Faculty Profiles

An active performer and educator based in Indianapolis, Sara Petokas performs regularly on both modern and historical instruments. Sara holds a Bachelor degree in Music Education from Mansfield University, a Masters in Horn Performance from the Eastman School of Music, and is currently finishing her Doctorate in Horn Performance and Literature from Indiana University. She is a Guest Lecturer of Horn at Wheaton College and Conservatory of Music. Sara is formerly the Horn Instructor at Marian University and maintains an active Private Lesson Studio on Lessonface.com, where she teaches horn, piano, music theory, and ukulele. She is also the lead teaching artist for El Sistema Indianapolis, which provides music education to underserved students.

On the baroque horn, Sara has performed with the Indiana University Baroque Orchestra, the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, and the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra on a Project with the South Carolina Bach Society. She recently performed Handel’s “Parnasso in Festa” and the “Teleman Concerto for two horns” TWV 52:D2 with the Indiana University Baroque Orchestra.

On the modern horn, Sara holds the chair of Fourth Horn with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the Danville (IL) Symphony Orchestra and Carmel Symphony Orchestra in Indianapolis. Sara also performs with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. 

Sara is a founding member of Flower City Brass, a quintet founded at Eastman in 2017. The quintet has toured and performed around the world, most recently at the Aspen Music Festival in the Summer of 2021. The quintet was invited to compete at the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble Competition in July 2019. Sara is an active chamber music performer, playing in and around Indianapolis throughout the year.

DMA  Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington, IN
Doctor of Music, Horn Performance, In Progress
Dissertation: “Historical Horns Excerpt Book.”
Committee: Richard Seraphinoff (chair), Jeff Nelsen, Joey Tartell
Minor Area: Music TheorySecondary Area of Study: Classical and Baroque Horn
Teachers: Jeff Nelsen, Richard Seraphinoff, Dale Clevenger

MM    Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY
Master of Music, Horn Performance and Literature
Thesis: “Extended Techniques on the Horn.
”Advisor: Peter KurauTeachers: Peter Kurau, William Vermeulen, Jacek Muzik

BM     Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA
Bachelor of Music, Music Education
Graduated Summa Cum Laude, 3.997 GPA
Teacher: Rebecca Dodson-Webster

 

 

sarapetokas.com

The Wheaton Horn Studio is Comprised of Majors and Nonmajors. There are weekly Studio Masterclasses with Guest Artists on topics including:

• Orchestral Excerpts (solo and section)
• Mock Auditions
• Natural Horn Technique
• Extended Techniques
• Horn Pedagogy
• Student Performances

Email sara.petokas@wheaton.edu for more information.