Sarah Manovski
First Class BA (Hons) in Music & Sound
Sarah Manovski is an Australian multi-platinum songwriter, recording artist, educator and creative practice researcher with nearly two decades of international experience across the commercial music industry and higher education.
Holding a First Class Honours degree in Music & Sound, Sarah has lectured, designed curricula and authored songwriting modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in London. Her teaching and mentoring specialise in contemporary songwriting, melodic development, advanced harmony, composition, performance and artist development, integrating professional industry practice with evidence-informed music pedagogy.
Alongside her academic work, Sarah has built an international songwriting and recording career, contributing to releases with hundreds of millions of streams, international chart success and multi-platinum records. Her experience spans songwriting, performance, music production and international industry collaborations.
Sarah’s research interests centre on contemporary songwriting methodologies, creative practice research and songwriting pedagogy. She is the founder of The Song Method, a research-led songwriting education project connecting professional songwriting practice with contemporary music education. In 2027, Sarah intends to commence PhD research in Songwriting and Contemporary Music Practice.
Creative & Academic Career Highlights
Age 18
Signed to a European management and record label as recording artist Sarah Reeve. Released a debut album that charted internationally and performed across multiple European countries, including major jazz festivals with audiences of up to 50,000 people. Performed at Romania’s Golden Stag Festival, broadcast to approximately 9 million viewers, and secured a commercial sync placement and sponsorship campaign with McDonald's. Delivered songwriting workshops and performances at approximately 100 secondary schools across Europe, combining contemporary music performance with music education and student mentorship.
Age 21
Co-founded original music project The Empire Lights in Ireland. The band’s debut single reached the Top 10 on the iTunes charts. Alongside live performances, delivered songwriting mentorship and educational sessions for university music students focused on contemporary songwriting and artist development.
Age 23
Relocated to London to pursue professional songwriting, music production, and education. Worked privately with internationally recognised artists including Duffy, Geeneus, and Waze & Odyssey. Developed a professional songwriting career securing commercial releases, international chart placements, multi platinum-certified records across territories including the USA, UK, Germany, and Poland, and television sync placements including Pretty Little Liars and Empire.
2016
Designed and delivered the first Master’s-level contemporary songwriting module for Tileyard Education in London, teaching lyric writing, melodic development, chord composition, production, and structured idea-generation methodologies. Former students have since achieved chart success across US, UK, European, and Korean music markets.
2025
Joined Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) as lecturer and module author in advanced harmony, melody and rhythm, keyboard development, critical review, performance, and composition within undergraduate contemporary music programmes.
2026
COMPLETED HER HONOURS DEGREE IN MUSIC, GRADUATING WITH FIRST CLASS HONOURS. SHE ALSO FOUNDED HER RESEARCH PROJECT, 'THE SONG METHOD', AND HER ELECTRONIC DUO WITH HER HUSBAND 'AFTERGLOW'.
Education, Professional Training & Memberships
• First Class BA (Hons) in Music & Sound - University of West London - 2026
• TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment - AALI 2026
• Aboriginal Cultural & Community Awareness (Certificate) Walya
• Working with Children Check (SA). Expiry date: 05/08/2031
• Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect - Education and Care
• Safeguarding: Keeping Children Safe in Education (Certified Online Training)
• Research Ethics Training for Academic Critical Review Research
• Academic Research Types and Methods (Certificate) University of California, Davis
• The Science of Wellbeing (Certificate) Yale University
