Sophia Werner, 22, studies at The Juilliard School with Laurie Smukler as the proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship. Previously, she studied with Linda Case of Ithaca, NY, and Rebecca Fischer of New York City. Sophia won the 2024 Juilliard Concerto Competition, appearing as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. In April of 2025, she premiered Liam Cummins’ violin concerto, “Plea” with the AXIOM Ensemble and Jeffrey Milarsky in Tully. Additionally, she soloed with AXIOM in 2024, and has also appeared with the Adelphi Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, and the Binghamton and Ithaca Community Orchestras. Sophia looks forward to attending the Verbier Festival Academy as a Soloist this summer, and starting her Master’s degree at Juilliard in the Fall.

Sophia was awarded Second Place in the 2025 Hellam International Competition, and in 2023 won the Bach Prize from the Stulberg International String Competition, was one of nine semifinalists of the Klein International String Competition, and was a finalist in the Juilliard Concerto Competition. In 2022, she won the Adelphi Young Artist Competition. 

An avid chamber musician, Sophia developed her collaborative skills at the Perlman Music Program and as a Young Artist Fellow at Kneisel Hall. Her piano trio, the Blue Hill Trio, was accepted to Juilliard’s 2023-2024 Honors program and was invited to attend Kneisel Hall as a pre-formed ensemble. They made their NYC debut in Alice Tully Hall in March of 2024. Sophia has studied chamber music with Laurie Smukler, Joel Krosnick, Natasha Brofsky, and Merry Peckham among others. She has also played in masterclasses for members of the Juilliard, Mendelssohn, Cleveland and Brentano quartets, and collaborated with Laurie Smukler and Merry Peckham.

As Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra, Sophia has performed in Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has also performed in Carnegie Hall, appeared in David Geffen Hall alongside members of the New York Philharmonic, and was awarded a fellowship to attend the 2020 and 2021 Aspen Music Festival and School as a member of the Aspen Festival Orchestra. 

Sophia is passionate about music education and outreach. She was awarded a Teaching Fellowship as a college-level instructor in Juilliard’s Ear Training Department. Furthermore, as a recipient of the 2022-23 Juilliard Gluck Fellowship, Sophia shared her love for performing through community outreach programs in the greater New York City area. 

Sophia performs on an 1864 J. B. Vuillaume violin and James Tubbs bow, generously on loan to her from Juilliard's Stringed Instrument Collection.