ABOUT SOPHIE
A native of Colorado, Sophie Verhaeghe began playing the violin at age 3 and made her solo debut at the age of 12. Performances in her early career took her to Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. Summer programs have taken Sophie all over the country: she has participated in the Indiana University Summer String Academy, The Quartet Program, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Additionally, she has been a fellow at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Talis Festival and Academy in Switzerland, and the National Repertory Orchestra, where she was a featured soloist.
National Repertory Orchestra - 2016
Currently based in Austin, Sophie has been a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra since 2017 and a member of the Austin Opera Orchestra since 2019. Her love of orchestral music has led her to perform with the crossover duo 2Cellos, the Houston Symphony, and the San Antonio Symphony and the Madison Symphony (Wisconsin) as a contracted member. As a chamber musician, Sophie has collaborated with members of the Met Opera Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Cordova, Cape Diem and Da Vinci String Quartets, and Latitude 49, as well as clarinetist Dimitri Ashkenazy and pianists Anton Nel and Cullan Bryant.
A passionate educator as well as performer, Sophie taught for two years with the University of Texas String Project, a nationally recognized teacher training and student program. She received Suzuki Books 1 and 2 training from Dr. Laurie Scott. Previous positions include teaching at the French School of Austin , Clavier Werke School of Music, and Texas Lutheran University. Sophie maintains her own private studio in Austin and spends her summers mentoring students in chamber music at the Manitou Chamber Music Festival.
Sophie is a co-founder, violinist, and Director of Operations for Austin Camerata, an organization that brings artistic collaborations and classical chamber music to unconventional venues. Austin Camerata has been featured on KUTX and Austin360, and was nominated by the Austin Critics Table in 2019 for “best classical ensemble.” More information and event details can be found here.
Sophie holds degrees from the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Music), Boston University (Master of Music, where she braved the historically snowy winter of 2015), and the University of Texas at Austin (Artist Diploma). Her previous teachers include Jeri Jorgensen, Aaron Berofsky, Bayla Keyes, and William Fedkenheuer. Additional studies were with Sally O’Reilly, Paul Kantor, Burton Kaplan, Jacques Israelievitch, and Gerardo Ribeiro.
In her spare time, Sophie enjoys cooking, running (she completed her first—and possibly only—marathon in February 2023), reading, and watching college football.
