Stephanie
Sonnenschein

Stephanie Sonnenschein studied instrumental pedagogy with a focus on piano as well as music education (Master’s degree) at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. Even during her studies, she was drawn to practical work: she gained early experience in the music outreach department of Bühnen Köln, working at the intersection of art, audiences and education. Since the 2022/23 season, she has headed the music outreach department, where she and her team develop a wide range of formats for diverse audiences.

Her work is also shaped by her original profession as a qualified nurse. This distinctive combination of artistic and social expertise is particularly evident in her projects for people living with dementia, which she has supported and continuously developed since 2014. Intergenerational formats are equally important to her, enabling preschool children and elderly people to experience opera together. In recognition of this commitment, Cologne Opera received the Rudi Assauer Prize in 2017. In the same year, Stephanie Sonnenschein’s project “Opera for Young and Old” was awarded third place in the German University Competition.

Driven by a keen curiosity about new ways of engaging with opera, she regularly initiates new outreach formats. In the 2023/24 season, she and her theatre education colleague Katja Fischer created the series “Opera for the Very Young”, which introduces even the youngest audience members to the world of music.

Alongside her work at Cologne Opera, she has taught concert education and opera didactics at the Cologne University of Music and Dance since 2015. In 2024, she also qualified as a university-certified music geragogue. Music geragogy encompasses making music with older people.