Christian faith inspires Norfolk musician Sarah
 Acclaimed Norfolk musician Sarah Andrew is much in demand for her viola, violin and singing tuition. Sarah talks about how her Christian faith inspires and impacts her as a professional musician.
"I was brought up in a Christian family - my dad is a minister, and my sister and I were encouraged from a very early age to appreciate and perform music in both a worship and a secular setting. One of the first things I learned to play at around age seven was 'Holy, Holy, Holy' - I was very excited to find it in my viola book!
"My parents always inspired me to pray about upcoming performances rather than try to do everything in my own strength. I will admit that it took me some time to learn this though! Now when I play I offer the music up to God - he gave me it after all and I praise him for that. There are much worse things to be in this world than someone who makes music for a living!"
Sarah moved to Norfolk in 2000 from her home in Scotland and she attends Norwich Central Baptist Church. She studied at UEA and has performed in many orchestral, chamber and choral concerts including performances with the Arco String Quartet. Additionally, Sarah has worked with many prominent musicians such as Michael George, Jill Morton and Jana Novokova. She has also performed in master classes for both the Maggini and the Amadeus String Quartets.
She is also a founder member of the Adelaide String Quartet for which she plays regularly, and with whom she has recently performed in Dublin.
She said, "My faith is a real lifeline for my work, not only because of the huge sense of responsibility I have towards my pupils, but also because being a musician is not always an easy way of life. It's often unreliable, and I frequently find myself praying because of unruly income, worry over exam results or scary performances! There's a lot of pressure to 'get it right' because I am being paid to do so, not to mention that I am highly self-critical! It's taken a long time, and I'm still learning that I don't have the strength to sort all these things on my own. Only Jesus has the power to turn situations around - and he does, time and time again!"
 Sarah also plays with The Abbey Ensemble, a professional trio who perform at weddings, functions and concerts.
Pictured above: Sarah Andrew and right: The Abbey Ensemble. | 