Susanne Sonntag

Susanne Sonntag was born in Hamburg. After initial lessons on the recorder, violin and viola da gamba, she took her first bassoon lessons from Rolf Ruthof at the age of 13. At 16, she became a preparatory student of Thomas Starke at the Musikhochschule Lübeck. During her studies, she won several federal prizes at “Jugend musiziert” and was a member of various youth orchestras, such as the Albert Schweitzer Youth Orchestra and the Federal Youth Orchestra.

She completed her studies with Klaus Thunemann at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. During this time, she was a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie for several years and also devoted herself intensively to chamber music. While still a student, she was accepted into the orchestra academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim. She gained further orchestral experience with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the NDR Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

From 2001 to 2007, Susanne Sonntag was bassoonist and contrabassoonist in the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. She has been a member of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks since 2007 and she teaches at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.