Sonja Bosca-Harasim, performer and educator, has been described as an “undeniably impressive” performer by James Chute of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and hailed for her attention to detail, making “every note count deliciously” by Joel Luks of Culture Map Houston. Sonja is associate professor of violin and viola at Concordia College and concertmaster of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. Additionally, she coaches chamber music and serves as string area coordinator and director of Concordia’s North Star Chamber Music Festival and Symposium, as well as its String Preparatory Program. Sonja maintains an active performing career locally, nationally, and internationally as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, including performing as guest principal 2nd violin with the Detroit Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, CA, as well as chamber music performances at the Grieg in Bergen concert series in Norway, the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., La Jolla SummerFest in California, and at the Soiva Music Camp in Järvenpää, Finland. Prior to joining the faculty at Concordia, she performed regularly with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and Da Camera of Houston. Sonja has performed at numerous preeminent music festivals, including Cabrillo, Schleswig-Holstein, International Holland Music Sessions, Sarasota, Tanglewood, Aspen, Round Top, Brevard and Interlochen and has been invited to perform and teach throughout the United States and Canada, giving masterclasses and recitals at Southern Illinois University, University of Manitoba, Georgia State University, University of South Florida, University of North Florida, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Valparaiso University, St. Olaf College, University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, among others. She has performed and served on the teaching faculty at various summer music festivals, including Concordia’s North Star Chamber Music Festival and Symposium, International Music Camp, Soiva Music Camp, Dakota Chamber Music, Minnesota All-State Camp, NDSU Chamber Music Festival, and Chamber Music of the Rockies. Her students have been featured on Houston Public Radio and have won prizes in numerous competitions, including the Grieg Society of Minnesota, FMSO Young Artist, FMAYS, Houston Youth, Houston Civic, Clear Lake Symphonies’ concerto competitions, as well as the MTNA North Dakota Young Artist Competition. Her students have participated in prominent music festivals all over the world and have gone on to become successful music educators and attend distinguished graduate programs in music performance and other fields of study. Sonja is dedicated to the performance of new music, with several composers, including Karim Al-Zand, Daniel Breedon, Doug Harbin, Benjamin Krause, Richard Lavenda, Russell Peterson, and Christopher Walczak, having written pieces for her. She began her violin studies at the age of 5 and went on to attend Houston’s critically acclaimed High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Sonja completed her undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Master of Music and Doctoral of Musical Arts degrees at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She plays a violin made by Los Angeles-based luthier Mario Miralles, whom she commissioned in 2011. Sonja resides in Fargo with her husband, long-time chamber music partner and bowling teammate, Ryan, and their two young children.
Photo credit: Kensie Wallner Photography
Solo in Jaakko Kuusisto’s Violin Concerto with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony (2023):
