Originally from the UK, Sam joined the Auckland Philharmonia as Principal Contrabassoonist in September 2022 following three years as Principal Bassoon with Swedish chamber orchestra, Dalasinfoniettan.

Sam has worked as a regular guest player with major orchestras throughout the UK and Scandinavia, including City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He features on numerous recordings on the Chandos, Naxos and Deustche Grammophon labels – including performing as the bassoon soloist in the Villa-Lobos Concerto Grosso and in a cycle of Mozart’s piano concertos with Manchester Camerata and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

Highlights of Sam’s training at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK) and Hochschule für Musik (Mannheim, Germany) included joining the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Academy on a two-week tour of Germany; performing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at London's Festival Hall as principal bassoon with the Britten Pears Orchestra (under conductor Marin Alsop); and performing on the Faroe Islands with Faroese metal band, Týr. In 2014 he won the RNCM concerto competition, while in 2017 he was a finalist in the wind section of the Royal Over-Seas League's annual music competition.

Sam teaches bassoon at the University of Auckland and is president of the New Zealand Double Reed Society, a society for the enjoyment and promotion of the oboe and bassoon. As a sought-after musical collaborator, Sam is a member of Ensemble Aaru reed quintet and appears as soloist with orchestras throughout Aotearoa.

Off the stage, Sam spear-headed Mixtape – an immersive music experience with his orchestra in Sweden. This project took curated chamber music programmes into museums, galleries and libraries as ‘live playlists’, which enhanced the exhibitions and drew audiences through the spaces aurally.