“… a fascinating artistic presence … hard to imagine that Biber himself would ever have done it better.”

Frankfurter Neue Presse

Sophie Wedell specializes both in historical as well as modern violin and divides her time between solo, chamber music and orchestral playing as a permanent member of the Orchestra of the 18th Century.
She has recently released her CD debut The Habsburg Garden of Eden of 18th Century cantatas with solo violin with Brilliant Classics.

Sophie has been a guest concertmaster of ensembles and orchestras such as Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the 18th Century and Compagnia di Punto, and is regularly invited to perform with groups like La Tempestad or Il Pomo d’Oro.

Her curiosity has lead her to perform music ranging from the Baroque period to contemporary repertoire in renowned festivals and venues across Europe, such as the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, Resonanzen Festival Vienna, Heidelberger Frühling and ECLAT Festival.

Sophie strives to create engaging and personal concert experiences. This has earned her and her Ensemble Arava the first prize and audience prize at the International Competition for Concert Presentation 2017 in Frankfurt. The ensemble has furthermore been awarded a special prize at the International H.I.F. Biber Competition 2017 and is regularly invited to perform at festivals throughout Europe and Israel.

Since 2019 she is one of few select young artists supported by the Jumpstart Jr. Foundation of Amsterdam. The foundation kindly loans her a fine Italian violin made by Gioffredo Cappa in Turino, around 1700.

Sophie holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in modern violin from the Hanover School for Music and Drama, having studied with Ulf Schneider and Anke Dill, as well as a Master’s degree in Historical Performance Practice from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she studied with Kati Debretzeni and Walter Reiter.

Last updated on May 24th, 2023

“Wedell wonderfully conjured this long work, enchanting the audience, making them fall silent in rapture.
A touching moment to be remembered.”

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Some personal thoughts


Ever since I realized that I wanted to make music my profession, my dream has been to become a “universal violinist”. I didn’t want the label “modern” or “baroque” player, I just wanted to be a violinist, with everything that comes with it.

Alongside my interest in historical performance practice, I enjoy working with organic materials such as wood and fabric, so switching from metal to gut strings felt very natural to me.

My first attempts on plain gut strings left me absolutely mesmerized by their sound. Such richness in colours and textures! It was as if the music became tangible, while at the same time sounding more intimate. The downsides, like frequent tuning, sentivitiy to humidity and breaking, I happily embraced – after all I am handling a material that has at one point been alive; it is only fair that it behaves as such.

I am in constant search of understanding. Understanding my instrument and the different kinds of bows I work with, the structure of a musical piece, the characteristics of different styles. And it makes me feel extremely lucky when I get wonderful moments of connection with audiences and colleagues in return, for ultimately my goal is to share, through music, experiences of contemplation, beauty, pain and everything that makes us human.


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