BIOGRAPHY
"When I think of Sidsie Vaughn and her approach to performing, I think of fire! Sidsie was able to communicate the spirit of the music with great passion. As my student, she performed technically demanding works with relative ease and great musical maturity. Whenever Sidsie performed it was a musically uplifting experience. If high level performance is really about communicating the richness of our inner world, then Sidsie can deliver." --Dr. Ralph van der Beek
Utah pianist Sidsie Vaughn Rubow is an award-winning pianist, composer, and pedagogue. Her numerous awards include winning the Utah Valley University piano competition, Weber State University Bach Competition, American Fork Concerto competition, and the Encore competition. Her teachers include Dr. Hilary Demske, Dr. Whitney Pizza, Dr. Edward Neeman, Dr. Ralph Van der Beek, Ammon Doman (jazz), and Steven Erickson (former jazz pianist in Airmen of Note). Sidsie is also an accomplished chamber musician, studying with Leslie Harlow of the Park City Chamber Music series. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music at Utah Valley University.
As a composer, Sidsie has many innovative works for piano solo, orchestra, tuba, string quartet, and film. She incorporates a wide range of styles in her music, including classical, cinematic orchestra, jazz, rock, and trap, among other genres. Her primary composition teachers were Nathan Hofheins and Todd Sorenson. She was recently recognized as the Grand Prize Winner in Composition and Arranging through Encore and has recorded her debut album, Capercaille.
Sidsie has been teaching piano for more than ten years in a variety of settings, including private home lessons, at the Utah Piano Conservatory, and private and group lessons at Brigham Young University. Her students study aural skills, music theory, technique, and classical music. She also feels that students should stretch their wings and develop their individual talents, whether that be jazz, pop, or writing music of their own. She finds joy in helping others progress and reach their musical goals.
She is a member of the Provo/Orem Chapter of MTNA and is working toward achieving national certification (NCTM) through rigorous pedagogy projects.