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         Born in New York City, seventeen-year-old violist Sophia Nam made her Seattle Symphony Debut for the Wild Symphony family concert in February 2024 under Sunny Xia. She was invited as the 2024 Seattle Symphony Young Artist, performing a movement from Walton’s Viola Concerto at the Benaroya Hall. In 2023, she performed with the Delaware County Symphony as their 2023 Youth Concerto Competition Winner. 

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          Sophia won First Prize and Scott Sullivan Prize (best performance of a post 1950s piece) at the 2023 Ronald Sachs International Music Competition. Additional awards include 2023 1st Place Winner of the New Jersey Sinfonietta Korean Young Artist Music Competition; 2023 Winner of the National Youngarts Competition; 2022 Grand Prize Winner of New York Laureate International Music Competition; and 2021 New Jersey State Winner of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). Sophia has taken the stage at venues including the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage and Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, Sarasota Opera House, Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, the Juilliard’s School Morse Hall, Neumann University, and University of North Carolina Beckwith Recital Hall. 

 

         At the age of 12, Sophia started the viola. Sophia studies the viola under Sophie Arbuckle and has been attending the Juilliard Pre-College division since 2020. She has worked with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Carol Rodland, Aaron Rosand, Haesue Lee, Toby Appel, among others. She spent her three summers at the Perlman Music Program in Shelter Island, NY (2022-2024) and attended their 2022 winter residency in Sarasota, FL. Sophia is a student at Bergen County Academies.

 

          Sophia is also an avid chamber musician. She is currently the violist of the Solare String Quartet and became the 2024 finalist of the Coltman Chamber Competition. Recently, Sophia performed in a viola quintet and sextet during the 2023-2024 Ridotto concert series with Jeunes Virtuoses de New York. Previously, she was an original member of the Moa String Quartet, performing at benefit concerts with the Show Me Your Hearts Foundation, and the Iris Piano Quintet through the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Program.

 

       Sophia enjoys connecting with the younger generations of her community through various initiatives and organizations. She founded the Passaic, NJ region of the non-profit organization Back to Bach Project where she programs presentations and coordinates outreaches with elementary schools within the county to spread interest in classical music. Sophia teaches the violin and viola through Future Leaders of Bergen County. 

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        Aside from music, she is the co-founder and vice president of the non-profit organization My Two Cents which advocates for eco-friendly, sustainable menstrual goods and improves access to menstrual products for low-income and underprivileged communities. In her free time, you can find Sophia watching a plethora of TV shows including Korean dramas and sitcoms, or looking for cute cafes and famous restaurants to visit.