Sophia Alexander, cello

Meet Sophia

Sophia performs on Show 442.

Sophia Alexander (cello), 16, is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a 10th grader at The Blake School and studies with Mina Fisher.

Sophia has been playing cello since she was four years old and has played both cello and violin in her school orchestra. Sophia is currently the principal cellist of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS) Symphony Orchestra. This past year, she earned first place in GTCYS’s Concerto Competition and performed Lalo’s Cello Concerto as a soloist.

Sophia plays in a cello rock ensemble at MacPhail Center for Music, and is also a member of a quartet at Artaria Chamber Music School, which played in the Stringwood Chamber Music Festival this past summer. Sophia traveled on tour to southern Italy with GTCYS in 2022, and next summer she will travel to southern France and Barcelona, where she will perform Pablo Casals’s Song of the Birds as a soloist.

Sophia has won prizes in competitions including Minnesota Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition (YPSCA), Schubert Club, Mary West, and Mankato Symphony. She has played in masterclasses with cellists Johannes Moser, Anthony Ross, and Natasha Brofsky.

Outside of cello, Sophia loves everything Star Wars, including building Mandalorian helmets and armor, drawing Star Wars characters, and building Lego Star Wars ships.