Sonja Thoms

Sonja Thoms studied oboe at Eastman School of Music (BM 2003) and Rice University (MM 2005) with the dream to be in an orchestra one day. It wasn't until after graduate school that Sonja discovered a career in Orchestra Operations would be a perfect fit. Now, Sonja has over 15 years of experience working in Orchestra Operations for professional orchestras, starting with the Pittsburgh Symphony and now Vice President of Operations at the Nashville Symphony. Sonja has always been committed to mentoring those interested in orchestra careers. She has developed effective internship experiences in addition to personalized coaching, educational resources and group presentations. In 2018, Sonja created an innovative class for Belmont University's Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business called "The Business of Orchestras". Sonja uses coaching to help each person discover, strengthen and showcase the value they can bring to the work of orchestras. She created OrchestraCareers.com, which is becoming a community where students and professionals can gather, building relationships that equip and challenge each other.