About
Based in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, flutist Sarah Steranka enjoys a multifaceted career as a recitalist, chamber musician, and advocate for new and experimental music. Since making her solo debut with the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic at the age of nineteen, she has dedicated her career to exploring the innovative work of living composers and pushing the boundaries of her instruments. Ms. Steranka has premiered works by Ramin Akhavijou, Marilyn Shrude, Elizabeth Brown, Zvonimir Nagy, Devon Osamu Tipp, Erin Rogers, Nicole Mitchell, Nancy Galbraith, Lauren Siess, and countless others.
Ms. Steranka has presented programs of new and experimental music at the 2021 SCI National Student Conference, the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Flute Festival, Music on the Edge’s Beyond Microtonal Music Festival, the New Jersey Flute Fair, The Pittsburgh Festival of New Music, and The Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project’s Re:Sound festival. Her recordings of solo and chamber works have been published by Sound Silence Thought, Albany Records, and Naxos, and have in addition been self-published by countless composers.
As a symphony musician, Ms. Steranka is second flute of the Westmoreland Symphony and also appears as a guest with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, the Akron Symphony, and the Erie Philharmonic. In addition, she is a core member of the nationally recognized new music collective Kamratōn, where she plays flute and piccolo as well as alto and bass flutes. She also makes up one half of the acclaimed Brooklyn-based group SydeBoob Duo, a group dedicated to commissioning new works for flute & voice and amplifying the voices of women in the arts.
In addition to maintaining a private studio of 30+ students through the Steranka Flute Studio, LLC, Ms. Steranka maintains faculty positions at Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Flute Academy. She has also appeared as a guest artist and lecturer at Penn State University, Duke University, West Virginia University’s International Flute Symposium, and Columbus State University. Ms. Steranka’s instructional work has also included teaching actors to play the flute for film roles. She is passionate about teaching music to students of all ages and abilities, and finds joy and inspiration in the power music has to strengthen a community, topics she discussed as a panelist on the NFA 2021 National Convention discussion panel “Community-Minded Musicianship.”
Ms. Steranka holds a master's degree from Duquesne University where she studied with Jennifer Steele and performed with the Triano Woodwind Quintet under the artistic guidance of James Gorton. She earned a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University where her principal teachers were Alberto Almarza and Jeanne Baxtresser.
Ms. Steranka has presented programs of new and experimental music at the 2021 SCI National Student Conference, the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Flute Festival, Music on the Edge’s Beyond Microtonal Music Festival, the New Jersey Flute Fair, The Pittsburgh Festival of New Music, and The Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project’s Re:Sound festival. Her recordings of solo and chamber works have been published by Sound Silence Thought, Albany Records, and Naxos, and have in addition been self-published by countless composers.
As a symphony musician, Ms. Steranka is second flute of the Westmoreland Symphony and also appears as a guest with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, the Akron Symphony, and the Erie Philharmonic. In addition, she is a core member of the nationally recognized new music collective Kamratōn, where she plays flute and piccolo as well as alto and bass flutes. She also makes up one half of the acclaimed Brooklyn-based group SydeBoob Duo, a group dedicated to commissioning new works for flute & voice and amplifying the voices of women in the arts.
In addition to maintaining a private studio of 30+ students through the Steranka Flute Studio, LLC, Ms. Steranka maintains faculty positions at Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Flute Academy. She has also appeared as a guest artist and lecturer at Penn State University, Duke University, West Virginia University’s International Flute Symposium, and Columbus State University. Ms. Steranka’s instructional work has also included teaching actors to play the flute for film roles. She is passionate about teaching music to students of all ages and abilities, and finds joy and inspiration in the power music has to strengthen a community, topics she discussed as a panelist on the NFA 2021 National Convention discussion panel “Community-Minded Musicianship.”
Ms. Steranka holds a master's degree from Duquesne University where she studied with Jennifer Steele and performed with the Triano Woodwind Quintet under the artistic guidance of James Gorton. She earned a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University where her principal teachers were Alberto Almarza and Jeanne Baxtresser.
Repertoire list
New & Experimental Repertoire List
* = world premiere
Solo flute(s) without electronics
Anahita Abbasi, No I am not roaming aimlessly for amplified solo flute
Luciano Berio, Sequenza I for solo flute
Elizabeth Brown, Botanical Obsessions for solo flute
Elizabeth Brown, Trillium for solo flute
Ann Cleare, eyam iii (if it’s living somewhere outside of you) for amplified solo bass flute
Jessie Cox, Spiritus
*Jessie Cox, Wereds
Cristobal Halffter, Debla [Solo VI] for flute
Sungji Hong, Soaring for solo flute
Yaz Lancaster, pearl
Allison Loggins-Hull, Homeland for solo flute
Kaija Saariaho, Laconisme de l’aile for solo flute & optional electronics
*Devon Osamu Tipp, 31 Ways of Looking at a Truffle
Varese, Density 21.5
Tianyi Wang, Song of Normality for amplified flute or bass flute
Solo flute(s) with electronics
*Ramin Akhavijou, X to the Power of 4
Marcos Balter, Descent from Parnassus for solo flute & reverb
Elizabeth Brown, Antarctica for alto flute & recorded sound
Elizabeth Brown, Arcana for flute & recorded sound
Brittany J. Green, Sonatina for flute & optional reverb
Brittany J. Green, there is only you and i for flute & live electronics
Erin Rogers, Hello World for amplified flute & electronics
Yarnell, 10/18 II. Echobox for solo flute & electronic delay
Flute(s) & voice
Eve Beglarian, robin redbreast for soprano, piccolo, & pre-recorded electronics
Luciano Berio, Altra voce for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, & live electronics
Beat Furrer, invocation VI for soprano & bass flute
*Nancy Galbraith, Behind the Veil for soprano, flute, & chamber orchestra
Anthony Green, V. Amendment IV from Dona Nobis Veritatem for soprano & flute
Ellen Ruth Harrison, Between Magic and Possibility for soprano & flute
Kaija Saariaho, Changing Light for soprano & flute
Rebecca Saunders, O Yes & I for soprano & bass flute
Kate Soper, Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say for soprano & flutes
Mixed Chamber
*Ramin Akhavijou, be NEW too (2018)
Marcos Balter, delete/control/option (2008)
Luciano Berio, Laborintus (1965)
* Jean Patrick Besingrand, Le soleil ne saitrien de l’ombre (2016)
Pierre Boulez, Derive I (1984)
Elizabeth Brown, Acadia (1999)
Elizabeth Brown, Wild Apples (2018)
* Christine Burke, 6 fingers / We go there by any road we take (2017)
Courtney Bryan, In the Heart of God (2018)
Anna Clyne, 1987 (2008)
* Emily Cook, Across the Blue Mountain (2021)
* Emily Cook, till the gossamer thread (2019)
Chaya Czernowin, While Liquid Amber I (2000)
inti figgis-vizueta, older blood (2018)
* Nancy Galbraith, Ruby’s Ascent (2018)
* Bobby Ge, Pell-Mell (2021)
Bara Gisladottir Nidur (2016)
Annie Gosfield, Cranks and Cactus Needles (2000)
Liz Gre, minis for any configuration (2021)
Brittany J. Green, Intersections (2017)
Judd Greenstein, At the end of a really great day (2007)
Kyle Grimm, 4 Instances of Eliot (2020)
Georg Friedrich Haas, Nach-Ruf…ent-gleitend… (1999)
Yvette Janine Jackson, Doubt (2021)
Laura Kaminsky, The Full Range of Blue (2001)
Catherine Lamb, Parallaxis Forma (2016)
Yaz Lancaster, intangible landscapes (2019-2020)
* Lu-Han Li, Excerpts from Red (2017)
* Christian Mechem, I am Nobody (2020)
* Ryan McMasters, like glue, his dead body holds me (2017)
Nicole Mitchell, Cult of Electromagnetic Connectivity (2020)
Nicole Mitchell, Symbology (2020)
* Nicole Mitchell, Transitions (2021)
* Nicole Mitchell, Water, Lifegiver from Mother Earth Suite (arr. 2021)
Eric Moe, Siren Songs (2002)
* Aaron Myers-Brooks, Translucency Continuum (2015)
* Zvonimir Nagy, Dialogues with Silence (2018)
* Zvonimir Nagy, Liquescence (2016)
Angelica Negron, Dust (2015)
* Brian Riordan, Void (2016)
* Erin Rogers, Gorilla (2018)
*Erin Rogers, On View (2020)
Mathew Rosenblum, Falling (2013)
Ramin Roshandel, ..what if(s) (2021)
* Curtis Rumrill, In this Styrofoam Room (2017)
* Curtis Rumrill, Rover (2016)
* Curtis Rumrill, Sex Poem for Light Bulb by Beetle (2015)
* Curtis Rumrill, What is death to some fish eggs? (2020)
* Lauren Siess, Pollutant (2021)
Giacinto Scelsi, Ko-Lho (1966)
Giacinto Scelsi, Ruck di guck (1957)
* Marilyn Shrude, Within the Wall (2018)
David Stock, Five Four Letter Words
* Li Tao, Frore River (2021)
* Devon Osamu Tipp, Tokyo Shift Response (2020)
Devon Osamu Tipp, Tokeru Reibo (2018)
* Ken Ueno, Sawdust on Arafat (2016)
Reza Vali, Segah (2010)
Michel van der Aa, Mask (2006)
* Lucie Vitkova, ONE (2018)
Ania Vu, Lost within Letters (2021)
Julia Werntz, Flying, Nesting, and Calling (2016)
Anna-Louise Walton, Basket of Figs (2016)
* Jeff Weston, the thin man .the narrow house (2016)
Barbara White, My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon (2008)
Amy Williams, Lygamy (2015)
Xuesi Xu, Three Petal Drops (2021)
Chamber Opera
* Curtis Rumrill, The Winter Dog (2018)
*Julia Werntz, The Strange Child (2020)
* = world premiere
Solo flute(s) without electronics
Anahita Abbasi, No I am not roaming aimlessly for amplified solo flute
Luciano Berio, Sequenza I for solo flute
Elizabeth Brown, Botanical Obsessions for solo flute
Elizabeth Brown, Trillium for solo flute
Ann Cleare, eyam iii (if it’s living somewhere outside of you) for amplified solo bass flute
Jessie Cox, Spiritus
*Jessie Cox, Wereds
Cristobal Halffter, Debla [Solo VI] for flute
Sungji Hong, Soaring for solo flute
Yaz Lancaster, pearl
Allison Loggins-Hull, Homeland for solo flute
Kaija Saariaho, Laconisme de l’aile for solo flute & optional electronics
*Devon Osamu Tipp, 31 Ways of Looking at a Truffle
Varese, Density 21.5
Tianyi Wang, Song of Normality for amplified flute or bass flute
Solo flute(s) with electronics
*Ramin Akhavijou, X to the Power of 4
Marcos Balter, Descent from Parnassus for solo flute & reverb
Elizabeth Brown, Antarctica for alto flute & recorded sound
Elizabeth Brown, Arcana for flute & recorded sound
Brittany J. Green, Sonatina for flute & optional reverb
Brittany J. Green, there is only you and i for flute & live electronics
Erin Rogers, Hello World for amplified flute & electronics
Yarnell, 10/18 II. Echobox for solo flute & electronic delay
Flute(s) & voice
Eve Beglarian, robin redbreast for soprano, piccolo, & pre-recorded electronics
Luciano Berio, Altra voce for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, & live electronics
Beat Furrer, invocation VI for soprano & bass flute
*Nancy Galbraith, Behind the Veil for soprano, flute, & chamber orchestra
Anthony Green, V. Amendment IV from Dona Nobis Veritatem for soprano & flute
Ellen Ruth Harrison, Between Magic and Possibility for soprano & flute
Kaija Saariaho, Changing Light for soprano & flute
Rebecca Saunders, O Yes & I for soprano & bass flute
Kate Soper, Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say for soprano & flutes
Mixed Chamber
*Ramin Akhavijou, be NEW too (2018)
Marcos Balter, delete/control/option (2008)
Luciano Berio, Laborintus (1965)
* Jean Patrick Besingrand, Le soleil ne saitrien de l’ombre (2016)
Pierre Boulez, Derive I (1984)
Elizabeth Brown, Acadia (1999)
Elizabeth Brown, Wild Apples (2018)
* Christine Burke, 6 fingers / We go there by any road we take (2017)
Courtney Bryan, In the Heart of God (2018)
Anna Clyne, 1987 (2008)
* Emily Cook, Across the Blue Mountain (2021)
* Emily Cook, till the gossamer thread (2019)
Chaya Czernowin, While Liquid Amber I (2000)
inti figgis-vizueta, older blood (2018)
* Nancy Galbraith, Ruby’s Ascent (2018)
* Bobby Ge, Pell-Mell (2021)
Bara Gisladottir Nidur (2016)
Annie Gosfield, Cranks and Cactus Needles (2000)
Liz Gre, minis for any configuration (2021)
Brittany J. Green, Intersections (2017)
Judd Greenstein, At the end of a really great day (2007)
Kyle Grimm, 4 Instances of Eliot (2020)
Georg Friedrich Haas, Nach-Ruf…ent-gleitend… (1999)
Yvette Janine Jackson, Doubt (2021)
Laura Kaminsky, The Full Range of Blue (2001)
Catherine Lamb, Parallaxis Forma (2016)
Yaz Lancaster, intangible landscapes (2019-2020)
* Lu-Han Li, Excerpts from Red (2017)
* Christian Mechem, I am Nobody (2020)
* Ryan McMasters, like glue, his dead body holds me (2017)
Nicole Mitchell, Cult of Electromagnetic Connectivity (2020)
Nicole Mitchell, Symbology (2020)
* Nicole Mitchell, Transitions (2021)
* Nicole Mitchell, Water, Lifegiver from Mother Earth Suite (arr. 2021)
Eric Moe, Siren Songs (2002)
* Aaron Myers-Brooks, Translucency Continuum (2015)
* Zvonimir Nagy, Dialogues with Silence (2018)
* Zvonimir Nagy, Liquescence (2016)
Angelica Negron, Dust (2015)
* Brian Riordan, Void (2016)
* Erin Rogers, Gorilla (2018)
*Erin Rogers, On View (2020)
Mathew Rosenblum, Falling (2013)
Ramin Roshandel, ..what if(s) (2021)
* Curtis Rumrill, In this Styrofoam Room (2017)
* Curtis Rumrill, Rover (2016)
* Curtis Rumrill, Sex Poem for Light Bulb by Beetle (2015)
* Curtis Rumrill, What is death to some fish eggs? (2020)
* Lauren Siess, Pollutant (2021)
Giacinto Scelsi, Ko-Lho (1966)
Giacinto Scelsi, Ruck di guck (1957)
* Marilyn Shrude, Within the Wall (2018)
David Stock, Five Four Letter Words
* Li Tao, Frore River (2021)
* Devon Osamu Tipp, Tokyo Shift Response (2020)
Devon Osamu Tipp, Tokeru Reibo (2018)
* Ken Ueno, Sawdust on Arafat (2016)
Reza Vali, Segah (2010)
Michel van der Aa, Mask (2006)
* Lucie Vitkova, ONE (2018)
Ania Vu, Lost within Letters (2021)
Julia Werntz, Flying, Nesting, and Calling (2016)
Anna-Louise Walton, Basket of Figs (2016)
* Jeff Weston, the thin man .the narrow house (2016)
Barbara White, My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon (2008)
Amy Williams, Lygamy (2015)
Xuesi Xu, Three Petal Drops (2021)
Chamber Opera
* Curtis Rumrill, The Winter Dog (2018)
*Julia Werntz, The Strange Child (2020)