Biography
Performing artist and veteran educator Sonia Gonzalez Santiago is a distinguished music educator and voice instructor and has one of the most sought-after private voice studios in South Florida. As an accomplished voice instructor and conductor, she emphasizes vocal freedom through healthy vocal technique in all styles and genres. Her services as a vocal clinician and adjudicator are in much demand throughout Florida and the southeastern United States.
Sonia has thrilled audiences worldwide with her rich lyric mezzo-soprano voice. She is an artist that is as much at home on the operatic stage as in the concert hall. Since her much-praised debut with the late conductor Anton Guadagno and the Palm Beach Opera, she has gone on to entertain audiences throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and South America.
Mrs. Santiago currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida in addition to maintaining a select private voice studio. Her acclaimed choirs are active throughout the school year and play an important role in outreach and recruitment for the university.
Prior to returning to her position at the university, she served as Director of Vocal Arts for the nationally acclaimed Conservatory of the Arts at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida for twelve years. In this highly successful and well-recognized conservatory program, she inspired countless young artists and aspiring musicians who are now pursuing successful careers in the industry. Sonia is also part of the amazing staff of the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches in residence at the Kravis Center, where she continues her work with young vocal artists.
Born in Miami, Florida, Sonia Gonzalez Santiago is the daughter of Cuban immigrants. She holds degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from the University of Florida and Florida State University. Sonia is an active member of many professional organizations including the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education. Sonia and her husband Felix call West Palm Beach home, where they reside with their three sons Nicholas, Christopher and Jonathan. Her son Christopher, a talented singer and trumpeter, can be heard regularly on Legends Radio 100.3 FM, and is a Young Artist Award Winner of the Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook, Feinsteins’ Songbook Academy and Young Arts
Degrees
MM in Music Performance- Voice, Florida State University | BM in Music Education, University of Florida