October 30, 2026

The Student Jazz Composers’ Concert will feature the MSM Jazz Chamber Orchestra performing new works by MSM Jazz Composition students. The concert, a part of Friends and Family Weekend, will take place on November 5 at 7:30 PM in Miller Recital Hall.

We spoke with Jazz Composition student Sofia Will (MM ’27) whose piece “Neu York, Neues Ich” will be featured in the concert. Sofia told us about the her piece, the inspiration behind it, and why you should attend the performance. 

ABOUT SOFIA WILL

Sofia Will (MM ’27) is a jazz composer and saxophonist born in Bonn, Germany. After earning her bachelor’s degree in saxophone under Claudius Valk, Denis Gäbel, and Theresia Philipp in Mainz and a master’s degree in performance with instruction from Guillermo Klein, Chris Cheek, and Tineke Postma in Basel, she currently studying with Darcy James Argue at Manhattan School of Music.

Tell us about Jazz Composers’ Concert! What makes this performance special?

Sofia: Composing can be an antisocial form of music. We are in our rooms for weeks, writing a piece alone, but when we finally get to hear it with real people, it makes me realize why we do what we do! And being in the MSM community, our instrumental peers connect through ensembles and improvisation classes, but for us composers, these Jazz Composers’ concerts and their rehearsals are our time to show our peers what our musical language is. This is how we connect with the community. I always feel it’s such a special moment to have the music played by our friends and colleagues. They bring out a personal note (not only a musical one) to every piece of this concert!

You have a piece being performed—tell us about your composition!

Sofia: My piece is called “Neu York, Neues Ich,” which is German for “New York, New Me.” I think everyone who has moved to NYC knows this feeling: the city changes and transforms you. There is so much opportunity, culture, and music, and it feels hard to fit in sometimes. Where do we find our place in a sea of talented people? I wrote this piece after my first year, comparing myself to the person I was before NYC, and it felt like I had finally arrived and felt less scared. The piece is hopeful and motivated, and I wanted it to be laid-back and confident as well. It’s still scary living here sometimes, but I know it’s the right path for me right now!

What is the inspiration behind your composition?

Sofia: For the last Jazz Composers’ Nonet concert, I wrote a piece that was also about arriving in NYC. It was called “City Bike.” I was often late to class, making use of the rental bikes to make up for it, but I had to get the expensive electric ones because MSM is uphill. This was connected to how I felt in NYC in the first few weeks. I was overwhelmed, lost, feeling like I’ll never be able to afford living here, and definitely felt like I was struggling going uphill. I was always late because I could barely keep up with the amount of time everything takes in this big city. It was definitely a hard adjustment moving here, and that piece was my way of trying to get through it. It had a hopeful but also a little stressed feeling to it. So now, one year later, it felt good to take another screenshot of my life and write the much more positive follow-up piece for the same instrumentation. Maybe this will become a suite?

Why should people attend this concert?

Sofia: If you want to see community and honesty, this is your concert. I know there is a lot going on at MSM, and this school makes it hard to decide which concerts to see—they’re all so good! But the Jazz Composers’ concerts are for people who want to see personal and honest music, something that is really important today! We not only pour our hearts out with the notes we write on paper that become our compositions, but the musicians also pour their hearts out when they improvise over these notes that we give them. I think jazz is a perfect combination of freedom and personality. And there is room for everyone. Jealousy rarely appears here because we all appreciate each other’s character so much. Why would you want to write like someone else if you can write like you? What a privilege to be able to do that here!

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Sofia: My jazz journey started on the saxophone with Ben Webster and Paul Desmond, players my first teacher showed me. Their melodious approach to improvisation and the way their lines are singable are things I still try to achieve in my music as well. Modern players like Melissa Aldana and Cologne alto saxophonist Theresia Philipp play and write music that I can only dream of making. Then there are, of course, big band arrangers like Maria Schneider, Christine Jensen, Nikki Iles, Guillermo Klein, and my teacher here at MSM, Prof. Darcy James Argue, all of whom create the most beautiful and personal music.

But most of all, it’s Beyoncé, Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Bridgers, and Madison Cunningham. They create their own clear sound and visual worlds, which I always aspire to do, even if on a smaller scale!

Why did you decide to study jazz at MSM?

Sofia: Three aspects: the city, Prof. Darcy James Argue, and the way this program creates multiple opportunities to present my music in concerts like this one.

If you could have a jam session with any jazz artist, dead or alive, who would it be?

Sofia: I would love to play with Cassandra Wilson, who sadly just passed away, a singer who (apart from multiple other things) melted singer-songwriter repertoire with jazz language. I would give anything to just be in her band and play some saxophone fills. Probably not even that—I would forget to play and just listen.

But my dream arrangement gig is writing full orchestra arrangements for Beyoncé, maybe in a few decades when she might do a “Best Of: Beyoncé” orchestra album.