Sonnentheil studied church music in Bayreuth and at the Hochschule für Musik Köln (A-Examen).
He supplemented his organ studies with the Konzertexamen in Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf.
[1] Sonnentheil has published numerous sound documents as an organist and, with his ensemble, was the first to publish the complete orchestral works of Jan Dismas Zelenka on Classic Produktion Osnabrück.
Sonnentheil has recorded the works of the composer Wilhelm Middelschulte and edited them with Hans-Dieter Meyer for Bärenreiter.
As a conductor, he has also commissioned works by Guy Bovet, Paul Engel and Romualds Kalsons.