Sarah Bullen retired from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2021 after serving 24 years as its principal harp. She held the same position with the New York Philharmonic from 1987 to 1997. She began her orchestra career in 1981 as principal harp of the Utah Symphony.

Bullen has been critically acclaimed as a soloist throughout her career, with more than 50 concerto appearances. As a leading educator, Sarah Bullen has taught masterclasses throughout the world. She is an adjunct professor of music in harp at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

She is the author of the best-selling book Principal Harp: A Guidebook for the Orchestral Harpist, in two volumes, and most recently The Orchestral Harpist, published in 2023 by Harp Column Music.

Sarah Bullen was a student of Marcel Grandjany, Mildred Dilling, and Susann McDonald. As a Naumburg Award recipient, she graduated from the Juilliard School with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music.