate with their parents and with the people around them. Dr. Suzuki's method teaches music to kids through the same process. In 2017, Sarah became a registered Suzuki violin instructor, training with Charles Krigbaum. This experience was the catalyst for Sarah's latest adventure, Red Fiddler Music Studios. Red Fiddler Music Studios was established in 2017. It is comprised of two entities: the performance work of Sarah Yingst (the Red Fiddler), and the Red Fiddler Music Studio private lesson program. In 2018, Sarah expanded the Red Fiddler Music Studios lesson program by adding Tony Yingst to her faculty. He teaches guitar lessons. This website is a one-stop shop for those looking to hire Sarah and her team for either performances or educational purposes. |