Cellist Sara Flexer, 17, began studying cello at age six with Irene Sharp and currently studies with Jonathan Koh. Sara is a 2025 National YoungArts Winner with Distinction (1 of 3 cellists nationwide), and she attended National YoungArts Week in Miami as well as the YoungArts Lab in Los Angeles.

Sara has been featured twice on NPR’s From the Top (2023 & 2025) through the FTT Learning and Media Lab Fellowship. In 2024, she was invited to perform the Schumann Cello Concerto as a Debut Artist with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. 

Sara won third prize at the 2023 National MTNA String Competition, after winning first prizes at the MTNA California State Competition and the MTNA Southwest Division Competition, respectively. She has also won first prize at the ENKOR International Music Competition and the Palo Alto Philharmonic Concerto Competition.

Sara made her solo debut at age 10 with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra as the winner of PACO’s concerto competition, and she joined the orchestra on tour in Italy. She has performed in masterclasses for renowned cellists David Finckel, Zlatomir Fung, and Matt Haimovitz, among others. 

In 2022 and 2023, Sara attended the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute, studying with Ani Kavafian, Dmitri Atapine, Hyeyeon Park, and the Calidore Quartet. In 2024, she participated in the senior division of the Heifetz International Music Institute. Sara currently performs in the Passeri Piano Trio at the Young Chamber Musicians (YCM) program, and she is a junior at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California.