We are a mission-driven company.
We believe authors should be paid fairly for their work.
We believe we are better together.
We believe in supporting the wider music community.
Visionary Board
Our visionary board is comprised of a group of forward-thinking music educators, authors, researchers, and practitioners. We meet quarterly to discuss future projects and ensure that our action is aligned with our mission. All of our visionary board members are dedicated to equity and access in music education.
Mission Statement
At F-flat Books, we aim to provide an equitable space in music publishing both for the content creators and consumers. We are people-driven, valuing authors and the communities they serve. We are forward-thinking, actively curating and creating resources that center diverse communities, innovative practices, and equitable curricula. We are committed to providing fair pay and giving back to non-profits in music education.
Our Team
Dr. Sarah Gulish
Co-Founder, CEO
Sarah Gulish has spent her career empowering people to connect with their creativity and community. Her experience includes fifteen years of public school teaching, work as a researcher/published author, recording, and touring rock musician. She is passionate about music teaching and learning and finding ways to challenge norms in music education to create more equitable and inclusive spaces. When she’s not working on F-flat, you can find her jamming with her drummer husband, or hanging with her three kids.
David Allen
Co-Founder, COO
David is the strategic brain behind F-flat Books. He has a background in mathematics, working in academia for several years. As a business strategist, he consults companies on bringing cloud services to market. David is also an art photographer and lives in the South of France with his wife and three young kids.
Tayler Hill
Publishing Assistant
Tayler is a Canadian author and literary intern based out of Toronto, Ontario. She holds a double degree in publishing and creative writing. Thanks to knowledge from her degrees she was able to make becoming an author a dream come true, having published several titles since graduating. Her biggest inspiration is her daughter.
Jessica Peresta
Director of 
Jessica started The Domestic Musician website, the HARMONY membership site, as well as The Elementary Music Teacher podcast as a way to help elementary music teachers beat the overwhelm and get back to teaching music with joy. Now she also works as the director of Learn, F-flat’s professional development website.
Dr. Patrick Cooper
VP of UX for
Dr. Cooper is a musician, entrepreneur, educator, author and clinician. His research interests capture the intersection of creativity, inclusion and motivation. After launching his own PD site, Training to Teach, Dr. Cooper joined the F-flat team to enhance the Learn experience.
Special Contributors
Dr. José Valentino Ruiz
Expert Columnist in Music Business & Creative Enterprise Leadership
F-flat Books is thrilled to welcome Dr. José Valentino Ruiz as our Expert Columnist in Music Business & Creative Enterprise Leadership. A serial entrepreneur, multi-GRAMMY® and EMMY® Award-winning artist, music producer, recording engineer, and director of the University of Florida’s Music Business & Entrepreneurship Program, Dr. Valentino brings a wealth of experience to our platform. Through a series of insightful articles for F-flat Books, Dr. Valentino will provide invaluable resources for aspiring music and arts entrepreneurs, covering topics such as launching, sustaining, and scaling businesses; optimizing operations; navigating challenges; and building community. His articles will also dive into digital and physical lead generation, family entrepreneurship, content strategy, global arts industry issues and solutions, and music and multimedia production, with special features including co-authored articles, guest contributors, and interviews with top industry leaders, founders, and executives. These articles aim to bridge the gap between scholarship and practical application, making the insights meaningful for educators, learners, and industry professionals alike.
Dr. José Valentino Ruiz has earned numerous prestigious accolades, including the 2024 Grand Prize® Award and 10 Global Genius® Awards, 4 Latin GRAMMY® Awards and 8 Nominations, an EMMY® Award, 55 DownBeat® Music Awards, 33 Global Music® Awards, two IADAS Anthem® Awards, four AMCP AVA Digital® Awards, Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business® and Power Partner® Awards, Fast Company Magazine’s Top 10 Most Innovative Company® in the World, among many others. As an internationally acclaimed cross-genre artist (flute, saxophone, and bass), he has headlined over 1,400 concerts worldwide, contributed to 150+ albums, and consulted for Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Valentino serves as Founder & CEO of JV Music Enterprises, Music Producer at Hayden5, and Global Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives at the Global Institute for Music Research.Dr. Valentino’s extensive accomplishments across music, business, media, and education reflect his deep commitment to advancing the industry and empowering future leaders. To learn more, visit www.josevalentino.com
Past & Present Interns
Our Story
In the fall of 2018, Sarah had an idea. She was working on writing a book (a beginner guitar curriculum) and was trying to find a publisher that would be a good fit. But, Sarah became frustrated with the academic publishing model (where publishers get the majority of profits) and was equally frustrated with the lack of electronic materials for music educators. Then, after speaking at a conference and receiving multiple requests for her materials electronically, she had an idea. What if she could self-publish her work as an eBook and create a community for other authors to do the same?
When Sarah shared her idea with her brother David, he said, “I can build that. And, more importantly, we probably should build that.” So, after getting some others on board (and channeling their inner music nerds for a catchy title), F-flat books was born in the summer of 2019. Now, it is an electronic publisher that provides professional development experiences and support to current music educators and content development strategies for authors and creatives. Through weekly community emails and regular events, F-flat has cultivated and beautiful and rich community of educators all over the globe.
We have developed this site to serve as a space to benefit teachers, thinkers, performers, writers, researchers, and students. Are you an author and interested in publishing with F-flat books? We’d love to hear from you! Email [email protected].
Posts about F-flat
These blog posts will tell you more about what makes F-flat tick.
Get to Know Our Visionary Board
Darlene Machacon
Darlene Machacon is an elementary general music teacher, chorus director and private piano instructor in Orange County, California. She holds two bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Piano Performance from Biola University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree from VanderCook College of Music. In addition to teaching, Darlene is an active presenter, social media content creator, and author, whose work focuses on challenging the status quo of music education. In her free time, she enjoys trying new cuisine with her husband. Her work can be found on www.darlenemachacon.com and on Instagram/TikTok @thedarlingmusicteacher.
Nate Holder
Nate Holder is a musician, author, speaker and music education consultant based in London. He has performed across Europe, UAE, Indonesia, and the US, and played or recorded with artists such as KOKOROKO, Ghetts and Emeli Sandé. He is an advocate for decolonizing music education and has been speaking, writing and consulting on the subject internationally for the past few years. Nate is passionate about pedagogy and underrepresentation, and is currently serving as Professor and International Chair of Music Education at the Royal Northern College of Music. As the founder of The Why Books, he has written three books including, ‘Why Is My Piano Black and White’ (2020) and ‘Where Are All The Black Female Composers’ (2020).
Franklin Willis
Franklin Willis, music educator and instructional coach with Metro Nashville Public Schools equips teachers with instructional support and necessary resources to strengthen their professional acumen and enhance their classrooms. Through his work, he has developed a passion in the cultivation of musicianship for young minds as every child has musical potential and deserves a music teacher who will see the best in them. Willis believes that music education is a vital tool to teach students about other cultures, create community, and inspire a love for learning. Willis has created and facilitated professional development sessions for music teachers of all grade levels sharing his unique and relevant teaching practices. Through his work Willis has received national recognition for his commitment to student learning, his passion for the profession and his innovative teaching practices. He is a three-time recipient of the CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence Award. (’16, ’18, ’19)
Danielle Larrick
Danielle E. Larrick is a musician-educator in her 12th year of teaching who believes in the value of middle school music as a means of identity, expression, and connection. She focuses on designing practical, innovative, and engaging music curricula for middle school students. Danielle received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, with a concentration in Voice, from Temple University. She currently teaches at Gerald Huesken Middle School, where she directs the 7th and 8th grade choirs and teaches general music. In 2016, she earned a Master of Music in Music Education from The University of the Arts. She creates content and provides support for educators on her platform @musicalmiddles.
Alice Tsui
Alice Tsui (pronounced TSOY) is an Asian American/Chinese American pianist, Grammy-nominated music educator, scholar, activist, dog mom, and lifelong Brooklyn, New Yorker! Alice is the Founding Music Teacher and Arts Coordinator at PS 532 New Bridges Elementary, an arts-integrated public elementary school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and is on the piano faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Summer program. She graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and a Master of Arts in Music Education and is currently a doctoral candidate (ABD) in music education at Boston University. As a product of the NYC public school system, Alice is passionate about decolonizing, ABAR (anti-bias, anti-racist), abolitionist public music education, and empowering the individual and collective voices of youth through music as expression.
Michelle Rose
Michelle Rose teaches middle & high school music at North Carolina Virtual Academy. She also directs the after-school virtual band and choir. Michelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and Performance (flute) from Elon University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Music Education from The University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She is a teacher-author and blogger at themusicalrose.com. Michelle has been a presenter at several conferences and has been a guest speaker for pre-service music teachers at colleges across the country. In her free time, she enjoys baking, sewing, and going on walks with her dog Tovy (short for Beethoven).