Sonja Betten

was born in Kiel (Germany) in 1978. She grew up in Rheinland-Pfalz.

In 1995, she made the 1st prize in the competition "jugend musiziert" in Nuernberg in the category piano accompany.

After a classical education and a prize for outstanding work in the subject of music, she did her academic studies at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart.

From 1997 to 2006, she completed the program in church music (ev.), and the artistic program in the subject of organ studies under the auspicies of Prof. Dr. Ludger Lohmann and Prof. Martha Schuster, wich she concluded by taking the final exam (master) in organ performance.

Additional influences were the master classes with Hans-Ola Ericsson, Jürgen Essl, Olivier Latry, Martin Lücker, Peter Planyavsky, Michael Radulescu and Heinz Wunderlich.

After the academic studies, she was employed from 2007-2009 at the Petruskirche Stuttgart-Gablenberg and in 2009-2010 completed the practicum of the protestand church Wuerttemberg in Goeppingen.

Her first CD recording was in 2011 at the Barockorgel of the Klosterkirche Lichtenstern in the Dekanat of Weinsberg (Wuerttemberg), in honor of the 175th anniversary of the Diakonie in Lichtenstein.

She has performed extensively in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Among others, she played at the Haller organ week (Hall, Tirol), at the festival of chamber music in Hopfgarten im Brixental (Tirol), in Dornbirn, at the Seeklang-Festival Hergiswil (Switzerland), in Magdeburg (Georg Philipp Telemann concert hall), at the Meininger Orgelsommer, at the Jesuitenkirche Lucerne (Switzerland), and more.

Other notable performances were in Freiberg/ Sachsen, in Ratzeburg, in Kiel (Christian-Albrechts-Universität), at the Tübinger Orgelsommer, as well as concerts for the organ friends of the Engadin, and at the Zurich Grossmuenster.

Since 2014, Sonja Betten is based in Switzerland. After various stations as church organist in Sargans, Maienfeld, Davos, Arosa, Bad Ragaz/ Taminatal and the pastoral care facility Walensee she is now associated with the catholic church in Stansstad, Obbuergen, Kehrsiten in the Canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.

She regularly plays organ concerts at home and abroad and is valued as a sensitive chamber music partner.