Sofiya Schug

Mrs. Schug comes from a musical family that includes two professional Russian opera singers. Her piano studies began at age seven, including early training at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. She has taught piano at her home studio for fifteen years and served as principal church keyboardist. Her passion for classical singing was kindled when she began studying with Dr. Sandra Jarrett. Since then, she has appeared in the ensemble of the Light Opera Company of Southern Maryland’s production of The Magic Flute. She subsequently sang the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Sivigia in a joint production of COSMIC Orchestra and the Light Opera Company, as well as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with COSMIC. Her other appearances as a soloist with COSMIC include arias by Bizet, Mozart, and Saint-Saens. In the Spring of 2015 she performed a soprano solo in Vaughan William’s ”Dona Nobis Pacem” with the Arlington Symphony Orchestra. She won her category in the District NATS competition twice. She is the founder of the Medtner Society of America (medtnersocietyofamerica.org), dedicated to the promotion of the composer Nikolai Medtner's work, and has presented lecture recitals. Currently, Mrs. Schug serves as a Principal Soprano Section Leader and Soloist with the United States Naval Academy Chapel. She has performed in recitals and concerts in the D.C. Metropolitan area. She has also sung with the UMD Concert Choir at the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff. She studied Vocal Performance with Martha Lee Randall at the School of Music at University of Maryland, College Park. While studying at the School of Music she was able to fulfill the need as a Russian Vocal Diction Coach. Her other linguistic pursuit is Italian. After completing her studies in music, Russian and Italian she continues to perform as soloist and serve as a specialist in Russian Solo Vocal Literature and Diction. She resides in Huntingtown, MD with her husband and three sons, Sam, Andrew and Daniel.