ABOUT
sonder – n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
Mission
Sonder Classical is an immersive events company that presents classical music events that engage with listeners in a deeply collaborative and innovative way.
Its mission is to sculpt a new future for classical music by presenting unique collaborative events for all our listeners.
Why Sonder?
The idea for Sonder Classical came to me a few summers ago, as I was strolling through an outdoor art festival, admiring wax sculptures, browsing through a collection of watercolor paintings, getting lost in a room full of hypnotic tapestries...
There are so many ways a human can express themselves. I am a musician, so I express my emotions through playing my violin. Another might use a paintbrush, or a camera, or an HB no. 2 pencil. Yet another might express themselves through a certain curve in a house they are designing, or through a website they are developing, or through a machine they are building. Everyone is an artist, everyone is a musician.
In ancient times, there were no "artist" or "musician" jobs, just people coming home after a long day of hunting or gathering to sing and dance.
And so, I invite you to grab your brush, or your camera, or your guitar, and join in on our journey to beautify our world through artistic expression.
Abigail Tsai
Founder/Artistic Director
Abigail Tsai enjoys a multifaceted career as a violinist, educator, arranger/composer, and chamber/orchestral musician based in Los Angeles. She loves to create immersive music experiences and unique arrangements of popular tunes on her YouTube channel, which has amassed over 5 million views. She holds a B.M. from the Eastman School of Music (where she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate), and a M.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Tsai performs with orchestras including the San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, New West Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Neue Philharmonic Berlin, and Canton Symphony Orchestra. She has also soloed with the San Fernando Valley Symphony, the Pazardzhik Symphony, the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, and the Ventura College Symphony. In 2019-2020, she studied violin abroad in Austria at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Tsai is passionate about reaching new audiences through innovative approaches and mediums; she is a firm believer that classical music is for anyone and everyone. She speaks to these audiences through her creations, whether through her fervid immersive explorations in music + technology, with her writing on her Medium blog about music and motivation, or directly to students in her private violin teaching. Music, like other forms of artistic expression, brings forth a profound emotional change inside each individual listener, and her goal is to inspire deep contemplation and reconnection with one's own humanity through these captivating musical experiences.
