SUNG-RAI SOHN, violin
Sung-Rai Sohn, concert violinist and professor emeritus of music at Sarah Lawrence College after 39 years of teaching, is a founder and first violinist of the Laurentian String Quartet and Amasi Piano Trio, and has performed annually in major concert halls throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the Far East and Africa.
As a chamber musician, Mr. Sohn has collaborated with such eminent artists as Claude Monteux, Eugenia Zuckerman, Richard Stolzman, Gervase de Peyer, Ronald Roseman, Kurt Masur, Harvey Phillips, Paul Doktor, Hyo Kang, as well as with members of the Fine Arts Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Borodin Quartet, American String Quartet and Borodin Trio.
He was a Grand Prize Winner in Solo and Chamber Music in Korea and recipient of the Maryland Women’s Club Award, Artist International Award, Jack Kahn Award and Honored Diplomat, Algiers Fourth International Music Festival.
Mr. Sohn has acted as a chair-adjudicator for the New York Music Competition since 2000.
He has performed as a soloist with many orchestras including the New York Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Melos Sinfonia, Salina Symphony Orchestra and Five Towns Symphony Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center.
As a recording artist, he has recorded for Musical Heritage Society, Soundspells Production, Newport Classics, CD Baby, and Sony Classical.
Mr. Sohn was educated as a full scholarship student at the Peabody Institute - Johns Hopkins University and graduated with the Theodore Martin Award for Excellence in Music.
He received his Master’s degree at Sarah Lawrence College as a full scholarship student of
Dorothy DeLay, where he has taught violin and viola and was conductor of the Sarah Lawrence College Orchestra, Director of Chamber Music and String Department from 1980 to 2019.
He appears on World Who's Who and International Who's Who in Music.
Reviews:
“…beautifully terraced reading of a Vivaldi Concerto (Op. 3, No. 11), with Sung Rai Sohn…”
NY Times Allan Kozinn
"I am trying to recall if I ever before heard the magnificent tones of a Stradivarius violin as it was being played by virtuoso violinist. ... Sung-Rai Sohn, playing the Stradivarius, elevated the beauty of the music of Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn to the same degree as when I heard him perform at Carnegie Hall."
Rockland Journal-News, NY
"... The violinist Sohn had the chance to play like a songbird, and he performed perfectly."
The Times Herald Record, NY
"... a high point of this concert was Sohn's trading his baton for the violin to play the solo part in the (Beethoven) Romance in F. His soothing musicality displayed mastery of the violin and a passionate feeling for the composer. Conducting and playing at the same time, Sohn had a remarkable rapport with the orchestra."
Review Press-Reporter, Bronxville, NY
His retirement from Sarah Lawrence College:
“As a distinguished concert violinist, dedicated educator, and beloved colleague, Sohn’s presence on campus has made Sarah Lawrence an infinitely kinder, more beautiful place.”
June 19, 2019. Sarah Lawrence College Magazine written by Suzanne Guillette
Chamber Music Certificate of Excellence
Faculty emeritus Sung-Rai Sohn has been renowned in the Sarah Lawrence community as a premier violin teacher and director of chamber music for over four decades. He has generously created a prize for achievement in chamber music—The Chamber Music Certificate of Excellence. It will be awarded annually to a student actively involved in the program, showing commitment and dedication to chamber music, while supporting peers. This gift will continue Sung-Rai’s influence on our students long after his retirement.
May, 2020. Sarah Lawrence College “Connecting Passions, Creating Futures”