About Sophie
I grew up in a musical family, immersed in both music and nature. I was often outside, digging in the dirt or running around in the woods making forts out of hemlock bows with my little brother.
I was a part of our family band, led by my Mum, consisting of her, me, and my three brothers. We played for dances, local nursing homes, fairs, etc.
around New Hampshire and New England.
Photo credit: Teresa Pegan. Tawau Hills Park, Borneo.
Every Thursday for my entire childhood until I left for college, we had a weekly dinner with contra dance legend Bob McQuillen who drove over from Peterborough in his jeep with his accordion. Bob taught each of us back-up piano and we would all play tunes together after dinner.
In college, inspired by my Gram, Marjorie McBride, I pursued a love of birds and studied ornithology at Cornell. I fell in love with field biology (not surprisingly, given my penchant for the outdoors), and spent several field seasons chasing birds in Ithaca, NY and Malaysian Borneo.
Since then, I have done fieldwork in California, the Florida Everglades, and the arid bush of Australia--always focused on birds. I have also continued to play lots of music, of course, including Scandinavian, New England, and Celtic traditions on the fiddle, hardanger (d'amore), and nyckelharpa.
Now I also have the great privilege of testing out Dev's amazing instruments, taking pictures of them, and managing the website!
Photo credit: Jeffrey Bary
Photo credit: Sophie Orzechowski