A woman with curly gray hair and glasses is sitting in a well-lit room, wearing a black shirt and smiling slightly. She is near a bookcase with various items.

Sonia Simmenauer

Advisory Board Member

Impresaria, Author

“Classical music was always playing in our home, on vinyl or the radio. The sound of this genre and the works of great composers became part of my memory.”
— SS

Sonia Simmenauer is a distinguished impresaria, cultural manager, and author, renowned for her significant contributions to the classical music industry. Born in the United States and raised in France, she studied English and German at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1982, she relocated to Germany, working initially with Konzertdirektion Schmid in Hannover.

In 1989, she founded Impresariat Simmenauer in Hamburg, an agency specializing in representing string quartets, including esteemed ensembles like the Alban Berg Quartet and the Guarneri Quartet. Beyond her agency work, Simmenauer has been active in cultural initiatives, such as establishing Café Leonar and the Jüdischer Salon in Hamburg in 2008, and later a similar salon in Berlin in 2022, fostering Jewish cultural dialogue. She has also shared her industry insights through teaching roles at institutions like the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, where she was appointed honorary professor in 2008.

In 2020, she transitioned leadership of her agency to her son, Arnold Simmenauer, to focus on mentoring emerging artists through her initiative zukunfts.music. In January 2023, she was elected president of the Bundesverband der Konzert- und Veranstaltungswirtschaft (BDKV), becoming the first woman to lead Germany's Association of the Concert and Event Industry. Her career exemplifies dedication to artist representation, cultural enrichment, and the mentorship of the next generation of musicians.