CONGRATS
Sophia!!
Hi everyone – its official! I have now officially graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor’s of Music in Violin Performance!
My time at St. Olaf will forever hold a special place in my heart. In addition to playing with the St. Olaf Orchestra, the ambassador orchestra, all four years, I also sang with two choirs, and was a member of the baroque ensemble. While graduating and leaving my home away from home for the last 4 years has been bittersweet, I am so grateful for all the love and support I have received throughout my journey.
Keep scrolling to see snapshots of my year and some of my favorite musical moments of my senior year from each of my ensembles!
Playing in my best friend’s Senior Recital
Senior Studio Photo w/ Dr. Anderegg
Graduating Orchestra Seniors
Me with Friends 🙂
Me and my Parents Post-Recital
Mountains by Crescent Lake on Tour with St Olaf Orchestra
Senior Recital Action Shot
Watching the Northern Lights for the First Time
Orchies Take Seattle!
Interim Chamber Orchestra Project
Preparing for the Oratorio Concert
Me and My Friends at Orchestra Hall for Chrsitmas Fest
ORCHESTRA
Orchestra has been a massive part of my musical journey for the past decade. Symphonic music is where some of my favorite pieces of classical music come from and being part of the St. Olaf Orchestra during all four years of undergrad has been a central source of community, fond memories, and fantastic music.
We played a lot of really great repertoire over my time in the orchestra, and one of my favorite things we played was Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony on tour this past fall. This video is of my favorite part of the symphony, the second movement. It’s a Viennese Waltz and when I think of Tchaikovsky, this movement always comes to mind.
CHAPEL CHOIR
Going into undergrad, I didn’t think I would want to sing in a choir. On a whim, I auditioned for the first year treble choir my freshman year and was surprised by how much I loved it. I decided to commit to keep singing in a choir for the rest of my time at St. Olaf. From my sophomore to senior year, I was a member of the Chapel Choir (even serving as student manager during my senior year!). This musical community helped me heal a part of myself I didn’t know needed it, and I will always love and cherish the music we made together.
This clip comes from the fall concert of my senior year. The piece we are singing here was one of my favorites we did on the program, called Indodana.
COLLEGIUM
Baroque music was something I always heard played in the house when I was growing up and in concerts around Houston. I always thought the music was beautiful and there was a piece of me that was curious about playing it.
St. Olaf was unique in that it’s one of the few undergraduate programs that has a baroque music ensemble. I heard about it through a friend, and I joined the group in the spring of my freshman year. At the time, I was shocked at how it informed my playing of not just baroque music, but of certain pieces of classical music as well. Playing with this groups was so much fun and I hope to make more music like this in the future.
This video is the set from the spring concert of this year. We played select dances from “Rinaldo and Armida” by John Eccles and Sonata 16 by Dario Castello.
What’s Next for Sophia?
The question every new graduate dreads – “What’s your next step?” I’ve decided to defer my acceptance to the Masters of Music Therapy Program at Drexel, in Philadelphia and take a gap year. I hope to work in some aspect of arts management and will be applying for scholarships & grants to fund graduate school in music therapy. I’m looking forward to this next chapter and can’t wait to see where it takes me!
