Sonya Haeran Jones

Violinist Sonya Jones, 16, is a scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy where she studies with Almita Vamos and Davis King. She began playing the piano at the age of 3 and the violin at the age of 4 and joined the Academy program in 2018.

As a soloist, Sonya has won awards in a number of competitions, including 2nd place in the DuPage Concerto Competition in 2020, and in The Chinese Fine Arts Society’s 34th Annual Music Festival in Honor of Confucius Competition in 2019; honorable mentions in the senior divisions of the Society of American Musicians competition in 2021 of the DePaul Concerto Competition in 2021 (with distinction), 2019 and 2014, and in American Music Institute violin competition in 2019; finalist in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, and winner in the DePaul Division Concerto Competition in 2013 (violin) and in 2014 (piano). Sonya’s solo performances include an appearance on the Young Steinway concert series at the Skokie Public Library in 2020.

An active chamber musician, Sonya has worked with a number of outstanding young musicians from throughout the Chicago area. Her trio, the Insieme Trio was named the overall and open string division winner in the 2020 MYA National Chamber Music Competition, and was selected as a semifinalist in the 2020 The Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The Insieme Trio was later featured on WFMT’s Introductions radio broadcast in Chicago. Sonya previously competed in the quarterfinals of the Fischoff National Chamber Music competition in 2019 as a member of the Cavatina Piano Quartet.

In addition to performing solo and chamber music, Sonya plays regularly in the MIC Academy Chamber Orchestra, and Lincoln Park High School Chamber Orchestra where she serves as concertmaster. She joined the Chicago Youth Symphony program in 2016 and was a member of the Symphony Orchestra for two years. In summer of 2019, she performed on tour with CYSO in Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki, Finland, Tallinn, Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia.

You can find Sonya’s performance here.