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Sophia Serghi
College of William and Mary, Music, Faculty Member
- Serghi, Sophia (b. 1972, Nicosia,). Cypriot composer, now resident in the USA, of stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal and multi-media works that have been performed in Europe and ... moreSerghi, Sophia (b. 1972, Nicosia,). Cypriot composer, now resident in the USA, of stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal and multi-media works that have been performed in Europe and the USA.
Ms. Serghi studied with Vincent McDermott at Lewis and Clark College in Oregon from 1990-94, where she earned her BA Magna Cum Laude, and then with Jonathan D. Kramer and Fred Lerdahl at Columbia University from 1994-98, where she earned her MA and DMA.
Sophia is a composer and pianist with recent performances of solo collections of her works Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in DC, Merkin Hall in NYC, the Hellenic Center and Cadogan Hall in London, the Athens Concert Hall in Greece, the Concertgebow in Amsterdam to name a few. Her works have been recorded on various labels. Her debut solo CD Night of Light was released on Navona a Naxos Label in April 2011, and it features the Moravian Philharmonic in a collection of selected works for string orchestra and voice. She had scheduled performances through 2020, which include orchestral and chamber music commissions in the USA and Europe currently postponed due to Covid 19
Among her honors are the Fulbright and Presidential scholars (1990-94) and the Cheney (1992-93) and Rena Ratte (1994) awards at Lewis and Clark College and the Mellon Fellowship (1994-98) and the Edna and Boris Rapoport Prize (1995) at Columbia University. Other honors include First prizes in the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra (1997, for Kavo Greko), the Athens Concert Hall Greek Composers (1998, for Sizzle) and the American Composers Orchestra Whittaker award (1999, for Panegyric) competitions.
Most recently she received commissions by the Flux Quartet, the Ardelia Trio, the Pharos Trust, The Philadelphia based new music ensemble Relache, as the winner of their international commission competition. In addition, in 2004, she has received a commission and international broadcast from the European Union for the work Palingenesis, for orchestra, to celebrate the entrance of Cyprus in the European Union. Other recent commissions the Manhattan Piano Trio, the Relache Ensemble, the Mariner String Quartet, the Cyprus National Theatre, the Athens Concert Hall and Helikon Saxophone Quartet among others. She served as artist-in-residence at the Cité International des Arts in Paris (2000, on a Virginia Atelier Award), the Banff Centre for the Arts (1998) and received the Salvatore Martirano Composition Award from the University of Illinois (2000, for Sizzle) and Third Prize in the Center for Mediterranean Music Composition Award (2002, for Flying Flowers).
Many ensembles and orchestras have performed her music, including the Flux Quartet, the Oxford Philomusica, the Camerata Europaea, the Ardelia Trio, the Orchestra of Colors, the American Composers Orchestra, the Moravian Philharmonic, the Manhattan Piano Trio, Relache, the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, the Chilingirian String Quartet, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, Duo Palmos, Ensemble Sizzle, the New Julliard Ensemble, the Lubliana String Quartet, the Greek Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Nash Ensemble, the Orchestra of Colors, Speculum Musicae, and the Athens Arts Trio have also performed her works. Ms Serghi has written music for multi-media productions including an Opera “The Noah’s – a climatic Tale” at Theatre Pompoen in Amsterdam, several theatre productions with the Cyprus National Theatre Company, feature films and documentaries.
Dr. Sophia Serghi is a Professor of Music at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, USA and founder and CEO of the Multi-Arts Crossings (MAX) foundation in Cyprus. During Fall of 2012 Prof. Serghi held a position as Visiting Professor at Amsterdam University College in the Netherlands and in Spring 2013 she was a Visiting Faculty Scholar at Cambridge University, UK where she is worked on composing an original Ballet based on the life of Theoretical Physicist and Prof. Stephen Hawking from the perspective of his caretakers. In February 2012 Prof. Serghi collaborated with Justice John Charles Thomas for a unique performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall of solo selected piano pieces inspired by Justice Thomas’ original poetry.
In 2015, Sophia founded a Music Tech Startup called Aplaud Music Group Inc, a platform that offers prizes through original music composition competitions in diverse genres.
As part of her recent scholarship and research starting in 2017, Professor Serghi embarked on the production of Music on The Move, a documentary series focused on refugee and forced migration musicians of the Levant area.
Professor Serghi has extensive faculty governance and leadership experience, including serving as President of the William & Mary Faculty Assembly.
Sophia is a proud mother of two beautiful and brilliant daughters, Ariadne (17) and Alkyone (13).edit