SONIA BIZE
Praised as “ethereal and spiritual” by OperaWire and cited in The Theater Time “Sonia Bize, playing us to heaven on harp”, French harpist Sonia Bize is enjoying a blossoming and versatile career as a harpist, pianist, producer, and teacher.
Sonia Bize started playing the piano at the age of 6 and later discovered the harp. She earned degrees from the Paris Conservatory, Hochschule für Musik in Würzbug, and Manhattan School of Music, and was a recipient of number of scholarships including from the Foundation l‘Or du Rhin. Ms. Bize enjoys producing creative and imaginative programs while broadening the harp repertoire, with the design of unexpected collaborations alongside jazz musicians, visual artists and with electronic music under the alias “Hippo Dreams” as a producer.
Sonia is a 3rd Prize Winner at the 27th Nippon International Harp Competition in Japan and 2nd Prize Winner at the Rencontres Internationales de la Harpe in France. She has played as guest harpist with the Orchestre National de l’Opera de Paris and the WDR Sinfoniorchester Köln, and guest Principal Harp with the Deutsche Radio Philarmonie, Kammeroper in Munich, and Nüremberg Symphoniker performing in the most important festivals and halls of Europe. She was also the harpist for the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra 2016 in Japan.
During the season 2017-18 Sonia was part of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Residency at the prestigious The Glenn Gould School in Toronto, making recordings at the Glenn Gould Studio CBC Radio Canada and Koerner Hall, and giving numerous solo performances and outreach concerts. She appeared as a guest soloist at the Toronto Summer Music Festival and performed with the renowned Rolston String Quartet at the Banff Center International String Quartet Festival in Alberta, Canada.
Sonia was an emerging artist of 2020 Wilmington Music Festival in North Carolina and served as the solo harpist for the world premiere of the opera Magdalene at the Prototype Festival in New York City in January 2020.
“I have been teaching piano and harp privately since my first year as a student at the Paris Conservatory. It has been an incredible journey, and I have discovered many different ways of conveying music appreciation, technical skills and ways to learn music like a language so that my students can express themselves and truly enjoy playing or listening. I am always fascinated to get to know my students and find the most suitable approach to help them grow as musicians and individuals. I value strong fundamental skills, (music theory, ear training, good posture and healthy technique), the discipline of practice (which can serve in many other things in life), and the most important, having fun with music!”