CONDUCTOR :: DECEMBER 7, 2013

Samuel Nordlund is an active performer, teacher, and conductor. He has served as Music Director of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Central Alabama, and guest conductor for the Alabama String Teachers Association Honors Festival orchestra. As a cellist, he is on the faculty of Samford University, where he teaches and plays with the faculty Samford Quartet. He also teaches at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, and at the University of Alabama Community Music School.
Samuel is a faculty member at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival, where he teaches cello, coaches chamber music and orchestra, and directs the early music ensemble, Collegium Musicum. Previously, he has served as Assistant Director of Performance Activities at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has also worked with the Chicago Symphony Youth Orchestras, and the Alabama All-State Orchestras. Samuel is currently pursuing the Doctorate of Musical Arts in cello performance from the University of Alabama, with orchestral conducting as a secondary area.
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, he has studied with Richard Aaron, Stephen Geber, Alan Stepansky, Jonathan Pegis, Richard Hirschl, and Patricia Pilon. He has studied conducting with James Setapen, Demondrae Thurman, and Blake Richardson. Samuel has been a participant at summer festivals including Music Academy of the West, the Kent/Blossom Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, Brevard Music Center, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
Samuel has 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 has performed with the symphony orchestras of Alabama, Fort Wayne (IN), Elmhurst (IL), Tupelo (MS), Tuscaloosa and Huntsville (AL). He has also been a substitute player with the Chicago and Milwaukee symphony orchestras. As a cello 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.
Samuel is a faculty member at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival, where he teaches cello, coaches chamber music and orchestra, and directs the early music ensemble, Collegium Musicum. Previously, he has served as Assistant Director of Performance Activities at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has also worked with the Chicago Symphony Youth Orchestras, and the Alabama All-State Orchestras. Samuel is currently pursuing the Doctorate of Musical Arts in cello performance from the University of Alabama, with orchestral conducting as a secondary area.
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, he has studied with Richard Aaron, Stephen Geber, Alan Stepansky, Jonathan Pegis, Richard Hirschl, and Patricia Pilon. He has studied conducting with James Setapen, Demondrae Thurman, and Blake Richardson. Samuel has been a participant at summer festivals including Music Academy of the West, the Kent/Blossom Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, Brevard Music Center, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
Samuel has 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 has performed with the symphony orchestras of Alabama, Fort Wayne (IN), Elmhurst (IL), Tupelo (MS), Tuscaloosa and Huntsville (AL). He has also been a substitute player with the Chicago and Milwaukee symphony orchestras. As a cello 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.