SORN TORKELSON
BIO
Sorn Torkelson is a classical guitarist, vocalist, and composer who is currently pursuing a Master of Music in classical guitar at the Yale School of Music, a full scholarship conservatory. Sorn completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of Utah in the spring of 2026, where he founded a guitar duo and a guitar-cello duo. An artist of growing acclaim, Sorn has received top prizes at the 2026 Utah State University Classical Guitar Competition, 2025 Denver Guitar Festival and Competition, and the 2025 Utah ASTA Chamber Festival and Competition in the last year. In 2024 Sorn recorded on two albums: composer Elisabet Curbelo’s Resonance Unbound, and Jazz Saxophonist and composer Henry Pollei’s Ted EP, which featured Sorn’s composition, Sound 13. Sorn’s most recent composition premiere Enduring was given in December of 2025. Whether as a composer or a performer, Sorn is known for being thoughtful, authentic, and passionate. He believes that the only real rule is expression.
Sorn took an interest in music from an early age, but his path was somewhat atypical for a classical musician. Being surrounded by Celtic folk music growing up, Sorn began learning the Irish tin whistle at age 6 and shifted around attempting to learn piano, trumpet, trombone, and eventually guitar without instruction. He would continue to be self-taught until starting a degree at the University of Utah. Although his musical upbringing was fundamentally rooted in Irish folk music, during his early teens, Sorn developed an intense passion for Classical music, playing in band throughout middle and high school. Late in high school, Sorn became infatuated with Jazz, and carried this love with him to college, where he played lead trombone in several of the University’s Jazz ensembles. It was during this time where Sorn’s fascination with contemporary music developed, and he began to take composition and arranging more seriously. Sorn has arranged and composed numerous works for small ensembles, such as string quartet, guitar duo, guitar-cello duo, solo guitar, and Jazz ensembles which he frequently features in his performances.