Sarah Hopfenbeck, M.D.

Sarah still remembers the moment opera became a passion: “I was in high school, and my family attended a performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermore at the Santa Fe Opera. Ashley Putnam was singing the title role of Lucia. I was just knocked out by the spectacle of it all…the sets, the staging, the music, and the incredibly beautiful singing of Ms. Putnam. It was magic.”

Sarah, a Colorado native, was raised in a household that celebrated the arts. Her parents are/were long-time supporters of Opera Colorado and Central City Opera. The house was always filled with music, especially opera.  Growing up, Sarah says she sang in choirs, small ensembles, and musical theater almost continually until she graduated from college.

She thought her career path would lead her in the direction of the humanities. Originally the plan was to major in French, but the illness and early death of her brother at age 18 inspired her to pursue medicine as a career.

She attended medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago where she and husband, Jim, got engaged in their first quarter of medical school.

Says Sarah, “We thought if we could make it through medical school together, we could make it through anything!”

A full-time physician, Sarah practices Internal Medicine at Yampa Valley Medical Associates, which doesn’t leave much free time.

But when time permits, Sarah’s interests include skiing (She was 4 years old the first time she put on skis); gardening (“My post-retirement goal is to become a Master Gardener”); cooking, hiking, golf, and fly-fishing as well as travel with husband, Jim, a physician with a specialty in anatomical and clinical pathology at Yampa Valley Medical Center.