Studio 7 Classical Label to Launch with Muresanu and Sonia Lee Recordings
The label's debut recordings feature the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra and works by composer Elena Ruehr.
A newly founded classical music label, STUDIO 7 CLASSICAL, is preparing to release its first two recordings, spotlighting violinist Irina Muresanu, violinist Sonia Lee, conductor and pianist Benjamin Loeb, and the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra. The releases include composer Elena Ruehr's Violin Concerto No. 1, performed by Muresanu with Benjamin Loeb conducting the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, and HEARTSTRINGS, a recording featuring Sonia Lee on violin and Benjamin Loeb on piano.
St7dio Classical announced the August 14, 2026 release of Heartstrings from violinist Sonia Lee and GRAMMY-nominated pianist Benjamin Loeb.
Heartstrings was inspired by Lee's reflections on the role of classically-trained musicians in today's world of artificial intelligence and mass communication. Noting the parallels between her reflections and those of Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels and his depiction of the society in the land of Laputa — a land populated by super-intellectuals devoted to mathematics and engineering who nonetheless retained a fundamental need for classical music — Lee concluded, 'Classical music is essential for the spiritual qualities which it contributes to society and peoples' lives, especially so in our modern day society. Musicians, the great ambassadors of music, indeed fulfill an important role in our society.'
Heartstrings explores those spiritual qualities through a wide-ranging program of the sacred, familial love, and romance, with Lee and Loeb as ambassadors to the heart. Composers on the album include J.S. Bach, Elgar, Massenet, Kreisler, Tchaikovsky, Gounod, Richard Strauss, Rachmaninoff, William Grant Still, John Williams, Jessie Montgomery, and Vittorio Monti.
Also starring on the album is GRAMMY-nominated soprano Allison Charney, who sings Richard Strauss' Lied, Morgen, from his Op. 27 cycle. The album was recorded by GRAMMY-nominated producer and engineer Sergei Kvitko at Blue Griffin Studios in Lansing, Michigan, and John A. Paulsen Studios, in New York City.
HEARTSTRINGS
Catalogue No: S7CHS0826
EAN/UPC: 634607110505/634607473990
Release Date: August 14, 2026
Label: St7dio — Classical
Composers: J.S. Bach, Edward Elgar, Jules Massenet, Fritz Kreisler, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Charles Gounod, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff, William Grant Still, John Williams, Jessie Montgomery, and Vittorio Monti
Artists: Sonia Lee, violin; Benjamin Loeb, piano
CREDITS
Produced by Allison Charney and Sergei Kvitko, with associate producer Melissa Wakeley, recording, editing, mixing, mastering by Sergei Kvitko, vocal production (track 7) by Pedro da Silva, additional engineering (track 7) by Haochen Wang, assistant engineering by Yu-Min Wang and Victoria Shepard. Recorded at Blue Griffin Studios in Lansing, Michigan and the John A. Paulsen Center Studio in New York City.
ABOUT SONIA LEE
The Globe and Mail has described her solo violin playing as '... achieving a beatific state.' while the Toronto Star hailed her as, '... a real find'. Violinist Sonia Lee, a Detroit native, made her concerto debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic while still in high school and shortly after began her studies at The Juilliard School, where her teachers included Paul Kantor and Dorothy Delay. While still an undergraduate, Sonia won the international audition with the Toronto Symphony and was promoted to Principal Second Violinist the following year. Sonia has also appeared as concerto soloist with the New York Chamber Orchestra at the 92nd Street Y, The Toronto Symphony, the Saginaw Bay Symphony, the Grosse Pointe Symphony and the Michigan Sinfonietta.
Also active as a chamber musician, Sonia has concertized across the U.S., Canada and in Europe. She was a featured artist at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio with Marc-Andre Hamelin, Amanda Forsythe, and Martin Beaver and performed with the AVANTI Saraste Chamber Winds and Strings, at the Scarab Club, on the Cranbrook Artist Series and the Schmier Recital Series with pianist and conductor, Dr. Benjamin Loeb.
Sonia Lee has also received the Best Film Music award for Raised Alone directed by Sam Kadi. She has written compositions which premiered at concerts with The Detroit Song Collective, her new music trio, Lumino at Trinosophes and with Pro Musica Detroit, where she is a member of the board of directors and in charge of artist selection. Sonia currently serves as Concertmaster of the SBSO Orchestra and Michigan Sinfonietta.
Sonia is devoted to composing new caprices for modern violin playing and new cadenzas for the standard repertoire. Sonia's works have been also featured at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang featuring the Team USA Ice Dancers, Madison Chock and Evan Bates's Free Dance Program. She has composed works for choreographers, Massimo Scali and had her music performed on ice by Alissa Czisny, two time U.S. Figure Skating Champion, and Yuka Sato, World Champion for Japan among others.
Sonia Lee is a dedicated violin pedagogue, teaching privately and coaching members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Youth Ensembles Honors Program. Many of her students have gone on to be accepted at top tier schools of music and conservatories, win positions with major orchestras and place in international competitions.
ABOUT BENJAMIN LOEB
Benjamin Loeb is a GRAMMY-nominated conductor, pianist, arranger, educator and arts-administrator. Praised by The Boston Globe for his 'vigorous, cogent playing … that signaled the kind of equally weighted partnership, plus competition, plus mutual quest … that makes this music live,' Loeb's career spans symphonic performances, chamber music, avant-garde premieres and cross-genre collaborations.
Loeb has appeared as soloist under Alan Gilbert with the Boston Pops Orchestra and collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, JoAnn Falletta, Carl St. Clair and Rossen Milanov on projects ranging from Beethoven and Bruckner symphonies to 16th-century Italian madrigals, rock tours and world premieres of contemporary works.
In recent seasons, Loeb conducted the Dallas Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in a sold-out performance of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin (by Murry Sidlin) and led performances and recordings with the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra (Ukraine), North Bohemian Opera Ballet Orchestra (Czech Republic) and the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic (Czech). Previously he performed the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas with Robert Chen (Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). His global reach includes a State Department-invited tour of Argentina and Uruguay as U.S. Artistic Ambassador—performing, giving master classes and working with young musicians in Latin America.
In 2002, Loeb founded and continues to lead the International Conducting Workshop & Festival, held across the U.S., Ukraine, Bulgaria, Mexico and the Czech Republic. He served as Executive Director of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (2013-17), Executive Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony and interim Music Director of the New Hampshire Music Festival (2011). As Associate Conductor of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, he founded and directed the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra system.
Loeb holds degrees from Harvard University (BA), Curtis Institute of Music (MM), Juilliard School (DMA) and a Graduate Performance Diploma in Conducting from the Peabody Institute.
ABOUT ST7DIO — CLASSICAL
Founded and operated by GRAMMY-nominated/winning and chart-topping classical music producers, composers and performing artists, St7dio – Classical was built on the belief that artists deserve to bring exceptional recordings to the world without sacrificing ownership, flexibility, artistic independence or the ability to earn an income.
An artist-first label, St7dio – Classical says it elevates classical music through world-class production, award winning strategy, and thoughtful collaboration in partnership with its clients.
The Ruehr concerto was recorded following a live performance in Lviv, Ukraine, in 2025, the same year the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra received a Latin GRAMMY award. The work was originally premiered by the Richmond Philharmonic under conductor Peter Wilson.
