Samuel Kelder

Violist Samuel Kelder is an unswerving proponent of chamber music, orchestral projects, multimedia presentations, and music education. Kelder’s multifaceted career spans the music of the Baroque era to fresh ink of contemporary composer-performer collaborations.

Described as “dynamic and committed” by the Boston Globe, Sam performs regularly as guest artist with ensembles A Far Cry, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Guerilla Opera, Callithumpian Consort, Sound Icon, and various regional symphony orchestras including Rhode Island Philharmonic, Cape Cod Symphony, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, and the New Bedford Symphony. Kelder joined the Boston based string trio Sound Energy in 2018, an ensemble dedicated to searching for ways to push the traditional violin-viola-cello combination to represent the bold and daring voices of 20th- & 21st-century composers. Additionally, Sam is co-founder of viola duo Shizuka with Hannah Rose Nicholas. In addition to local projects, he has also performed as the featured artist at Third Practice Electroacoustic Festival and as soloist at New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival.

Beginning his violin studies at 6 years of age in Houston, Texas, Sam grew up with an inquisitive mind for expression and collaboration. Sam holds a B.M. from the University of Houston, M.M. from Mannes the New School for Music, and graduated May 2017 from doctoral studies at Boston University as teaching assistant to Michelle LaCourse. Other major teachers and influences include Wayne Brooks, Karen Dreyfus, Kyung Sun Lee, Laurie Smukler, and Bayla Keyes.

Sam has had the great fortune to work with many prominent living composers such as Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Chaya Czernowin, Hans Abrahamsen, Zosha Di Castri, Eric Wubbles, Olga Neuwirth, Heinz Holliger, Matthius Pintscher, Krzysztof Penderecki, Roger Reynolds, Nico Muhly, Philippe Leroux, Michael Finnissy, Lowell Liebermann, Joan Tower, William Bolcom, Derek Bermel, and John Harbison.

Sam can be heard on Not Art Records. Sam is an artist member of Music for Food, a musician-led initiative to fight hunger in our home communities

As an educator of all age groups, my first priority is to instill a sense of motivation for my students. Through my 20+ years of experience taking lessons from a variety of different teachers and methodologies, I have come to understand that the bulk of progress made is by the student’s personal discovery and advancements on the instrument. My weekly lessons provide several levels of insight: teaching the art of practicing and problem solving, guidance in how to break down and understand problematic technical issues, and most importantly how to bring an individual ownership to any piece of music. These skills are certainly applicable to other facets of daily life, and are valuable to hone at any age.

In my studio I place heavy emphasis on technical mastery of the instrument through the study of scales, arpeggios, and etudes; while identifying and working towards the student’s personal musical goals. Additionally, I cover a wide breadth of solo repertoire tailored towards the student’s level and interest, always with the goal of accelerating the individual learning process.