“Dawn song cycle made possible by support from Chamber Music America”

Sarah Elizabeth Charles is a vocalist, composer, band leader, teaching artist and forever student based in Brooklyn, New York. She has performed globally, worked with numerous artists and has led her band, SCOPE, for fourteen years, recording/releasing four critically acclaimed albums. Charles' musical output has been described as a “genre of one” by DownBeat Magazine, “soulfully articulate” by the NY Times and “an unmatched sound”  by Jay Z’s Life+Times. In addition to her performances, Charles is also an active educator. She currently works as a lead teaching artist with Carnegie Hall at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and co-teaches two self-designed courses (with Caroline Davis) called Jazz and Gender and New Narratives: Creating Space for Equity in Music at The New School. In 2019, she was one of five recipients of the Yale School of Music's Distinguished Teaching Artist Award. In 2020, she became a selected member of the Joe’s Pub Working Group, a recipient of the NYC Women’s Fund grant for her band’s fourth album, Blank Canvas, and a recipient of Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works grant. In 2023, she was selected by Joe’s Pub to receive the New York Voices Commission for her song cycle set to Maya Angelou’s poetry and debuted her project Dawn (inspired by her journey through miscarriage/birth/motherhood) in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Room. One can only look to the future for more boundary pushing music and initiatives from this unique artist. 

Maya Keren (voice & piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Savannah Harris (drums) + special guests

www.sarahelizabethcharles.com; instagram: @secsmiles; facebook: "Sarah Elizabeth Charles" (personal) & "SCOPE" twitter: @secsounds