Based in Toronto, Canada, Sarah Thawer is a drummer and a percussionist who has always amazed the audience with her multi-dimensionality and charisma.
At five, she was already performing in front of an audience. Eventually, Sarah succeeded in merging different genres of music. Sarah is considered an exceptionally talented and in-demand drummer who works in various genres, such as jazz, fusion, Latin, gospel, funk, R&B, hip-hop, Indian, and world music, all at the same time.
Her deep interest in music and her innate talent as a performer were mostly developed through her exposure to different kinds of music in her childhood. Being a child of Toronto – a multicultural city – she was used to different sounds and rhythms that existed in the Indian diaspora and elsewhere.
From a young age, exposure to Indian and Western music has given Sarah raw materials to work with and a perspective of what rhythm is. It is no wonder that both these influences in seemingly distant styles have stood out to Sarah as her strongest elements as a musician.
As time passed, more and more, the love of music inside Sarah developed into something bigger – the desire to learn the instrument. Even as a non-classically trained musician, she committed long hours to practicing on the drum kit.
Sarah’s love of jamming on drums is visible and she performs in such a way that captures and grips the audience in a way that is hard to forget. From playing hip-hop beats, jazz grooves, and Bollywood dance numbers, her vivaciousness is contagious. Not to mention, she’s a extremely entertaining to watch!
Sarah’s Impressive Track Record
And though Sarah started as a person with a gift of rhythmic music, she however later sought formal education in music to understand it all around and hone her abilities. At York University, she studied jazz and world music, and as if ‘over achievement’ was her middle name, she was awarded dozens of accolades.
During her stint at York, she won the Oscar Peterson Scholarship, an utmost honor of the institution. This particular scholarship appreciated her musical and artistic talents as well as her superb academic performance. She graduated Summa cum laude, proving that she was indeed a ‘rising star’ in the music industry.
In the course of her professional life, Sarah Thawer has worked with numerous successful artists from different corners of the world. Among them are famous AR Rahman, Indian musician, composer, and singer, Benny Dayal, Funktuation, and many others.
What stands out the most in Sarah’s career is her capability to completely become one with the sociocultural aspects and touches of the music that she performs. She doesn’t just ‘play’ different genres—she becomes the genre. It doesn’t matter whether it is the heavy, pulsating beats and peculiar forms of Indian classical music, the free form of Jazz, or R’n’B Funk’s dominant rhythms and bass elements—Sarah finds that missing piece and brings the music to life.
A Teaching Leader
Alongside her performing career, Sarah is also an actively engaged clinician and educator. She has appeared in interviews and performances on different radio and television channels including CBC News, Jazz FM 91.1, OMNI TV, and Rogers Daytime.
Because of her passion for this art in its entirety, she has become among the most desirable clinicians for drum clinics and master classes, teaching about inspiration and motivation to pursue music. The same persuasive enthusiasm for the art and the craft can be observed in Sarah’s classes, as she emphasizes the freedom of creativity to drum students while mastering the instruments.
Her Kit Setup
Sarah’s gear is as multifaceted as her performance. She is one of the endorsers of several known drum and music companies, including Yamaha, Zildjian, Evans Drumheads, and Vic Firth. For her primary drum kit, she plays the Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple, which consists of a 22” kick, toms of 8” – 16”, and a snare of 14”. She also often uses the 13” Steve Jordan in some performances.
For cymbals, Sarah’s favorite setup usually includes Zildjian 13” K Custom Hi-Hats which are often utilized with a 21” ride and an 18” crash from K Custom Special Dry line, which more or less completes any performance.
She also gets her hands on the K Cluster Crashes, which she uses for fast and punchy sounds. “Styling” is Sarah’s forte especially when it comes to cymbal stacks. She jams out on the Zildjian’s Trashformer series with its FX and Oriental China Trash Cymbals to cut through any mix.
Her drum head preferences are Evans G2 Clear on toms, G1 Clear for tom resonant heads, UV1 heads on snares, and EMAD Clear for bass drum. All of those drumheads combine great qualities of sound.
There is an insatiable drive in Sarah to become better and better each day, adapting to different genres and techniques.
On stage, in the studio, or at clinics and masterclasses for future drummers, there are no boundaries for Sarah. She’s one of the most awe-inspiring artists in the music scene right now.
FAQ’s
What nationality is Sarah Thawer?
Sarah Thawer is a JUNO-Award nominated drummer born in Toronto, Canada. She is of Canadian nationality. I addition to this, her Indian heritage also plays a significant role in her musical influences, and you can certainly hear it in her playing.
What age did Sarah Thawer start drumming?
She started playing drums at age 2 and her first stage performance was at age 5. This showcases her early passion and natural talent for drums. By the time she was 5, she had already taken the stage for her first public performance. Pretty impressive, right? This early exposure to performing allowed her to develop skill rapidly.