Sarah Folsom

Sarah Folsom first joined CCM's faculty as a Visiting Professor in 2022 and began her current appointment as an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre & Voice Specialist in fall of 2023.

As a multifaceted professional performer and teaching artist specializing in contemporary-commercial music, musical theatre, singing voice habilitation, and trans and non-binary singing voice, Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to CCM’s distinguished Musical Theatre program.
Celebrated for her “comedic skill” (Broadway World), Sarah’s latest theatre credit includes the role of “Fruma Sarah” in a new, 2025 production of Fiddler on the Roof produced by The Cincinnati Opera. Yet, she is best known for her “masterful” (Elaine Diehl, WGUC) concert performances of vintage jazz, cabaret, and musical theatre repertoire, recently appearing with Cincinnati Pops, Cincinnati Opera’s Studio Session Series, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Washington Opera House, Vocal Arts Ensemble, The Jazz Series at Memorial Hall, and the May Festival Chorus, as well as competing as a 2021 Quarterfinalist in the American Traditions Vocal Competition. 

Also an accomplished concert programmer and arranger, Sarah is one half of the Cincinnati-based musical duo, Queen City Cabaret (QCC), which she co-founded in 2018 with pianist Mathew Umphreys. As an Artistic and Musical Director with QCC, Sarah co-writes multiple musical cabarets each year, celebrating the music, movements, and artists of the 20th century. Through QCC, Sarah released her first album, Count Your Blessings: A Tribute to Rosemary Clooney, and is a resident artist at The Carnegie Theatre in Covington, KY. Additionally, Sarah has produced several musical activism projects through the cabaret, including a city-wide music video cover of the 2017 Women’s March anthem, Quiet, as well as a week-long, virtual music festival promoting voting equity in 2020.

In addition to performing, Sarah has extensive teaching experience and engages in ongoing professional development to keep current with industry standards and advances in voice science. She has worked with professional and pre-professional singers for more than 15 years, and currently has students performing on Broadway, touring as singer-songwriters and commercial artists, and playing theatres and concert halls across the country. A CCM alumnus, Sarah graduated with a Master of Music in Voice in 2015, and has since completed certification at the Contemporary-Commercial Music Institute at Shenandoah Conservatory. She presented her research, “Navigating the Voice Care Team: A Study for the Pre-Professional and Professional Singer,” at the 2016, National Association of Teachers of Singing Annual Conference, and was named a NATS Professional Teaching Intern in 2020. 

Additionally, Sarah is an in-demand presenter and adjudicator, recently teaching masterclasses in commercial vocal styles and cabaret performance technique at CCM, University of Nevada-Reno, Xavier University, and Northern Kentucky University, as well as adjudicating the 2025 Overture Awards.

In her teaching, Sarah aims to foster a spirit of collaboration, using evidence-based training tools and personalized instruction to help each of her students achieve sustainable, flexible, athletic, and joyful vocal production, laying the foundation for a lifetime of fulfilling, imaginative art-making.
 

Bachelor of Music : Florida State University Tallahassee, FL, 2011 (Vocal Performance)

Master of Music: College-Conservatory of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2015 (Performance - Voice )