Sonya Thompson is an Assitant Professor of Music at Augsburg College, where she has taught since 1993, and teaches Vocal Literature at the University of Minnesota. Her primary interest lies in the collaborative performing arts, including music-theater, chamber music and art song. Thompson has trained and worked in New York City, Westchester County, the Twin Cities, Florida and Georgia. A graduate of the Juilliard School’s Accompanying program, she returned to Minnesota to further her work with Nautilus Music-Theater (formerly the New Music-Theater Ensemble), serve as co-founder and co-artistic director of Opera 101 Theater Company, and work in production, education and performance capacities with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, Anoka Opera Ensemble, the University of Minnesota Opera Theater and others. A committed proponent of new music and new music-theater, Thompson has worked on the development of new material for Nautilus Music-Theater, with choreographer Rosanna Gamson in New York City, at the Aaron Copland Music and Arts Program in Westchester, New York, and returned to New York City in March 2000 to serve as music director of the composer-librettist studio at New Dramatists. Ms. Thompson has also appeared several times on A Prairie Home Companion, and served as repetiteur for Garrison Keillor’s opera Mr. and Mrs. Olson, presented by the St. Paul Chamber ORchestra. She regularly substitutes as organist/choirmaster for Philip Brunelle at Plymouth Congregational Church, and has served as repetiteur and pianist for VocalEssense’s production of Cary John Franklin’s opera Loss of Eden.