BIOGRAPHY

Hailed as “spectacular” (Bernard Jacobson, Seattle Times), American violinist Sophia Stoyanovich has captivated audiences since her debut with the Seattle Symphony at age fourteen and performs internationally today in solo, collaborative, and orchestral roles.

As recitalist, Ms. Stoyanovich has appeared in concerts across the country. Winner of the 2022 New York International Artists Association First Prize, she made her recital debut in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in January 2023. She has been featured on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago; Great Music LA, the Crocker Art Museum Classical Concerts, and Encinitas Music by the Sea in California; the University of Washington Women’s Society Recital Series in Seattle; and Project: Music Heals Us, New York University’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò Series, Music in Midtown, and the Sonora Collective in New York. She was selected to perform in the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin at the closing concert of the Barenboim-Said Akademie Masterclass Series in 2019. In June of 2023, she performed Bartók’s First Rhapsody in the Konzerthaus in Vienna with the Wiener Opernball Orchestra.

Ms. Stoyanovich has distinguished herself with her leadership and sensitivity as a chamber musician. In 2022, she was selected as a Fellowship Artist at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, collaborating in weekly performances with artists including Carter Brey, James Ehnes, Alexi Kenney, Anthony McGill, Tessa Lark, Cynthia Phelps, and Masumi Per Rostad. She performed as a guest artist of the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy in 2023 and 2022 at the Teatro Argentina and with members of the Berlin Philharmonic in 2021 at the Zermatt Music Festival in Switzerland. Additional chamber music appearances include performances at the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Olympic Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival and Aspen Music Festival.

As an active orchestral musician, Ms. Stoyanovich has performed under the batons of John Adams, Thomas Adès, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert, Vladimir Jurowski, Susanna Mälkki, Kurt Masur, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In the summer of 2024, she will perform on tour with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark. Previously Ms. Stoyanovich has toured with the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra in Germany, the Versoi Ensemble in Finland, the Juilliard Orchestra in Finland and Sweden, and the National Youth Orchestra of the United States in the U.S., U.K., and Russia.

A dynamic performer of the music of our time, Ms. Stoyanovich was Principal Second of the Lucerne Music Festival Contemporary Orchestra in 2023, performing works including Mathias Spahlinger’s passage/paysage (1990), Tania León’s Indígena (1991), and Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson's Jim is Still Crowing (2022). As violinist of the Finnish-American Versoi Ensemble (praised for their “excellence” by The New York Times), Ms. Stoyanovich spearheaded the 2020-2022 commissioning project Juurilla, selecting and collaborating with seven emerging composers to create works inspired by their nationalities. Her 2021-2022 recital tour of the West Coast with pianist Derek Wang featured a program devoted to American composers of today, including John Adams, Billy Childs, Jennifer Higdon, Patrick Stoyanovich, Christopher Theofanidis, and Augusta Read Thomas. In the fall of 2023, she joined the Kaleidoscope Ensemble for the Festival of New American Music, performing, adjudicating and giving masterclasses at Sacramento State University.

In the spring of 2024, Ms. Stoyanovich will release her debut album with Bridge Records, “Rue Paradis”, featuring the compositions of Pacific Northwest-based composer, Patrick Stoyanovich. Pianist Derek Wang and cellist Aaron Wolff join her for performances of Stoyanovich’s “Duo” for violin and cello, as well his Romance, Sonata No.1, and No. 2 “Romantic Warrior” for violin and piano. In 2020, she partnered with pianist Derek Wang for the first time to launch American Stories, a podcast that examines and celebrates American identity through music in performance, illuminated by personal histories and reflections from featured guests of all walks of life. American Stories was awarded an Ensemble Forward grant from Chamber Music America.

Born to a family of artists, Ms. Stoyanovich grew up on Bainbridge Island, WA and now lives in New York City. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School as a recipient of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship and the Dr. & Kassie Biros Neuman Scholarship. Her principal teachers have included Mark Steinberg, Sylvia Rosenberg, Li Lin, and Ronald Patterson. Ms. Stoyanovich is currently a doctoral candidate in violin performance at The Graduate Center, CUNY, as a fellowship recipient. She performs on a 1930 Karl August Berger violin made in New York City.

*Updated March 2024 – please do not alter or abridge without permission

© Sophia Stoyanovich 2024 | www.sophiastoyanovich.com