About Sofia Avery
Composer, bandleader, educator, and musicmaker Sofia Avery was born into a musical family in New Orleans. As a child, she accompanied herself on Brazilian cavaquinho and studied classical cello. In high school, she took up contemporary voice mentorship under acclaimed Bass-Baritone, James Butler. Sofia’s love of composing started in earnest in 2015, when she was asked to create an integrative music workshop for an interfaith human rights youth conference. That project was where she greeted her first art-music loves: Arvo Pärt, György Ligeti, and John Cage.
In 2019, Sofia earned a Bachelor’s degree in music composition with a jazz voice emphasis from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she had the honor of one-on-one instruction by world-class artists such as Dawn Clement, Shane Endsley, and the late great Ron Miles, who called her “an incredible songwriter”. During her time at MSU, she was a two time recipient of the Christopher Priolo award for composition, and won Colorado’s Gift Of Jazz Award for voice in 2018. Sofia was welcomed as an arranger for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s MLK Humanitarian Awards ceremony in 2020. Sofia is also the bandleader, composer, and founder of Denver-based experimental art-jazz quintet Tansy Wine.
Sofia’s teaching method incorporates numerous genres, from contemporary styles to jazz, bluegrass and beyond. She emphasizes musicianship as a gateway to life-altering magic that is integral to the human experience. Sofia teaches voice, bass guitar, mandolin, and beginning piano.
