Jane Abbott-Kirk

Sarah Jane Abbott-Kirk, emeritus associate professor of piano at the Baylor School of Music, died Nov. 9, 2024. She was born in Corpus Christi, TX, to James Charles Abbott and Helen Ruby Harrell Abbott. While a young girl, she discovered her love and talent for music. She graduated from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio. As a talented young piano prodigy and a student of Robert Floyd, she performed with the San Antonio and Houston Symphonies before graduating from high school. She continued her piano studies with Sydney Foster at Indiana University where she received a BM, MM and the coveted Performer’s Certificate, the highest honor awarded by the music faculty for artistry in performing.

She taught at the University of Kansas before beginning a career at Baylor. During her 45 years at Baylor, she was awarded the Outstanding Tenured Teacher Award in 1989 and was named the Collegiate Teacher of the Year by the Texas Music Teachers Association in 2004. An active performer and adjudicator throughout her career, she was also a recording artist with violinist Robert Murray for Musical Heritage Society and Raven Records.

Abbott-Kirk was beloved by her students and university associates both as a creative and whimsical personality and as a gifted and devoted teacher. She inspired countless students with her kindness, wit, compassion and commitment to the art of making music as well as her focus on student wellbeing. Abbott-Kirk’s specialization in teaching pianists to build healthy playing technique allowed her to provide recovery for students who had experienced injury, and all students benefited from the way she built their confidence and challenged them to higher levels of devotion to their craft. Her former colleagues remember her generosity, mentorship and support, as a role model to emulate and a person who made an indelible mark on the culture of teaching and music-making at Baylor. Her legacy will live on through her former students and all who benefited from her brilliant teaching and playing.