The Directors

Sarah Lopes has taught public school orchestra for eighteen years and is the Director of Orchestras at Bridgeland High School in Cypress Fairbanks ISD. A graduate of Loyola University New Orleans, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education where she studied with Dean Angeles and Allen Nisbet. During her time at Loyola, Ms. Lopes had the honor of serving as principal cellist in the orchestra, including a performance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago nearly twenty years ago. Also during her time in New Orleans, Ms. Lopes worked as a freelance cellist, including two years as a contract substitute with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Having found an early joy in teaching, she taught with the New Orleans String Project for a number of years. Following her time in New Orleans, Ms. Lopes taught middle school orchestra in Richland County schools in Columbia, South Carolina, but ultimately came home to the great State of Texas. Her orchestras have earned consistently high ratings at contests, and more importantly, have enjoyed growing into a joyful community of young music enthusiasts and honorable citizens. Under her stewardship, the Bridgeland Symphony was invited to perform at the 2023 Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Ms. Lopes holds memberships in the Texas Music Educators Association where she currently serves as Region 27 Vice President and is a Past President of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association. Ms. Lopes currently resides in Cypress, Texas with her beloved hounds, Molly and Manning, as well as her human family, Chris and Ophelia.

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Seth Freeman is the Assistant Orchestra Director at Bridgeland High School and has been active in the Houston music scene since moving in 2010. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Masters at Rice. His teachers include Kenneth Goldsmith and Paul Kantor. Mr. Freeman is a substitute violinist with the Houston Symphony. He has performed in Artosphere Festival in Arkansas, Spoleto Festival USA in South Carolina, Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and  MMCJ in Japan. After developing a love for teaching as a private teacher for over a decade, he began his public school teaching career in the remarkable 2020 school year and looks forward to another great year at BHS.