Sam is a versatile freelance violinist based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. She is currently a violinist and executive board member of the Santa Monica Symphony She also enjoys playing weddings, parties, and other events with SoCal’s premier music ensemble Put A String On It.
Sam holds a degree in Violin Performance from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music under the tutelage of Chicago Symphony Orchestra member, Blair Milton. She has also received violin instruction from James Sanders, Bill Kronenberg, Tamara Glassburg, Edgar Gabriel, Desiree Ruhstrat, Gerardo Ribeiro, and Mathias Tacke, as well as performed in masterclasses for Rachel Barton Pine, Alice Schoenfeld, and Mark O’Connor. Since graduating, Sam has performed with Sin City Opera, Nevada Chamber Orchestra, Henderson Symphony, and David Perrico’s Pop Strings Orchestra.
Sam has had many unique opportunities as a stage performer. Beginning in her teenage years, she has traveled internationally with orchestras playing classical music. With Chicago Tap Theatre, she broke out of her classical shell. Sam played onstage alongside her fellow dancers performing a wide array of original arrangements that encompassed pop and jazz genres. Sam has also rocked out with bands Trampled by Turtles and The Apache Relay at venues such as the Fonda Theater, the El Rey, and Lake Tahoe’s WinterWonderGrass Festival.
Sam is also a recording artist. She has been a featured musician for Los Angeles-based composer, Andrew Edwards, including his score for the film Alex & Ali and most recently, Swing State.
While Sam loves to play, she also loves to teach. Sam had been a music educator since the age of 16. She received pedagogical training at Northwestern University with Stacia Spencer, string coordinator of the Northwestern Strings Academy. While in Las Vegas, she had a small studio of beginning violin students who were also her dance students! She truly enjoys introducing her love of music to the next generation of musicians.
Check out Sam’s recent performances here:
Samantha R. O'Connell, Ph.D. 