Sarah Watts studied clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, before deciding to specialize in the bass clarinet. She completed her postgraduate studies in solo bass clarinet performance at the Rotterdam Conservatorium, funded by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and a Leverhulme Trust Studentship. At the end of her course in Rotterdam, Sarah was awarded the Exxon prize for the best classical music student.

As a bass clarinettist, Sarah has gained an international reputation as an artist, teacher and researcher. She has performed solo repertoire and given masterclasses across the UK, Ireland, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and has attracted many composers including Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Piers Hellawell and William Sweeney to write works for her. In 2015, she completed her PhD and published an internationally respected resource on the theory and practice of bass clarinet multiphonics.

Sarah is the clarinettist in Northern Ireland’s Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble and performs with rarescale and SCAW. She currently teaches bass clarinet at the Royal Northern College of Music and directs the MA in Music Performance Studies at Sheffield University. She runs music courses on the Hebridean Island of Raasay, where she lives part-time.

In 2016, Sarah was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for her work. She is a Selmer Artist, a Vandoren Artist and a Silverstein Pro Artist.