"outstanding... every note has meaning rather as a look or a touch does; the resulting conversations she has with the music are endlessly absorbing... Her subjective narrative suggests the freedom with which Pablo Casals brought the music back to life a century ago."
~LAURENCE VITTES | GRAMOPHONE
Cellist Dr. Sophie Webber, whose "every note has meaning rather as a look or a touch does" (Gramophone) is an internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, arts activist, and educator. Praised as "an exceptional and creative musician" (Interlude) and "sublime to hear" (Time Out Chicago), she has released three critically acclaimed albums, "Escape: Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello" (2018), "B2C: Bach to Choir" (2020, featuring Bach's Cello Suites Nos.1 and 3, alongside Sophie's original choral accompaniment with vocables by former Kings Singer baritone and arranger, Phil Lawson, performed by the Chicago Choir of the Church of Ascension) and most recently, "Roots: Transcriptions of Romantic Works for Cello and Piano" with pianist Ines Irawati (2022).
Her former teachers include Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and Helga Winold at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Richard Markson at Trinity College of Music, London, from where she graduated with a First Class Honors degree, as well as the Sir John Barbirolli memorial prize for cello.
A dedicated educator, Sophie has served as cello faculty at Southeast Missouri State University, Jacobs School of Music Summer Clinic, Oxford Cello School, Trinity College of Music Junior Department, Lake Forest College and the Music Institute of Chicago. She is a keen music theorist and pianist, and held a position as Music Theory Instructor at Indiana University for four years. She has taught a variety of university level courses, and is frequently invited to give guest masterclasses at universities across the States. Following the pandemic's push to move more music teaching online, Dr Sophie has also given regular online cello lessons and classes for the past three years. In 2024, Sophie began teaching an online cello course, “Dr Sophie Cello Lab,” including group and individual instruction, international guest cellist clinicians, and with a strong community component.
Sophie's students have served as section and principal cellists in the Chicago and San Diego Youth Symphony Orchestras, have won or been placed in regional and national competitions (such as State Youth Concerto Competitions, the Society of American Musicians Competition, MidWest Young Artists Discover National Chamber Music Competition, Confucius Chinese Fine Arts Society Competition, and the Walgreen National Concerto Competition) and have gone on to study cello performance at some of the nation's top music schools.
In 2009, she founded Fused Muse Ensemble, an IL non-profit with a mission to amplify voices too often left unheard through music and mixed media.
Sophie's music has been featured on BBC Radio 3, Southern California's Classical KUSC 91.5FM, Chicago's WFMT 98.7FM, Seattle's King FM 98.1, Iowa Public Radio, Tampa Bay (Florida)'s WUSF Public Media, Rochester (New York)'s WXXI Classical 91.5, North Carolina's WCPE The Classical Station 89.7FM, Portland's All Classical 89.9 KQAC FM, amongst others.