Sonya Lifschitz
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Sonya Lifschitz is a pianist working across many contexts, with repertoire spanning from 15th century Faenza Codex to works written for her today. She is known for her fiercely imaginative, daring collaborations across film, dance, animation, spoken word, visual and performance art. Described as “a life force of extraordinary density and capacity”, Sonya’s artistry combines bold adventurousness with honed musicianship to create work that positions art music at the cutting edge of contemporary performance practices, exploring boundaries of musical expression and interdisciplinary artistic practice as a whole. She is active as a soloist, creative collaborator, artistic director, educator, radio personality and arts advocate.
Sonya has performed on major international stages to critical acclaim including the Barbican Centre (London), De Doelen (Rotterdam), Bargemusic (New York), Detroit Institute of Art (USA), Venice Biennale (Italy), and in many of Australia’s major international arts festival, including Adelaide (AF), Sydney (SF), Melbourne (MIAF), Brisbane (BF), Canberra (CIMF) and Darwin (DF) Festivals; and other prestigious festivals including Extended Play, Metropolis, MONAFOMA, Four Winds and Ten Days on the Island.
Sonya regularly works with pioneering new music ensembles, including Ensemble Offspring, Topology, Clocked Out, and members from Bang on a Can All-Stars (USA) and Eighth Blackbird (USA). She has premiered works by Kate Neal, Robert Davidson, Damian Barbeler, Andrew Schultz, Jessica Wells, Felicity Wilcox, Anthony Lyons, Larry Sitsky, Bree Van Reyk, Max Lyandvert and Steve Adam. Other significant collaborators include Christine Johnston (performance art), Martin del Amo (dance), Angelica Mesiti (video art), Sal Cooper (video/animation), Bob Scott (sound design), and pianists Stephen Emmerson and Lisa Moore.
Sonya has been featured on ABC and SBS TV and on national radio, including ABC Classic’s Legends, Duet, Festival of Female Composers, New Waves and ABC Radio National’s Music Show. As a Fulbright Scholar Sonya studied with the legendary American pianist Leon Fleisher and currently heads Music Performance and Creative Practice streams at the School of Arts and Media at the University of NSW.