Artist-In-Residence: Sova

For Sova — the moniker of Upstate New York-based pianist/composer Sophia Vastek — the piano has always been home. A second generation pianist, she holds a deep reverence for her history, coupled with an exploratory ear, and moves quietly between musical worlds. Described as performing with “passion and profound tenderness” (Second Inversion) and “serene strokes and lyrical beauty” (Brooklyn Rail), her intuitive playing style has evolved into a dynamic, cinematic sound that blends neoclassical, ambient, and jazz sensibilities. “Ghostly, delicate, elegant…” (Independent Clauses) Join Sova as she tours in celebration of her new LP, Alight!, due out September 4 via Hout Records. The new record extends the breakthrough Sova achieved on her last LP In Our Softening, a sublime solo record of original music, performed on a modest 1902 upright piano with softened hammers and a cracked soundboard. Here, she broadens her conception to include contributions from a clutch of noteworthy fellow travellers: Spencer Zahn (fretless bass guitar), Clarice Jensen (cello), Evan Chapman (drums & electronics), Max Yassky (drums), and Sam Torres (saxophone and more). In Our Softening (2022), produced in collaboration with Sam Torres (Polymouth Music), features nine of her own beguiling piano compositions, each track a part of a thoughtfully woven tapestry. The album has been called “a tender and revelatory balm” by editors at I Care If You Listen, “heaven on earth” (Sun 13), and “one of the very best things I’ve heard all year” by longtime music journalist Steve Smith (Night After Night). The record also made it onto Bandcamp’s “All-Time Best Selling Solo Piano” list. Her music has been released on OPIA, the record label founded by Ólafur Arnalds, Innova Recordings, and more. Her debut album, Histories (2017), was produced by Grammy-winning engineer Adam Abeshouse, and described as “a beautiful mosaic of the larger cultural intersections of our world” (Second Inversion). She has also released an EP of the complete solo piano works by composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), entitled Lili (2020, reissued 2023). Equally important to the music itself are the spaces in which Sova’s music exists. Whether she is performing or presenting, she is dedicated to creating musical experiences that are grounded in care and intentional gathering. In that spirit, she and her longtime partner founded S&S Presents, through which they curate the popular Lift Series at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, as well as concerts in their home — a converted church-space in South Troy called Troy Listening Room. In 2022, Sova was recognized as a composer by the New York State Council on the Arts and New York Foundation for the Arts (NYSCA/NYFA) as a Music/Sound Fellow, a statewide program focused on the evolution of contemporary art. Her music has been featured on NPR, BBC, and KEXP, and she has performed across three continents.