“Being part of an ensemble has only reaffirmed what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself, what it looks like and feels like to come together to create something beautiful. Now, maybe more than ever, people need to see that. That unity is really important to me. I’m grateful to be here at Eastman and to have been given the skills to participate and play even a small role in that.” –Sofia Grimes ’27 E
For Sofia Grimes ʼ27E, pursuing her passion as a violin performance student at the Eastman School of Music is more than an accomplishment—it’s a promise kept to her 9-year-old self.
“The year I started playing violin, I found a note I’d written years ago in my diary,” recalls Sofia, who began playing as an elementary student in her Chicago-area public school.
“It said that my dream was to be a professional musician. I guess I always knew what I wanted my journey to be.”
Years of practice and honing her craft led Sofia to the Eastman School, a “full circle moment” that launched her aspirations of one day playing in a professional orchestra.
“Now, I finally have the opportunity to build the future that 9-year-old me dreamed about.”
While Sofia acknowledges the role that passion and persistence have played in bringing her dreams to life, none of it would have been possible without the support she received from the Giancarlo KF Colombo Endowed Scholarship in the Eastman School of Music and the Daniel and Nancy Robbins Endowed Violin Scholarship.
“I wouldn’t be here without my scholarships,” Sofia explains. “My family simply couldn’t afford it. I practice nearly four hours a day, and then there’s homework and my other studies. I can’t imagine having to juggle a job on top of that.”
Thanks to the generous support of her scholarship donors, Sofia has been able to immerse herself fully in the Eastman culture, not only as a student and a performer, but also by exploring every part of her identity. In addition to her participation in Eastman’s concertmaster pool, Sofia, whose mother is Argentinian, has found ways to explore the diversity of the University’s programming.
“As a Hispanic student, it was very gratifying to work at the George Walker Center at Eastman, where I had the opportunity to work alongside students with wide-ranging backgrounds and perspectives,” she says. It’s that same sense of community and inclusion that defines Eastman, something you don’t have to look far to find, she says.
“Among other top music schools, it’s not unusual to have this mentality of ‘everyone is a soloist,’ but not at Eastman. Here, there is an emphasis on collaboration that you don’t see at other places,” she says.
You can tell that Eastman students love to play together, to work as an ensemble—there’s an emphasis here on communication and partnership and teamwork that is really inspiring.”
As a junior, Sofia is still navigating what the future holds, but she can already recognize the ways Eastman has influenced her professional and personal growth.
