CONDUCTOR :: APRIL 12, 2015
Samuel Nordlund is active as a performer, teacher, and conductor. He is on the faculty of Samford University, where he teaches cello and chamber music and plays with the faculty Samford Quartet. Samuel is also a faculty member at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival, where he teaches cello, coaches chamber music and orchestra, and directs the early music Collegium Musicum. Previously, he has served as Music Director of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Central Alabama, and as Assistant Director of Performance Activities at the Music Institute of Chicago. Samuel is currently a member of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and frequently plays with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. He is also serving as President-Elect of the Alabama Orchestra Association.
As a conductor, Samuel has directed the 2013 Alabama ASTA Honors string orchestra, and will return for his second appearance as guest conductor for the Cave Run Symphony Orchestra in Morehead, KY. He is currently in the final stages of completing the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Cello Performance from the University of Alabama, with a secondary concentration in orchestral conducting. As part of his DMA research focus, Samuel is collaborating with pianist Kevin Chance to record all four of Lowell Liebermann’s Sonatas for Cello and Piano.
After earning his Bachelor of Music Degree in Cello Performance, magna cum laude, from The University of Alabama, Samuel moved to Chicago where he earned his Master of Music degree at Northwestern University. His primary cello instructors have been Carlton McCreery and Hans Jensen. Additionally, Samuel has studied at the Music Academy of the West, the Meadowmount School of Music, the Kent/Blossom Festival, Encore School for Strings, Brevard Music Center, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and with teachers including Richard Aaron, Stephen Geber, Alan Stepansky, Jonathan Pegis, and Richard Hirschl. He has studied conducting with Blake Richardson, James Setapen, and Demondrae Thurman.
During his time in Chicago, Samuel began building an active performing and teaching career. He was been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, along with the Illinois Philharmonic, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he performed with the symphony orchestras of Fort Wayne (IN), Elmhurst (IL), and Tupelo (MS). He has been a substitute player with the Chicago, Milwaukee, Charleston, and Alabama symphony orchestras. As a soloist, Samuel has performed with the Huntsville Symphony and twice with the Huxford Symphony, as two time winner of the University of Alabama’s concerto and aria competition.
As a conductor, Samuel has directed the 2013 Alabama ASTA Honors string orchestra, and will return for his second appearance as guest conductor for the Cave Run Symphony Orchestra in Morehead, KY. He is currently in the final stages of completing the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Cello Performance from the University of Alabama, with a secondary concentration in orchestral conducting. As part of his DMA research focus, Samuel is collaborating with pianist Kevin Chance to record all four of Lowell Liebermann’s Sonatas for Cello and Piano.
After earning his Bachelor of Music Degree in Cello Performance, magna cum laude, from The University of Alabama, Samuel moved to Chicago where he earned his Master of Music degree at Northwestern University. His primary cello instructors have been Carlton McCreery and Hans Jensen. Additionally, Samuel has studied at the Music Academy of the West, the Meadowmount School of Music, the Kent/Blossom Festival, Encore School for Strings, Brevard Music Center, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and with teachers including Richard Aaron, Stephen Geber, Alan Stepansky, Jonathan Pegis, and Richard Hirschl. He has studied conducting with Blake Richardson, James Setapen, and Demondrae Thurman.
During his time in Chicago, Samuel began building an active performing and teaching career. He was been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, along with the Illinois Philharmonic, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he performed with the symphony orchestras of Fort Wayne (IN), Elmhurst (IL), and Tupelo (MS). He has been a substitute player with the Chicago, Milwaukee, Charleston, and Alabama symphony orchestras. As a soloist, Samuel has performed with the Huntsville Symphony and twice with the Huxford Symphony, as two time winner of the University of Alabama’s concerto and aria competition.
