Nadia Sofokleous Hamoudi

plays on the RZ/magoo Solo hybrid

Nadia Sofokleus (Hamoudi) was born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and started to play the clarinet with 13. She lives in Germany, in the Black Forest District, where she is teaching and playing, and is head of the Woodwind department of the Musikakademie Villingen-Schwenningen. She is a Chedeville artist and plays on the Chedeville Umbra model (https://chedeville.com/ ).Nadia Sofokleos is an RZ Clarinets artist, plays on the high-end model RZ Solo Magoo clarinet (https://www.rzclarinets.com/en/) and a SCV Ligatures artist (https://www.saxclinic.com/) and plays on the Tonus Mundi model ligature.

Her clarinet education starts in the High School of Arts in Oradea, class of Rodica Malita and Gheorghe Calinescu. From 1996, she studied at the Music University "Ciprian Porumbescu" in Bucharest, in the class of Prof. Valeriu Barbuceanu. After that, in 2002, she continues her artistic training at the University of Music in Trossingen, in the class of Prof. Chen Halevi. From 2005 to 2007, she studied with Prof. Francois Benda at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano. She attended Masterclasses with the English clarinetist Antony Pay and with Prof. Charles Neidich, from New York. Nadia received the scholarships "Emma Contestabile" and "Diploma di Merito" of the "Accademia Chigiana" Siena, a scholarship of the "Apáczai" Foundation, special scholarship “Excellence of the Music” University of Bucharest.

She won competitions and prizes in many national competitions in Romania, some of the prizes being First Prize and Grand Prize at the national competition "Young Talents", Romania and several other prizes at the Music Olympiad in Romania, Second Prize at the international competition "Jeunesses Musicales" (1996), Third Prize at the international competition "Saverio Mercadante”(2004). In 2020 she was awarded an advancement prize: “Kulturpreis Schwarzwald Baar” for excellent pedagogical work.

Nadia is founder of the Woodwind Quintet of the Music Academy VS (2011) and the Klarisma Ensemble (2008). She played in festivals like “Kreuzgangskonzerte Alpirsbach”, “Lange Schwenninger Kulturnacht” "Faszination Klarinette" Berlin, “George Enescu” Festival in Bucharest, Chamber Music Festival Brasov, New Music Festival Bucharest, 11th ECA Clarinet Congress in Krakow, ClarinetFest in Denver. She has been invited to perform as a headline artist in December 2023, at the 12 Clarinet Congress in Tillburg, Holland.

Nadia performed as a soloist with the Air force Academy Band, Corda Cracovia Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Villingen Schwenningen, Chamber Orchestra of the Romanian Radio Bucharest, Oradea Philharmonic Orchestra, Romania, University Orchestras in Trossingen and Lugano.

Her orchestra experience begins in 1998 as a solo clarinetist in the Giurgiu Symphony Orchestra until 1999. Nadia was from 1999 to 2002 deputy solo clarinetist in the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra in Bucharest.

In 2005 she got internship at the "Junge Oper" of the State Opera Stuttgart.

She continued playing in the orchestra after 2005, in the Villingen-Schwenningen Symphony Orchestra as a solo clarinetist (and since 2020 second chairwoman).

Nadia has given masterclasses in University Bucharest (2023), Clarinet Days in Hungary, in Miskolc and Budapest (2023); in Krakow at the 11th and 12th ECA Clarinet Congress (2022, 2023), University of Oradea (2018), Clarinet Festival Waldshut Tiengen (2019, 2024) and was was between 2021-2022 guest lecturer at the University of Music in Trossingen.

Since 2005 Nadia Sofokleous is clarinet, chamber music, and ensemble teacher and since 2007 head of the woodwind department at the Music Academy Villingen-Schwenningen.

Nadia Sofoklous is since 2020 Second Chairwomen at the Sinfonieorchester Villingen Schwenningen and since 2023 she is serving member of the Committee for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access of the International Clarinet Association (both honorary offices).

She initiated a series of concerts: since 2020 "Coffee Concerts" of the Symphony Orchestra Villingen Schwenningen, 2016 to 2022 " Intercultural reading journey" series with music for children of 5-10 years old.

Several projects with Christy Brown School VS (school for the physically disabled), such as "The Magic Flute", "Peter and the Wolf", and "Pictures at an Exhibition".

Over fifteen years she mentored and managed a series of afternoon concerts at a retirement home Alpenland in Villingen-Schwenningen: "Musik verbindet Jung und Alt".

She lead a series of family concerts and school concerts with the Musikakademie woodwind quintet and Klarisma Ensemble (including Eine kleine Holzwurmgeschichte, Peter und der Wolf, Karneval der Tiere)

and music theater performances "Eins und ein und eins ist schööön" "In the kingdom of Uusikaupunki" Beginning with 2023 October, she will be mentoring the Baby-Concerts in Villingen Schwenningen.

Since 2017 Nadia is a culture guide at "Kumfi" (The Culture Kangaroo), a culture mediation project of the Office for Culture VS in all elementary schools in VS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDVGN7i4-h4

Here some videos of her performing as soloist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY8yugRQb74&t=563s

https://youtu.be/afyuvm4augk?t=135

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVLPICkfzS4