Sophia Werner
Sophia Werner is a committed chamber musician, soloist and educator based in NYC. She is currently pursuing her MM at The Juilliard School with Laurie Smukler and Donald Weilerstein as the proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.
Sophia won the 2024 Juilliard Concerto Competition, appearing as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. In April of 2025, she premiered Liam Cummins’ violin concerto, “Plea” with the AXIOM Ensemble and Jeffrey Milarsky in Alice Tully. Additionally, she soloed with AXIOM in 2024, and has appeared with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, Adelphi Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, and the Binghamton and Ithaca community orchestras. In 2027, she will appear as guest soloist with the Binghamton Philharmonic (NY).
Sophia was awarded first place and Audience Prize at the 2026 Elizabeth Loker International Competition, second place in the 2025 Hellam International Competition, and the Bach Prize from the 2023 Stulberg International String Competition. In 2022, she won the Adelphi Young Artist Competition.
An avid chamber musician, Sophia is a founding member of the NYC-based Karuna Quartet. They made their Lincoln Center debut in Alice Tully Hall earlier this year and were invited to attend the Perlman Music Program and Indiana University’s Professional String Quartet Studies program for summer 2026. During past summers, Sophia developed her collaborative skills at Verbier Festival Academy, the Perlman Music Program, and as a Young Artist Fellow at Kneisel Hall. Last Fall, Sophia was invited to PMP's Suncoast residency as part of an alumni quartet. As part of Juilliard's Honors Chamber Music program, Sophia's piano trio performed in Alice Tully Hall and participated in a Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center masterclass. Sophia has studied chamber music with Laurie Smukler, Joel Krosnick, Natasha Brofsky, and Merry Peckham, among others. She has also played in masterclasses for members of the Juilliard, Mendelssohn, Cleveland and Brentano quartets, and collaborated with members of the Brentano, Mendelssohn, and Cavani quartets.
As concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra, Sophia has performed in Alice Tully Hall the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. She has performed as a substitute with the New York Philharmonic, and was awarded a fellowship to attend the 2021 Aspen Music Festival and School as a member of the Aspen Festival Orchestra.
Sophia is passionate about music education and outreach. As part of the Karuna Quartet, she presents a bi-weekly educational art and music appreciation course to the students of the Red Hook Art Project (Brooklyn, NY). In addition, she was awarded a teaching fellowship as a college-level instructor in Juilliard’s Ear Training department, and was a Juilliard Gluck Fellow from 2022-2023.
Sophia performs on an 1864 J. B. Vuillaume violin and James Tubbs bow, generously on loan to her from Juilliard's Stringed Instrument Collection.