As a recitalist, soloist and accomplished chamber musician she has been invited to festivals throughout Europe, USA, Canada and Asia including Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, Bachfest Leipzig, Kurt Weill Fest, Schwetzinger Festspiele, Carl Orff Festspiele (Germany), Thy Chamber Music Festival (Denmark), Toronto Summer Music Festival (Canada), Val Tidone Music Festival (Italy), Festival de Música de Cámara León (Spain) and Nancyphonies (France).
The Steinway Artist has been granted numerous awards at national and international competitions such as the Val Tidone International Music Competition and Deutscher Musikwettbewerb. In 2017 she was recipient of the „Mozart Soloist Prize“ by the Mozart Society Mannheim, Germany.
Her career has been supported by various foundations including Rotary International Foundation, Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, Richard-Wagner Foundation, PE-Trust, German Music Foundation, Culture Foundation Rhein-Neckar and Willy Robert Pitzer Trust.
A dedicated and passionate chamber musician, Sonia Achkar is a very diverse and highly sought after partner. Legendary artist Menahem Pressler called her a “very fine pianist and outstandingly sensitive musician. She is moreover an excellent chamber music collaborator, the kind string players love.“
In 2018 she established the “Sota Piano Trio“ with long term partners Julius Bekesch (violin) and Jonathan Weigle (cello).
Sonia Achkar regularly broadcasts and takes part in productions on German radio and television such as SWR, WDR, NDR, MDR, BR, Deutschlandradio Kultur and Phoenix.
Born into an international family, Sonia Achkar has started studying with Rudolf Meister and Ok-Hi Lee (University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim) at the age of 13. She subsequently pursued a degree at the Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, USA) with Menahem Pressler.
Additionally, Sonia Achkar has received inspiration and guidance from Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Andrzej Jasiński, Janina Fialkowska, Alain Planès and Joseph Kalichstein. Chamber music teachers include members of the Artemis Quartet, Beaux-Arts Trio, the Borodin Trio and Midori.
After working as an Assistant Instructor at the Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, USA) and the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim (Germany), Sonia Achkar was also teaching chamber music at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig (Germany).
Currently, she is a permanent faculty member at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart (Germany) and leads her own piano studio.