Roy Sonne, violinist

A native of New York City, Roy Sonne started playing the violin at the age of five.  When he was fifteen he joined a chamber-music class at the Mannes College of Music prep department, which kindled his lifetime passion for string-quartet playing.  He went on to study  music at the New England Conservatory, the Mannes College of Music and Ohio State University.  His violin teachers include Raphael Bronstein and Dorothy DeLay.  He studied piano with Richard Tetley-Kardos and conducting with Carl Bamberger.

In 1969 he became concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia. He made his professional conducting debut with that orchestra in 1970 followed by appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. During that period he also concertized widely as violin soloist throughout South and Central America.

Returning to the United States he played in the Columbus String Quartet for four years and then joined the faculty of Wittenberg University where he taught violin and chamber music and conducted the University Orchestra.

In 1980 Sonne joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He played in their first violin section until his retirement in 2008.  

Combining his interests in conducting and teaching, with his affinity for working with amateur musicians, in 1992 he became Music Director of the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra. In twelve years he built that orchestra into the leading community orchestra in the Pittsburgh area.

Throughout the years he continued to organize and perform in chamber music concerts. He created the Ionian Chamber Players which continues to perform yearly at Temple Rodef Shalom. He also organized educational events for string players including the Greater Pittsburgh String Workshop, and group classes for adult violinists.

In 2008 Roy took early retirement from the Pittsburgh Symphony in order to devote himself to an ever-increasing number of musical projects and interests, mostly centering on his role as an educator. He maintains a large private teaching studio in his home in Mt. Lebanon, PA. He is on the faculty of the Carnegie Mellon University Preparatory Department. He continues his activities as a Pittsburgh Symphony Ambassador, making frequent visits to many high schools in the Pittsburgh area, to do workshops and coaching sessions. As an offshoot of his teaching Roy started a new business venture, “Violin Excursions,” producing instructional videos for violin students.

In 2003 Sonne fulfilled a lifetime yearning, taking up jazz violin. He studied jazz improvisation with James Johnson at the Afro-American Music Institute and attended the Christian Howes/Yamaha Creative Strings Camp. He was a founding member of “Blues on First” Pittsburgh’s Jazz String Quartet.

Through playing jazz, Roy's musical universe became so much richer that he became determined to share this experience with other classically trained string players. Bringing together some leading artists and teachers, he founded the Pittsburgh Jazz and Fiddling Camp at Duquesne University, now renamed “Strings Without Boundaries” and preparing for its fifth season.

In June and July, 2009, Roy will return to Bolivia, to be guest concertmaster of their National Symphony and to lead a workshop/seminar for orchestral string players.

Sonne performed with Willy Sucre & Friends on January 31, 2010.

Click here to visit with him on MySpace.