Sonja Kraus

Dr. Sonja Kraus, originally from Germany, is an internationally acclaimed cellist, teacher, and music scholar, whose musical career has taken her around the world. Currently, Kraus holds the position of Associate Professor of Music (Cello) at the University of South Dakota where she teaches cello, chamber music, and co-directs the chamber orchestra. She is also the cellist of the renowned Rawlins Piano Trio. Since 2023, Kraus has been the orchestra manager of the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico and the artistic director of the Ensemble Zusammen.

Before moving to South Dakota, Kraus was the cello professor at the Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo in Guayaquil where she helped to develop the first master’s program for musicians in Ecuador. At that time, she was also the principal cellist of the Orquesta Filarmónica Municipal de Guayaquil. During her time in Indiana, Kraus was assistant principal cellist in the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and a member of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. In her final year in Germany, she worked in the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra and before that as substitute cellist for the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Stuttgart Opera Orchestra.

Kraus received her bachelor’s degree in cello performance and pedagogy from the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart (Germany) as well as a master’s and doctoral degree from the Jacobs School of Music – Indiana University Bloomington where she studied with Prof. Emilio Colón. As a researcher, Kraus focuses on broadening the cello repertoire by identifying manuscripts and creating editions of unpublished cello works from the classical era. So far, she has found three cello concertos by Franz Anton Hoffmeister and is in the process of creating scholarly editions for these works.

Early in her career, Kraus traveled with the National Youth Orchestra of Germany to Japan, Venezuela, and more than ten countries in Europe. During her undergraduate studies, her piano trio Ananda performed in many countries all over Europe with frequent appearances in Germany, France, and Switzerland. In August 2012, Kraus moved to the United States and has since performed as soloist or as part of chamber music ensembles in many states from East to West Coast. Towards the end of her graduate studies, she expanded her career to Latin American countries and territories, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador.

Kraus has been teaching since she started her studies in Germany. Right when she moved to Stuttgart, she began mentoring pre-college students at the Musikschule Unterensingen. After moving to the US, she was the Associate Instructor for cello at the Jacobs School of Music – Indiana University Bloomington, where she later joined the faculty of the String Academy. In recent years, Kraus has been a sought-after performer, clinician, and instructor of masterclasses throughout the US and Latin America with invitations to the Colegio Universitario San Gerónimo de La Habana (Cuba), Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, Jacobs School of Music – Indiana University (IN), Chapman University (CA), University of Missouri – Kansas City (MO), and the University of Oklahoma (OK). Kraus participated in several music festivals around the world including Habana Clásica, the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, the Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy, and the California Orchestra Academy.