Program
| Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 12 No. 2 | 1798 |
| Francis Poulenc | Violin Sonata, FP 119 | 1943 |
| Johannes Brahms | Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 | 1879 |
| Fritz Kreisler | Tambourin Chinois, Op. 3 | 1905 |
About the Artists
Sophia Anna Szokolay
Canadian violinist Sophia Anna Szokolay has performed across Canada, the United States and Europe as a recitalist and chamber musician. She is a Doctoral Candidate at the New England Conservatory and a member of the chamber music faculty at the NEC pre-college program.
Sophia has performed with A Far Cry, the Etobicoke Philharmonic, Győr Philharmonic, Narragansett Bay Symphony, Scarborough Philharmonic, and Toronto Sinfonietta. Equally at home with chamber and orchestral repertoire, Sophia plays with the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Phoenix Chamber Orchestra. Her love of new music has previously led to work with composers Brett Dean, John Heiss, David Ludwig, James MacMillan, and Jörg Widmann. In 2021 she gave the North American premiere of Widmann’s String Quartet No. 7.
Sophia 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 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’s other passions include photography and running. She competed in the TCS Toronto Marathon in October 2022.
Sophiko Simsive
Sophiko Simsive is an internationally acclaimed pianist, praised by Jean-Yves Thibaudet as “a rare talent who promises to become one of the leading pianists of her generation.” Known for her expressive yet personal artistry, she has appeared at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
She has performed with orchestras such as the Residentie Orkest, Yale Philharmonia, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Jeugdorkest Nederland, and the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia, working with conductors including Lev Markiz, Peter Oundjian, and Jan Willem de Vriend. A passionate chamber musician, she is the pianist of the acclaimed Claremont Trio, described by The Strad as “one of America’s finest young chamber groups,” and has collaborated with artists such as Anthony Marwood, Kian Soltani, Gilbert Kalish, and the Calidore String Quartet. Festival appearances include Yellow Barn, Music Academy of the West, and the Verbier Festival.
Based in New York, Sophiko frequently performs with New Chamber Ballet. A passionate educator, Simsive serves as a Senior Coaching Assistant at Yale University, where she co-teaches alongside violinist Wendy Sharp, while also maintaining a piano studio at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
A native of the Republic of Georgia, and shaped by formative studies with Boris Berman, Jacques Rouvier, Mila Baslawskaja, and Maka Aladashvili, Sophiko holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied under the guidance of Solomon Mikowsky. Sophiko is represented by Interartists Amsterdam Management.