Sonnhild Frey Kitts

“If love is deep, much can be accomplished.” Shinichi Suzuki

Sonnhild Angelika Frey Kitts, 89, of Gainesville, Florida, passed away on March 28, 2023, after a hard-fought battle with dementia.

Sonnhild was born to Erika Emilie Luise Jakobine Schierenberg Frey and Otto Viktor Albin Frey on April 3, 1933, in Herne/Westphalia, Germany. The Frey family stayed in Herne until 1957 when Sonnhild moved to Indiana. Her mother and father followed her in 1964. She received her master’s degree in Music from the Folkwang Musikschule der Stadt Essen before relocating to America.

Her brother, Wilfried Frey, a musician who served in the German army band in Norway, went missing in action in World War II. Wilfried is survived by his son, Helmut Ottfried Frey, who resides in Germany.

Sonnhild met her former spouse, John Stewart Kitts in Salzburg, Austria, at the Mozarteum in the summer of 1956. Jack was a conducting student and Sonnhild was second chair violinist during the International Summer Academy. They were married on November 18, 1957, in the chapel at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. They spent 32 years together.

From 1957-1966, Sonnhild was a violinist in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The family moved to Gainesville in 1966. At that time, she created the fifth oldest Suzuki method music program in the United States. She also played in the Jacksonville Symphony for 13 years and became the founding concertmaster of the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra in 1983, which is now known as the Gainesville Orchestra.

Over the years, she taught thousands of students violin, viola, cello and piano. Her students performed countless concerts locally and beyond and were invited to perform at the White House during the Clinton Administration. Sonnhild was a clinician at summer Suzuki Institutes all over the country. Her students participated in the Florida Federation of Music Clubs Festival and State Convention, winning countless awards and scholarships. Many of Sonnhild’s students have followed in her footsteps as professional musicians, performers and teachers. Sonnhild was incredibly generous and never turned away interested students, even if they couldn’t afford to pay.

Sonnhild loved to cook and even wrote her own cookbook for her family. She was an avid reader who loved to play scrabble. She had a quick wit and loved to tell jokes, and was often seen reading joke books, finding jokes in magazines and even telling jokes to strangers at the grocery store. She believed she would live longer the more jokes she told every day.

Sonnhild is survived by her children, Stewart Kitts (Angel), Olivia Bourgeois, Jennifer Guzman (Greg), Stefanie Gallahun (Chai) and Jacquelyn Kitts. Additionally, Sonnhild raised her eldest grandchild, Aria Hartley, as her own. She has 15 grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Her students were treated as family, and many generations of dachshunds are with her in heaven.

Sonnhild was a second-generation musician (Otto). All five of her children followed in her footsteps to become the third-generation of professional musicians and educators, there are many musicians including several professional musicians in the fourth-generation. The fifth-generation continues the family musical tradition.

Her grandson Colby Bent and his wife Alyssa, were her caregivers for the last four and a half years of her life. Sonnhild lived her life by the Suzuki philosophy, “Man is the Son of his Environment.” Colby and Alyssa created a beautiful, loving environment for her with their two young children.

Her memorial service and concert will take place on Sunday, the 4th of June, 2023, at 2 p.m. at the Gainesville Woman’s Club. All of her former students are invited to participate in playing Twinkle at the close of the celebration. The family will hold a private celebration of her life on Easter Sunday. If you are in need of additional information, the family can be reached at 352-359-7312. If you are interested in attending, please fill out this form here: https://form.jotform.com/230878910034052.

The family partnered with the Community Foundation of North Central Florida to create a fund in her memory. This fund is dedicated to providing children in Alachua County and surrounding communities with exposure to string instruments and music education.

Donations can be made to her memorial fund via this link: https://cfncf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3081 or by mail checks via the address below:

Sonnhild Frey Kitts Memorial Fund
The Community Foundation of North Central Florida
3919 W Newberry Rd.
Suite 3
Gainesville, FL 32607

We have created a GoFundMe to assist her grandson’s family in their transition from grief into the next chapter of their lives: https://www.gofundme.com/caretaker-transition.

The family would like to thank her hospice nurse, Alyssa, for being so loving and caring in Sonnhild’s last days.

We are confident she is busy teaching the angels to play the Twinkles. As Sonnhild would say, “See you later, alligator.”