Sarah Class: Award-Winning Composer for David Attenborough's Wildlife Soundtracks

About Sarah Class

• 💡 Sarah Class is an award-winning composer, singer-songwriter, and producer, deeply passionate about nature and conservation.
• 🌱 Her profound connection to the natural world stems from growing up on a nature reserve on the Isle of Wight, which infuses nearly all her musical creations.
• 🎶 She is known for her work on BBC wildlife documentaries, including Africa and Madagascar, often narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Composing for Wildlife

• 🎯 Sarah's process involves absorbing images and narration to instinctively create music that evokes emotion and clarifies complex scenes.
• 🐘 She composed for the "dying elephant" sequence in Africa, aiming for heartfelt emotion without overdoing it, believing music can "sell conservation."
• 🦒 A notable example is the giraffe fight scene, where she assigned distinct musical styles (slide guitar, morone feel, opera) to different animals and moments, creating a "western face-off" vibe.
• 🔇 She emphasizes the power of silence and natural sounds as instruments, especially in nature films, to give viewers a break from music and enhance immersion.

Creative Inspiration

• ✨ Sarah views herself as a "conduit" for divine inspiration, where melodies and ideas often come to her spontaneously, sometimes even in a matter of seconds.
• 👑 This was evident when she composed an opera piece for King Charles III's coronation, with the melody arriving instantly upon hearing she would write for Pretty Yende.
• 🧠 Her ideas are also deeply rooted in nature, which she considers her biggest inspiration, pouring energy into her soul.

Music, Nature, and Conservation

• 🌿 Sarah highlights the deep, spiritual connection between music and nature, noting how both can profoundly affect human emotions and biology.
• 🔬 She references the harmonic series found in music, plants (chlorophyll), planetary orbits, and DNA, suggesting a fundamental interconnectedness.
• 🌍 As an ambassador for the World Land Trust, she uses her music, like the orchestral piece "Resonate," to raise awareness and support for land conservation, having helped save over 3 million acres.
• 📈 She supports initiatives like Terra Carta, which focuses on the economic value of nature and promotes sustainable practices within the private sector.

Advice for Musicians

• ✅ Sarah advises aspiring musicians to never give up, follow their heart, and diligently build their portfolio by taking on various projects.
• 🤝 She stresses the importance of networking and meeting people in person, rather than relying solely on emails, and being persistent in a "nice way."
• 🎸 She encourages musicians to trust their instincts and continuously develop their skills, even if it means revisiting instruments after a break.