SONJA K. MILLICHAMP - HORN

Sonja K. Millichamp earned her bachelor’s degree in horn performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and her master’s degree in music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During the summers she studied at the National Orchestral Institute in College Park, Maryland, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Prior to moving to West Texas, Sonja spent six years as the horn professor at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where she also performed with the faculty woodwind quintet and served as principal horn of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra. She additionally served as third horn of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and a member of the Prairie Ensemble, and spent several summers playing principal horn for Opera in the Ozarks. Other ensembles with which she has performed include the Abilene Philharmonic, the Amarillo, Arkansas, Illinois, and Peoria Symphonies, and the Glimmerglass Festival.

Sonja is currently co-principal horn of the West Texas Symphony, hornist of its wind quintet the West Texas Winds, and second horn of the Missouri Symphony's Firefly Music Festival. She is also a soprano, singing regularly as co-director of music for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Midland and occasionally for other organizations such as Permian Basin Opera and the Firefly Festival. Sonja is also a Certified Change Coach and loves helping clients find freedom from anxiety, unwanted habits, and other mental/emotional issues. She is married to co-principal hornist Scott Millichamp; together they enjoy tending their xeriscape garden, hanging out with their cats, and spending time in nature.