General News
1 April, 2026
Music royalty will perform in Horsham
Following the recent royal visit by Australian-born Queen Mary of Denmark to her home country, the Wimmera is about to host its own visit by Danish music royalty, Sofia Laursen Habel.
Formerly of Sheep's Hill, Sofia now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sofia will perform at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Horsham on Sunday, April 19, to acknowledge her childhood performances at The Wesley.
Sofia has developed her singing skills and is being professionally trained whilst working for the King’s Collection at the Rosenborg and Amalienborg Castles.
Sofia will donate all the proceeds of her performance to the refurbishment campaign for The Wesley.
“The Wesley Performing Arts Centre has always held a special place in my heart," Sofia said.
"It was the first venue I performed in, at the 2006 Horsham Eisteddfod, singing 'Feed the Birds' and in a duet with my sister, 'I Just Can't Wait to be King.'
Sofia said the organ and grand piano were iconic stage backdrops, and she remembers all the nervous minutes waiting in the dressing room and green room of the Wesley before a performance.
"I remember seeing the performances of Annie Get Your Gun and Babba," she said.
Local pianists Sandra Kitchen and Darlene Smith will accompany Sofia.
They have been playing duets since 2015, and they originally met when Sandra taught Darlene’s children. Sandra began learning piano at age 7 and has been teaching piano locally for many years. Darlene began piano lessons when she was 5.
Wesley Performing Arts Centre Inc, President, Mary Starr said, “The committee is incredibly grateful to Sofia for her generous gesture with this performance, A Scandinavian Song Book, reminiscing about her times performing at Wesley.”
In 2021, Sofia was the inaugural recipient of the Alex Rathgeber Performing Artist Scholarship at the Richard Morris Showcase, held annually at The Wesley.
“The Wesley was such a big part of my early performance years, from when I was 10 to 18 years old," Sofia said.
"I look forward to celebrating my relationship with Wesley through the program of our upcoming concert, Sofia."
Sofia graduated from her Honours (Classical Performance) degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in 2020, where she also completed her Bachelor of Music degree.
Sofia was a member of the Opera Scholars Australia program for their 2019/2020 season.
They describe Sofia as being very connected to her country roots, where she first started learning music. Combining that with her Danish background, Sofia’s love of singing grew with the steady pace of rural life, with her passion as a singer residing in moving people through honest and authentic performance.
She has a keen interest in Scandinavian art song from the 19th and 20th centuries, while also enjoying a passion for opera.
Sofia tends to choose repertoire based on the poetry and history of the piece, as she is also interested in social, political, and military history.
Sofia's musical career as a performer, singer, composer, and recording artist has earned her multiple awards. She has also performed for many causes, donating the funds raised to various charities.
She will donate the funds raised by her Horsham performance to the continued upgrade of the Wesley.
Sofia's Horsham performance at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church will commence at 3:00pm, ticket cost is $55, and can be purchased from the Horsham Plaza Centre Management.