Sonja Vectomov (born 21 May 1979) is a Czech-Finnish electronic musician and composer who descends from a family rooted in the classical music world.[1] Vectomov is married to American writer and conductor David Woodard.[2] Her parents are Vladimír Večtomov and Sonja Vectomov.
Sonja Vectomov | |
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![]() Vectomov in 2016 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Soňa Večtomová |
Born | (1979-05-21) 21 May 1979 (age 42) Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia |
Genres | Electronic, classical |
Occupation(s) | Musical artist, philanthropist, music pedagogue |
In the early 2000s Vectomov studied at Norwich University of the Arts, where she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in 2005.[2][3]
Vectomov's initial music experiments began during the 1980s in Finland and involved musique concrète with home tape recorders, four years of performing and touring with the children's choir Vox Aurea [fi] under the direction of Kari Ala-Pöllänen [fi],[4] and violin and piano studies under a curriculum for precocious children at Keski-Suomen konservatorio, where her father Vladimír Večtomov taught classical guitar. Her grandfather Ivan Večtomov, also a composer, was a cellist with the Czech Philharmonic for 22 years, and her uncle was the cellist Saša Večtomov.[2]
During the mid-1990s, Vectomov moved to Prague to assume a 1st violin chair with the Pražský studentský orchestr under the direction of Mirko Škampa [cs]. Concomitantly she monitored the electronic music scenes in Finland and England.[5]
As a solo artist Vectomov's concerts sometimes involve elements of installation, e.g., the transformation of a stage into a salon.[6] She has stated that Conlon Nancarrow and David Byrne are important influences.[7]
The title of Vectomov's experimental debut album is her self-coined portmanteau of the New Latin / Greek words lampron (bright) and phrenia (mind).[8] The album features electronic compositions with vocals,[5] and is considered unpredictable and "full of unexpected twists and turns."[9]
The first single "Two in One," for which Mika Johnson directed a music video featuring prima ballerina Jana Andrsová, "recounts a story of death and transfiguration, interspecies karma and plant consciousness—this maiden release from Lamprophrenia pulses with nucleopatriphobic synthesizer rhythms, violin, viola, harmonica, mandolin and the consummate intonements of Vectomov."[10]
Like both of her parents, Vectomov is a pedagogue.[citation needed] She has designed and taught music workshops for at-risk youths and disadvantaged Romani children in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic.[11][12]
Vectomov makes a cameo appearance in H*art On, Andrea Culková's 2016 documentary film about the virtually unknown early 20th century writer Milada Součková and her husband, Devětsil-era painter Zdeněk Rykr.[13][14]
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