The Violinist Sonja Lampert:

German born violinist Sonja Lampert grew up in South Africa where she received her first violin lessons at the age of 7 from her father, subsequently with Noel Travers. She matriculated from Voortrekker Highschool in Pietermaritzburg and completed her tertiary studies with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music with honours under Derek Ochse and John Wille. She also attended masterclasses with Dorothy Delay, Albert Markov and Ruggiero Ricci.

 

In addition to her successful participation in several major competitions in South Africa, Sonja Lampert was concertmaster of the South African National Youth Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra of the Orange Free State, as well as a regular substitute player with the CAPAB Orchestra. During this time, she was also an active soloist, appearing both on television and radio and with many of South Africa‘s leading orchestras.

 

After the completion of her studies, Sonja Lampert returned to Germany, where she was offered a contract with the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990. She has held the position of Principal First Violin with the Orchestra since 1992, where she regularly gives chamber music concerts as well as solo appearances, most recently her „sensitive and passionate“ performance of Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade after Plato‘s Symposium". Sonja Lampert has a special interest in the violin music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Sergei Prokofiev and Leonard Bernstein.

 

She plays a D‘Espine violin built in the 19th-century.