Sarah Allen found the drums at age 8 and has been on staff at the SDS (where the family atmosphere and amazing community of teachers and students have made it a joy to show up) since October 2004.Sarah has performed and recorded in a variety of genres from big band jazz to folk rock and R & B.
Her sense of rhythm and fascination with technology found her working in the mid 90's as a Sound Designer at Microsoft and later as a Music Documentary Producer at the Experience Music Project. Sarah also spent two summers assisting Michael Shrieve and Wayne Horvitz at EMP's Music and Arts camp.
Sarah credits motherhood (of a 3 year old son)with revolutionizing the way she hears and relates to rhythm. Her work can be heard on albums by the Stanford Jazz Band, Zsa Zsa House, Berkeley's The Rebecca Riots, and Portland's, Anne Weiss.
Ongoing improvisational projects include Leek and Chained Down Cheese. Sarah will be playing out in 2005 with funk rock trio, Bill Wolford's Head And Circus Mama.
Sarah's evolving setup includes acoustic and electric drums. She believes that technique is a gift you give yourself and that "the groove" is a place not a thing. She especially enjoys working with drummers who want to be in bands because being in a band is the best.