Dr. Sarah Roberts is Director of the School of Performing Arts and Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at The University of Texas at Tyler. A versatile saxophonist equally at home in classical, jazz, and popular idioms, she performs widely across East Texas with her self-titled jazz quartet and The Jazz Connection, as well as with orchestras such as the Plano Symphony, Texarkana Symphony, and Shreveport Symphony. She is also a member of Kris Berg’s Metroplexity Big Band, with whom she has shared the stage alongside jazz luminaries including Phil Woods, Tom "Bones" Malone, Wayne Bergeron, and Kirk Whalum.

Dr. Roberts is a founding member of Essimar, a unique trio dedicated to new music with creative instrumentation. She has also appeared with groups like the Dallas Winds and the Lonestar Wind Orchestra and has performed with artists including The Temptations, Johnny Mathis, Martina McBride and The O’Jays. Her career has taken her around the world, including recitals and masterclasses in Switzerland and China, as well as appearances at national conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance and Jazz Education Network.

A native of Fort Madison, Iowa, she made her solo debut at age 17 with the Southeast Iowa Symphony and went on to solo with the Des Moines Symphony and the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen. She performed in Zurich with Juilliard’s AXIOM Ensemble in 2008 and in Shanghai with the East China Normal University Orchestra and UNT Jazz Combo in 2010. In 2017, she returned to China for performances and clinics at Harbin University.

Dr. Roberts has appeared as a featured guest artist and soloist at numerous festivals and schools, including the Linn-Mar Java and Jazz Series, the Boise State Jazz Festival, the Missouri State University Jazz Festival, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Southeast Iowa Symphony, and at TMEA performing with the Mineola Middle School Band and the McMath Middle School Jazz Band. In 2021, she was a featured soloist with the Mesquite Symphony performing John Williams’ Escapades. Additionally, she served as saxophonist in the bar band for Michael Tilson Thomas’ Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind, performing with both the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Walt Disney Concert Hall and the New World Symphony in the New World Center and Carnegie Hall. Her recordings include projects with the Metroplexity Big Band, the UNT Two O’Clock Lab Band, Tom Walker’s Gospel Train Big Band, and several North Texas Wind Ensemble albums.

As an adjudicator, guest artist, and clinician, Dr. Roberts is a frequent presence at festivals, conferences, and honor ensembles throughout the United States. Her adjudication experience includes the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition, the Houston Underground Competition, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) festivals, and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Invited Jazz Ensemble selection process. Since 2021, she has recorded the official TMEA All-State Jazz Saxophone etude reference videos, which are distributed statewide to assist students in preparing audition material.

In 2026, she served as clinician for the Texas Community College Band Directors Association (TCCBDA) All-State Jazz Ensemble. She has conducted numerous regional and all-city honor bands and regularly adjudicates festivals and competitions throughout Texas. In 2018, she founded the UT Tyler Jazz Camp, expanding opportunities for young musicians in East Texas. Under her direction, the UT Tyler Jazz Ensemble has been invited to perform as a guest artist at the Frisco Jazz Festival, and the UT Tyler Saxophone Ensemble has twice been invited to present showcase concerts at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention.

A dedicated advocate for new music, Dr. Roberts has commissioned, premiered, and championed numerous new works for saxophone and chamber ensembles, including The Pursuit by Micah Bell and new repertoire for the Essimar trio. She has participated in commissioning consortiums for composers Roshanne Etezady, Chris Evan Hass, Haley Woodrow, and Christine Jensen, and is currently participating in a consortium commissioning a concerto for tenor saxophone and wind band by Australian-Ukrainian composer Catherine Likhuta, scheduled for premiere in Spring 2027. As a performer and educator, she has presented recitals, lectures, and masterclasses throughout the United States and abroad, including featured jazz performances at two North American Saxophone Alliance Region 4 Conferences and at the 2026 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference Evening of Jazz.

Dr. Roberts has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to leadership and service within the music profession. Through her work with the East Texas Youth Orchestra, she founded and launched both the ETYO Jazz Academy and Saxophone Ensemble. A Past President of the Texas Jazz Educators Association, she currently serves the organization as Treasurer and Webmaster and previously represented Region 21 as the TMEA College Division Representative from 2016–2026. Locally, she serves as an advisor to the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Board and is a member of the Tyler Arts and Culture Collective.

She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in saxophone performance and dual Master of Music degrees in saxophone and jazz studies from the University of North Texas, as well as dual Bachelor of Music degrees in the same areas from the University of Michigan. Her principal teachers include Donald Sinta, Donald Walden, Eric Nestler, and Jim Riggs.

Dr. Roberts is a Selmer Paris Performing Artist and Vandoren Regional Artist, performing exclusively on Selmer and Vandoren products.