Surround: Sophia Subbayya Vastek

About this event

Surround seats the audience onstage with the artist – where each note and whisper is shared in a collective resonance

For Sophia Subbayya Vastek, the piano has always been home. As a second-generation pianist and third-generation musician, she brings a reverence for her collective history alongside a boundless, exploratory spirit. Her intuitive playing style—rooted in tenderness, improvisation, and classical training—has evolved into a dynamic, cinematic sound that shifts effortlessly across musical worlds. With a gentle yet impactful approach, her music has been described as “passionate and profoundly tender” (Second Inversion) and filled with “serene strokes and lyrical beauty” (Brooklyn Rail).

Vastek’s latest LP, In Our Softening (2022), produced by Sam Torres/ Polymouth Music, features nine original compositions that form an intimate and delicate soundscape. Recorded on a 1902 upright piano, complete with a crack in its soundboard, the album’s ambient-inspired sound is both vulnerable and captivating. Critics have celebrated In Our Softening as “heaven on earth” (Sun 13) and “a tender and revelatory balm” (I Care If You Listen), with Steve Smith (Night After Night) calling it “one of the very best things I’ve heard all year.”

Presented by the Arthur Zankel Music Center with the generous support of Jimmy Zankel '92 and the Zankel Music Fund.

Visit the Arthur Zankel Music Center website for tickets.