This is the story of the microbiologist who put away her microscope and picked up a guitar, much to the delight of thousands of Knox County first-graders.

Sarah Goslee Reed, a one-time hospital lab researcher, will captivate her young audience with songs and stories again this fall as part of the annual Youth Enrichment Series (YES!) live concerts at Knox Memorial Theater. Her Oct. 29 appearance will mark 30 years as a series performer.

Nine programs are scheduled in September and October for elementary and middle school students. Funded by the Knox County Foundation and MTVarts and facilitated by the Knox Educational Service Center, the series invites students from Centerburg, Danville, East Knox, Fredericktown, Mount Vernon and St. Vincent de Paul. 

The 2024 YES! series opened Sept. 5 with a 9:35 a.m. performance for sixth-graders by Tony West and The Imani Dancers. 

For many in Mount Vernon and throughout the county, Reed is admired as a folksinger and classical music artist. She has written and recorded dozens of songs, entertained in elementary schools and has been a violinist with the Knox County Symphony for most years since 1984.

Bruce Jacklin, artistic director with MTVarts, said the impact of Reed’s music is immeasurable.

“For as long as I can remember, Sarah has created a sense of community identity in Mount Vernon,” Jacklin said. “She has always opened her arms with her music and embraced generations of our children. Sarah and her music are a landmark in Mount Vernon.”

Reed’s first year with the YES! series actually began outdoors in the ‘90s.

“They had me play music as the kids got off the buses and went into the theater,” she said. Her initial on-stage appearance in the ‘90s was to warm up a seventh-grade audience before Robert Post’s presentation on “How to survive middle school.” Unfortunately, the talkative seventh-graders weren’t that attentive.

“I sang and played the guitar but I’m not sure the kids even knew I was there,” she recalled.

As she came off stage and was behind the curtain, a sympathetic Post told her, “Well, that was the gig from hell.”

It’s been an entirely different experience – “a wonderful experience” -- with first-graders over three decades. For several years, she performed with Lisa Biales as the Prairie Orchid duo. More recently, she has been joined by Skip Trask on drums and Tim Martin on base as The Firefly Trio.

“Probably, we should call ourselves the First Grade Band,” Reed quipped. “Sure, first-graders can be squirmers but we keep their attention between songs by telling stories and talking about the sounds our instruments make. Sometimes we have them sing along or tap on their legs to the music.

“And I think we keep their attention because Memorial Theater is so magical. The kids are in really nice seats, not on gym bleachers. The lighting, the sound system, all of the surroundings are so beautiful.”

Reed is always aware that the YES! concert is the first live theater experience for many of the children.

“I am so grateful to be part of that. It’s just magical,” she said. “I always hope the kids leave with a spark that creates a lifelong interest in music and live theater.”

Courtney DeCosky, vocalist with the band Six Miles to Nellie, was among Reed’s first-grade audience years ago when she caught that spark.

“At the recent Mount Vernon Music Festival, I played with Six Miles to Nellie,” Reed said. “When Courtney introduced me, she recalled being a student who saw me perform at a YES! concert and how it inspired her to pursue music. She was so gracious.”

Reed grew up with classical music. Her father was principal bassoonist with the Cleveland Orchestra. Her mother played the cello and string base. But it was folk singing that would shape Reed’s musical future.

“From the first time I heard a guitar and a folk singer in the ‘60s, I knew it was what I wanted to do. I taught myself to play the guitar, based upon my knowledge of the violin, and I learned all my songs by ear from listening to records,” she said. “Classical music is still part of my life, but songwriting and folk music take the cake, so to speak.”

Folk music aside, Reed went on to earn an undergraduate degree in microbiology from Miami University of Ohio and a graduate degree in that field from the University of Akron. Right out of college, she did research work in Cleveland for three years, then worked in a Toledo hospital lab after earning her graduate degree.

In a Cleveland Classical.com article years ago, Reed joked that, “I’m a strange, sciencey sort of person but I think that fuels me with interesting things to write about.”

She took a break, had kids, then began working at Children’s Hospital in Columbus in 2005.

“I juggled my career and my music for four years,” Reed explained. 

“You get to know your co-workers and you talk about things in your life. When I worked in the lab I would talk to co-workers about my music and they would look at me like 'Huh?' Then when I talked to my music friends about my work in microbiology they would look at me like 'Huh?'” she said, laughing.

“I decided in 2009 to just do what’s fun – music entirely.”

She writes and records music at home and maintains a website, sarahgosleereed.com. She also performs each summer at Camp Nuhop at Perrysville, a camp for kids with special needs where their abilities and styles are celebrated.

While Reed’s work encompasses many subjects and touches all ages, the center of her musical universe is the community.

“MTVarts does so much with kids. What we have in this community in regard to the arts is just wonderful. It’s really outstanding,” she said.

REMAINDER OF THE YES! CONCERT FALL SERIES

Sept. 19: 2nd graders, Dylan Shelton puppets

Sept. 26: 3rd graders, Dylan Shelton puppets

Oct. 2: 5th graders, Eric Paton, world class taiko drummer

Oct. 22: 7th graders, Robert Post, “How to survive middle school”

“The Youth Enrichment Series is an exciting and rewarding experience for our younger students throughout the county,” said Dr. Timm Mackley, superintendent of the Knox Educational Service Center. “We are pleased to facilitate this program, which reflects the close partnership between the community and our county schools.”