Sonja Branch
Sonja D. Branch holds degrees in music performance from Ithaca College and Arizona State University, where she continues to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the same field. In her time at ASU she has performed with many of the university's ensembles and has held positions as a Research Assistant for the Institute for Studies in the Arts, as a Teaching Assistant and Faculty Associate in the School of Music, and as an accompanist in the Department of Dance. In addition to her freelance work around the Phoenix area, Sonja is a percussionist with the MusicaNova Orchestra; plays various West African drums with Phoenix--based groups Kawambe Omowale African Drum and Dance Theater, and AZ Drum and Dance; and plays guitarron with Mariachi Corazón de Phoenix. Believing that versatility really is the key to success, currently Sonja is apprenticing in the machining trade, the better to design, build, modify and repair the tools of her musical trade. She continues to experiment with woodworking, welding, blacksmithing, glass-cutting, print-making, computer-automated design, and any other skill that strikes her as useful or interesting.
