Roy Sonne

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First Violin

Roy Sonne is active as a conductor, violinist, pianist and teacher. A native of New York City, he 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 and 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 John Goldmark, and conducting with Carl Bamberger. While still a student, he became a member of the Long Island University String Quartet. and also was a regular substitute with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

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 until 1980 when he joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

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 ten years he built that orchestra into the premiere community orchestra in the Pittsburgh area.

Roy is deeply involved in educational activities. He is on the faculty of the Carnegie Mellon University Preparatory Department He also maintains a large private teaching studio in his home in Mt. Lebanon PA. As a Pittsburgh Symphony Ambassador he makes regular visits to work with the string players at Bethel Park High School and Mount Lebanon High School. He organizes and teaches group classes for adult amateur violinists in the Pittsburgh area. Since 2003 he has been artist-teacher in residence at the Lancaster County Music Camp.

In 2003 Roy fulfilled a lifetime yearning, taking up jazz violin. He started “Blues on First”, Pittsburgh’s Jazz String Quartet, together with Stanley Chepaitis, Penny Brill and Louis Lowenstein. In 2004 he organized the first Jazz String Workshop at CMU, to introduce jazz to classical string players. For the 2004-05 season he is making regular visits to Pine Richland High School to help with their jazz string program.

Roy somehow manages to find time to keep up his skills as a pianist. He makes a specialty of accompanying violinists and has often appeared as accompanist for his PSO colleagues. He also enjoys accompanying singers; especially his wife Charlotte, with whom he has given many joint recitals.