Sophia Szokolay

Canadian violinist Dr. Sophia Szokolay is celebrated for her “stirring and singing tone” (Martha’s Vineyard Gazette), captivating audiences across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Based in Boston, she combines a vibrant performance schedule with a deep commitment to pedagogy and musical scholarship, teaching violin and chamber music at Brandeis University. 

Sophia appears regularly with ensembles such as the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Delirium Musicum, Palaver Strings, and A Far Cry. She is a passionate advocate for new music, having premiered works by György Kurtág, James Lee III, Shulamit Ran, and JörgWidmann. 

This season, Sophia will give the North American premiere of her grandfather Sándor Szokolay’s Violin Concerto with the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, and the debut of Collective Voices, a set of new commissions for violin and piano exploring cultural identity and migration, at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. 

Sophia earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The New England Conservatory where she served as Donald Weilerstein's teaching assistant and taught an undergraduate course on Bartók’s string quartets. She previously studied at The Juilliard School with Catherine Cho and with Miriam Fried.

Beyond music, she enjoys distance running and cycling, and is training for the 2026 Boston Marathon.