Sonja Leipold - harpsichordist for contemporary music

education: flute and piano at the Mozarteum Salzburg, and harpsichord and basso continuo at the University of Music Vienna.

performances: Focusing on early and contemporary music, she regularly performs as a soloist, basso continuo-player and with her own ensembles at renowned concert festivals all over Europe and Asia, such as: Konzerthaus,Radiokulturhaus und Musiverein Wien, Wien Modern, Theater an der Wien, musikprotokoll Graz, Carinthischer Sommer, Donau- festwochen Strudengau, Innsbrucker Festwochen, ACF London, Harpsichord Festival Tallinn, Peking May Festival, Royal Music Festival Stockholm, Qarajew Festival Aserbaidschan, November Music Days Netherlands, Été musical du Bergerac, Music tribune Opatija, Kammermusikpodium der Philharmonie/Rundfunkchor Berlin, Muzyka Dawna Warschau, Geiger Festival Gothenburg, Poznan Spring, Odessa Classics, Toblacher Festwochen, Stanislavsky Theatre Moscow, National Opera Athens, Hwakang Arts Taipei, New Works Calgary, Vancouver New Music...

As a soloist she recently appeared with Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Wiener Kammerorchester, she is member of Ensembles like dolce risonanza, capella Leopoldina, Phoenix Baroque Austria, Baroque Ensemble of Vienna Symphony Orchestra, reconsil, MusikFabrikSüd...

new music: she is working with composers from all over the world, so far she has commissioned more than 100 works (solo&ensemble, with&without electronics & media), with performances in more than 30 countries.
awards: by the Austrian ministry of culture (for her programme "perspectives of the harpsichord"), prize-winner at the international harpsichord competitions Bologna 2011, Fidelio 2012, Annelie de Man 2012. In 2013 she was awarded a fellowship both for her research in baroque music and for her contribution to contemporary harpsichord repertoire and founded the ensemble "les roses sauvages", which performs music by female composers of the 17th and 18th century. Her ensembles "duo ovocutters" and "airborne extended" are currently official Austrian cultural ambassador for contemporary music (2016-2019). 

teaching: Since 2015 Sonja Leipold teaches at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She works as an accompanist and chamber music teacher at ITAM Linz (with Emma Kirkby), International Summer Academy Vienna (with Barthold Kuijken), and Theater an der Wien (with N. Harnoncourt).

As a guest lecturer for contemporary harpsichord music Sonja Leipold regularly gives masterclasses at various universities such as Chinese Cultural University Taipei, Tschaikovsky Conservatory Moscow, Lipinski-Academy Wroclaw, Kunstuniversität Graz, Bruckneruniversität Linz, Royal Academy of Music Aarhus...

audio/video: She participated in international CD-, radio and filmproductions, among them the international film "LICHT" (Barbara Albert,2017) for which she was asked to record the complete solo- and chamber music work of Maria Theresia Paradis. 

artistic director: since 2019 she is president of IGNM/ISCM Austria.