With a remarkable reputation, harpist Sophia Whitson plays regularly with the most eminent orchestras and conductors, both in Germany and for international tours.
She began playing harp at the age of 6, at 15 she was accepted into the preparatory program of the Richard-Strauss-conservatory in Munich.
Ms. Whitson has been awarded numerous prizes as a winner of state and national competitions, she was a finalist at the “International Youth Competition” in Oldenburg (Germany) and she is a 2nd Prize winner at the International Competition for Ostracized Music in Schwerin (Germany) for Jeunesses Musicales.
She was awarded her music diploma at Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin and she received her Master’s Degree as a pupil of Cristina Bianchi at the Hochschule für Musik & Theater in Munich.
Whitson has been a frequent participant in the prestigious masterclasses of Sarah O’Brien (Basel), Erika Waardenburg (Amsterdam) and Germaine Lorenzini (France).
Since 2009 she has been active in numerous orchestras as principal harpist, both as a member and as a guest:
She has established herself as preferred guest harpist for the Symphonikern Hamburg since 2010
as well as preferred guest harpist for the NDR (North German Radio) Elbphilharmonie Orchester from 2014-2018 in Hamburg and with the Hamburg State Opera.
Furthermore, since 2013 Ms. Whitson has regularly appeared as harpist with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the BR Symphonieorchester München (Bavarian Radio Orchestra) - she is playing international tours and a variety of radio-, TV- and CD- recordings with both orchestras.
She has been featured in memorable performances under the baton of among others, Herbert Blomstedt, Mariss Jansons, Jonathan Nott, Simone Young, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Kent Nagano, Krzysztof Urbański,
Thomas Hengelbrock, Marek Janowski, Jakub Hruša, Franz Welser-Möst, Esa Pekka-Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Fraçois-Xavier Roth, Daniel Harding and Sir Simon Rattle.
Additionally, Whitson is a regular participant in top international music festivals, such as Musikfest Berlin, BBC Proms London, Salzburger Festspiele, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Mosel Music Festival, Prague Spring and Baden-Baden Festival.
Since November 2019 she is playing in duo formation with Gabriele Rossmanith (soprano).