Sonia Wilson

Raised in Paris, France, the daughter of a guitarist and granddaughter of a symphony conductor and choir director, Sonia has carried on the family tradition by developing her own passion for music, initially as a singer. At the age of 17, she decided to pick up the guitar to accompany herself and started her first band ‘Smile and Nod’ while studying at university in the UK.

Sonia met Nigel Gavin at the Dunedin ‘Whare Flat Folk festival’ in 2015 while visiting New Zealand for the first time on a round-the-world trip and was drawn to the inclusive holistic teaching approach of his guitar workshop, reminiscent of a course in ‘Sound, Voice and Music Healing’ she had recently graduated from in San Francisco, USA. Playing in Gitbox Rebellion has helped Sonia transpose her understanding of group improvisation and performance, drawn from years of experience in a cappella choirs and as a lead singer, onto the guitar. She is also a member of Tiny Orchestral Moments, an international troupe of musicians who meet periodically in the USA to write, record, perform, and improvise together.