sophia szokolay, VIOLIN

Canadian violinist Sophia Anna Szokolay performs as a recitalist and chamber musician across Canada, the United States, and Europe. She is a Doctoral Candidate at the New England Conservatory and Chamber Music Faculty at NEC’s Preparatory School.

This year, Sophia was featured on WGBH live public radio, she joined Palaver Strings on their album release tour Ready or Not, and will lead the Lucerne Contemporary Festival Orchestra as concertmaster in August. This summer she had the privilege of working with composers Tyshawn Sorey, Shulamit Ran, Hans Abrahamsen and Lewis Spratlan on their music at the YellowBarn and Lucerne Festivals.

As a soloist, Sophia has performed with A Far Cry, the Etobicoke Philharmonic, Győr Philharmonic, Narragansett Bay Symphony, Scarborough Philharmonic, and Toronto Sinfonietta. Sophia has held Teaching and Community Engagement Fellowships at The Juilliard School where she worked with violin and music theory students at Opportunity Music Project and at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School. In 2020, she performed online for ICU Covid-19 patients and their families across the United States with Project: Music Heals Us, she curated an online Music and Movement class for toddlers and led music appreciation workshops at Lenox Hill Women’s Shelter.

Sophia began violin lessons at the age of 3, the fourth generation of a musical family. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory with a Minor in Music Theory, and her Master’s Degree from Juilliard. Her teachers include Catherine Cho, Miriam Fried, and Donald Weilerstein.

Sophia is passionate about photography and long-distance running. She is training for the TCS Toronto Marathon in October 2022.