Compostions & Arrangements
Sarah's love of performing began with music, and she has been studying music her entire life. Since high school, she has been composing and arranging music. She loves to take music that is familiar to audiences and turn it into something new, and to create haunting music that the audience will still be thinking about when they leave the theatre.
Appalachian Requiem
Sarah's latest project is a series of songs, the working title of which is Appalachian Requiem. The first piece in the series is a slowed down, bluegrass arrangement of "I'll Fly Away," which ends with a sample of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
The goal of the overall project is to represent the grief process through music music that is familiar to Appalachian and American culture. Sarah chose soaring melodies, minimal instrumental accompaniment, and simple harmonies that recall a sense of home and community.
Though the songs are sacred in nature, the project is meant to be about the universal experience of life, death, and grief. Sarah originally arranged "I'll Fly Away" in 2022 for a three person ensemble and guitar and piano, and edited the piece for a full choir in 2024.
The video above shows Catawba College's Catawba Singers performing the piece at their 2024 Spring Concert.
Conductor: Dr. Phillip Burgess
Instrumentalists: Susan Trivette (piano), Pavel Gabulle (guitar), Justin Gerstle (banjo), William Gonzalez (upright bass)
Soloist: Sarah Bedini
Octet: Sarah Bedini, Sara Duplisea, Francine Green-Thomas, Teresa Greene, Tyler Miller, Skye Sterrett-Spencer, Camden Trimmer, Malachi Williams
Stay tuned for the remaining pieces of Appalachian Requiem, coming soon!
Mythos
In her sophomore year of college, Sarah composed music for classmate Michelle Medina's original play, Mythos. Sarah sat in for the cast's devising sessions, and created an overture and three character themes for the show. She then worked with multiple musicians and a student producer to record these pieces for the show. Sarah is now working with Michelle on creating a full underscore for the piece that will be published alongside the finished script.
Video created by Robert Parks.