Sonia Sielaff joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017 as Principal E-flat/Sub Principal Clarinet. She held the position of Associate Principal/E-flat clarinet of the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra from 2010 to 2017. In addition to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, she regularly performs with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. She has performed as guest principal clarinetist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic and Odense Symfoniorkester.

Sonia was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition. She is an alumna of Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival, Aspen Music Festival, American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz and the Banff Arts Festival. She has performed as a soloist with the USC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Conservatory Orchestra and with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. A Minnesota native, Sonia holds degrees from University of Southern California, Glenn Gould School, Michigan State University and Lawrence University. Her principal teachers include Yehuda Gilad, Joaquin Valdepeñas, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr and Fan Lei.

photo © Ben Wright