Sophie Williams, violin (Edinburgh, Scotland) is currently studying for a Masters of Performance at the Musik Akademie, Basel with Professors Rainer Schmidt and Raphaël Oleg, having completed her BA with first class honors as a scholar at the Royal College of Music in London with Gaby Lester and at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart with Nurit Stark. Sophie has attended the Mendelssohn on Mull, Edinburgh Fringe, Schiermonnikoog (NL), Podium Esslingen (DE), IMS Prussia Cove, Manchester, and Chipping Campden International music festivals. Her recent solo performances include both Beethoven and Brahms concertos with the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra in Scotland. Her musical mentors and influences have included members of the Doric String Quartet, Alina Ibragimova, Leonidas Kavakos, Gordan Nikolić, Arnold Steinhardt, András Keller, Pekka Kuusisto, Nicola Benedetti, Lorenza Borrani, Nicholas Rimmer, and David Watkin. For two years, Sophie was principal second violin of the European Union Youth Orchestra with which she toured throughout Europe, South America, the UAE, and China, including performances at the BBC Proms, Konzerthaus and Philharmonie Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. She was invited by Iván Fischer to tour throughout the 2022 season with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and to take part in projects with Spira Mirabilis. Committed to historical performance practice, Sophie is also an experienced player on historical instruments and bows, performing regularly throughout Europe with ensembles such as the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble, Ensemble Resonanz and the Gabrieli Consort.