Alumna Sara Aronson (MM ‘18) performs Chamber Music in Sweden with Royal Swedish Military Band during Coronavirus

UC Santa Barbara alumna Sara Aronson has been performing wind chamber music during the COVID-19 event as a horn player in the Royal Swedish military band, Livgardets Dragonmusikkår. An elite brass-only ensemble, the group serves as one of three full-time bands in the Swedish armed forces. 

While large ensemble concerts and rehearsals are not possible, the pandemic enables an extensive number of chamber groups to play with widely varying instrumentation. These include performances, as well as recordings, in the Stockholm area. 

As a Swedish citizen, Aronson enrolled at UC Santa Barbara midway through her professional career to study horn with Professor Steven Gross. During her time at UC Santa Barbara, she performed in the scholarship Maurice Faulkner Brass Quintet, among other ensembles and activities. Aronson received her Master of Music in Horn Performance from UC Santa Barbara in 2018. 

About Sara Aronson

Sara Aronson (MM ‘18), a native of Sweden, won an audition after her graduation for the Royal Swedish military band, Livgardets Dragonmusikkår. It is one of three full time bands in the Swedish armed forces and is an elite brass-only ensemble. Before enrolling at UCSB, Ms. Aronson began her professional career playing in the Royal Swedish Opera orchestra. During her career, Ms. Aronson made recordings with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Stockholm Philharmonic, and for several musical artists. She received a Master of Music degree at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, at the age of 24. During the following year, she went to the University of North Texas to study with Dr. William Scharnberg. In addition, Ms. Aronson attended the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. She decided to leave the world of music in order to study psychology and work as a psychologist; however, love for music and playing the horn was stronger than she could anticipate. Ms. Aronson was invited to study at UCSB and finished her second MM, studying with Dr. Steven Gross and graduating in 2018. While in the United States, she won an audition for the San Luis Obispo Symphony.

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