Mary Lee Talbot
Staff Writer
Organist, pianist and conductor Sonya Subbayya Sutton will serve as the interim director of Sacred Music and organist for Chautauqua’s 2026 Season, the first woman to serve Chautauqua in this capacity. She will be developing the Sacred Song services, working with the Motet and Chautauqua Choirs and assisting in developing the morning Ecumenical Worship Services.
The first Sacred Song service takes place at 8 p.m. Sunday in the Amphitheater. The theme for the service is “Listening.”
Asked why she said “yes” to the interim position in March 2026, she said, “I knew instantly that I was the right person for the moment. I knew I could relieve stress for the Department of Religion, and I have the skills to be an interim.”
She continued, “I have been an interim in churches for ten years. I have often been the only woman in professional settings, so I know I am capable and bring a sense of fun. I love making music, and we will have fun together.”
Sutton has enjoyed a more than 40 year career as a musician in the Episcopal Church. She is also the music director of the World Bank-IMF Chorus and frequently collaborates with other instrumentalists as an accompanist and chamber musician. She has directed choirs in ten European tours and cathedral residencies and played or sung for four more.
She enjoys writing about the intersection of life and the arts and has published two audiobooks: Difficult Women…Legends Revised, music and stories about French composer Mel Bonis, and Symphonic Preludes, a set of 24 short stories based on the music of John Hausserman. She recently published a book of meditations based on Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”
Sutton is a past president of the Association of Anglican Musicians, an organization with over a thousand members. She currently serves on the board of The Boulanger Initiative, which promotes the works of historic female composers. She earned degrees in piano, organ and arts administration from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Her husband is retired Episcopal Bishop of Maryland and Senior Pastor for Chautauqua Institution Eugene Sutton. They have four children in their blended family and divide their time between Washington, D.C., and Chautauqua, New York.
