Biography

Sam was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When he was four years old he moved to Portland, Oregon. He first began studying music at the age of five by taking piano lessons with Robyn Pfeifer at Pfeifer MusicWerks Studio. Two years later he began studying violin and then two years after that the guitar. In sixth grade he began studying the trumpet. During middle school his trumpet playing allowed him to become first trumpet in his school's jazz band. They participated in many competitions and finished first in many of them.

During the year he was in the jazz band, Sam began composing. He had been composing ever since he began studying music, but he had never taken it seriously before. Upon entering high school, he decided to begin studying composition with Mary Wright. Mary holds degrees in composition from Princeton University (M.F.A., Ph.D.), the California Institute of the Arts (M.F.A.), and in music theory from the Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M). She has helped Sam a great deal with music theory, orchestration, widening his musical spectrum, and composition.