Sofia Malvinni, violin, stems from a musical family. She started violin lessons at age three with her mother, a Curtis Institute of Music and UCSB alumna. A Santa Barbara Music Club scholarship awardee, Sofia has won numerous prizes and awards, including First Prize in the 2019 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Junior Competition. She is a three-time winner in the Santa Barbara Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, where she has served as concertmaster for the last four years. At age 11, she performed the Bach Double Concerto with the Santa Barbara Symphony under the direction of Nir Kabaretti at the Granada Theater. In May of 2022, she was invited by Maestro Kabaretti to play in the first violin section of the Santa Barbara Symphony.
She has performed in numerous masterclasses and received lessons with renowned violinists, including Benjamin Beilman, Martin Beaver, Nathan Cole, Jennifer Koh, and Kirill Troussov, and artists such as Eliot Fisk from top conservatories (Hans Eisler Hochschule für Musik-Berlin, Colburn Music School, Curtis Institute, New England Conservatory of Music, Royal College of Music) in the US and Europe. She has spent three summers at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and was also chosen for a masterclass at the Steinway House in Munich in May 2022.
Sofia graduated a year early from Dos Pueblos High School, having fulfilled her degree requirements as a dual enrollment student at SBCC. Always challenging herself, she excels at academics and sports. While in high school Sofia thrived as a member of the Engineering Academy and was also on the Varsity Girls Soccer team while continuing to play on the Central Coast Academy soccer team.
As a community service, Malvinni has given numerous performances to help bring aid to the people affected by the crisis in Ukraine. She has become an ambassador for Direct Relief and was honored in May of 2022 for her “extraordinary commitment to the health and lives of people affected by the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in the Ukraine.” Since the crisis in the Ukraine is still ongoing, you may contribute to her fundraiser online here.
Sofia is currently attending the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as an undergraduate violin major in the studio of Professor Simon James. She plays on a 1741 Guarneri copy by renowned German maker Bernd Dimbauth and is striving to win a competition where she can receive the loan of an old Italian instrument to further her career ambition to be a soloist.
In addition to all things musical, Sofia is a lover of nature, animals, soccer and sunsets. When not practicing she enjoys her time with friends and the outdoors. She thanks the Santa Barbara Music Club for the many scholarships she has received over the years and for the opportunity of this solo recital. She is grateful for the support from the Santa Barbara community.