Sonia Wilson
- Lucie Blaze
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
A talented singer, music teacher and songwriter who is involved in more projects than she can count on both hands.
Can you introduce yourself?
Kia ora tātou. Ko Maungawhau te maunga. Ko La Seine te awa. Nō Paris ahau. Ko Wilson tōku whānau. Ko Sonia tōku ingoa. Bonjour, je m’appelle Sonia Wilson. I am a Franco-American singer, musician, music teacher and occasionally, songwriter.
I was born and raised in Paris, France, by American parents, attended French schools then University in the UK and spent many years traveling, studying and working in various corners of the globe.
I have been living here in Auckland since October 2016 and currently share my time between music teaching and a number of music performance and other collaborative creative projects.
I consider myself blessed to be able to do what I love for a living these days as music has, throughout my life, been a deep and generous source of healing, joy and connection. I am passionate about helping to make music more accessible to those who yearn for music to play a bigger part in their lives.
What role does creativity play in your life?
I feel my perhaps unusual degree of openness towards change and willingness to tread less conventional life/career paths were likely a result of the creative tools handed down to me by my family across several generations: creative skills implied in musicianship and artistry on the one hand, but also the creative mindset that was required of my grandmother, her sisters and their parents when forced by the Holocaust to leave their native Austria on a ship to New York and reinvent their life anew in the USA.
Was it always natural for you to express yourself through music or have you found your way there from somewhere else?
Though I’ve been singing since early childhood, I did not originally consider the idea of music as my calling.
At age three, I dreamt of running away with a circus. Having been told most circus artists are born into circus families, I switched to gymnastics and later, theatre. At age 15, I was introduced to a wonderful acapella world music singing group, which I attended weekly for years and adored.
Careerwise, I still pictured myself in theatre and continued acting and directing until I graduated from university. During my studies I enjoyed learning songs on a guitar my dad had gifted me. I busked in the streets and started playing in small venues and open mics.
The seed was planted. From then onwards my love for music grew and grew. I traveled the world with my guitar (later, a ukulele) and studied sound healing in San Francisco. I became fascinated by music’s ability to break down all sorts of barriers and bring about healing.
Where did you grow up and how did it influence your creativity?
I grew up in Paris, France, with a musician father and graphic designer mother. My sister and I were lucky to visit art museums and exhibitions on a regular basis and to attend concerts of all sorts. Every Christmas my parents hosted a popular “eggnog party” during which musicians and other creative friends gathered to sing Christmas carols, recite poetry or share anecdotes from their culture. My father taught music from home and hosted rehearsals in our Paris apartment.
I feel I must have unwittingly developed a large part of my musicality back then. My mother taught me about graphic arts, helped me make books for school projects and inspired me to express my thoughts, ideas and dreams visually.
I noticed you are very active in the music field and you are a part of many music projects. Can you tell us about them?
Since quitting my day job a couple years ago and committing to music full-time I have been juggling many music projects, all near to my heart.
“Sonia & Nigel”: duo project with my partner Nigel Gavin on 7-string guitar. A mix of French, Kiwi, American and other songs from around the world and our own compositions.
“Bonjour Madame Duo”: French music duo project with Tracey Collins, New Zealand-born accordionist.
“In This Together - NZ Arts Connections”: a multidisciplinary, multicultural and multimedia project I initiated in 2020 to showcase the diverse cultures and talents of musicians and artists living in Aotearoa.
“Gitbox Rebellion”: an 8-piece guitar ensemble I play in. Mainly original music composed by and for the group. We recently released our new album, Curveball.
“Unsung Heroes”: I sing harmony for Chris Priestley’s musical project – old images and new songs about New Zealand’s history.
“Voice & Acapella singing workshop series with Alex & Sonia.” “4 Strings Sing”: the ukulele orchestra performing ensemble born out of my Sunday ukulele classes.
“Ockham Collective”: I am fortunate to count myself among the 2021 artists-in-residence of the Ockham Collective community.
Session singing: I have been singing as a harmony vocalist on various artists’ albums and enjoy this work very much. I hope to do more of it.
“Tiny Orchestral Moments”: a wonderful Seattle-based international collaborative music project Nigel and I have been involved with the past six years.
Songwriting & sound healing: in my free time I like to write songs and to study the healing properties of music and sound.
Which project you are involved in is the most challenging?
I am hesitating between “Gitbox Rebellion” and “In This Together” as both of these projects have been challenging me in different ways.
As a shy guitarist who used to comfortably hide my guitar playing behind my singing voice, the all-instrumental Gitbox project has forced me to musically step well outside of my comfort zone and learn to be a more competent and confident guitarist. The “In This Together” project has been challenging logistically as it involved crowdfunding to raise funds, and was then delayed by consecutive Covid lockdowns.
What are you working on currently?
I have been working on getting the “In This Together” project back on track. The creative team and I are currently preparing to film our second video, Around the World In Auckland. We are securing a venue for the filming as well as extra funding and liaising with the many artists involved (Auckland-based musicians and visual artists from over 15 different countries).
In parallel to this I am working with our producer on mixing and mastering the first album of our “Sonia & Nigel” duo recorded last January in Dunedin and organizing a French music tour around New Zealand.
You teach Ukulele. Where do you teach and what’s your approach?
My desire in teaching ukulele and singing classes is to make music more accessible to anyone who wishes to connect through music with themselves, their family, friends and/or community.
Music is a beautiful language for communicating emotions and ideas; I feel it should be made available for everyone to use and enjoy.
What were your most difficult moments in your career?
The moments this question brings to mind tend to be periods of transition when I had just moved to a new place and did not yet know the artistic community or my place within it.
For example, moving here from Paris presented challenges as it took me a long time to build up the confidence and courage to come out of my shell, musically speaking, here in Auckland and start daring to take creative initiatives.
How do you sustain your creative energy flow and inspiration?
Apart from the obvious healthy eating, sleep and exercise, I have a deep passion for learning and for serving other people’s learning and healing journey – this energises me.
My levels of motivation and inspiration tend to be in direct correlation with how authentically interested I am in the tasks at hand so I strive to follow my passion and have recently learned to say no to projects that feel less aligned with my intentions.
Learning to say no has been a big part of my self-care. Before covid days I felt travel was essential to my flow of inspiration and an intrinsic part of my learning how to be my best self in the world. Since settling in Auckland, I've been surprised to discover how fruitful and profoundly healing staying in one place can actually be. It’s a new chapter and has been a beneficial one for my creativity as I’ve felt safe and grounded enough to venture out of my comfort zone and commit myself more solidly towards my ambition of fostering communities through music.
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
My wish would be for each and every person on this planet (myself included) to be free of any self-destructive limiting beliefs they hold from their more-or-less-distant past so that each of us could gain a clearer insight of the possibilities that lie before us and feel inspired and empowered to make the most of each day and live up to our full creative potentials.
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