Samuel Oram

Praised for his “stunning artistry” in “the way he uses virtuosity for musical coherence and precise expression” (Pittsburgh Tribune), Samuel Oram has won accolades as a pianist and chamber musician on three continents. A frequent concerto soloist, he has performed under conductors including Philippe Entremont, Raphael Alpermann, Benjamin Zander, John Gibbons, Steven Smith, George del Gobbo, and Juan-Pablo Izquierdo. He has also appeared as a recitalist in Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, Jordan Hall in Boston, Jüdische Volkshochschule in Berlin, the Edward Grieg Museum in Bergen, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and the National Shenyang Opera House in Shenyang, China.

Born in Boston, Oram began his musical training in the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and continued his study of piano performance at Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Ursula Oppens, Tamás Ungár, Jeffrey Cohen, Stewart Gordon, and Alan Smith. He has won awards including the Grand Prize and Solo Performance Prize in the Corpus Christi International Competition, Second Place (first place absent) in Concours Musical de France, First Prize in the Manhattan School of Music Concerto Competition, and Honorable Mention in the International Wideman Competition.

In addition to the solo piano repertoire, Oram is also an avid chamber musician. During his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California, he worked for two years as the studio pianist for the former New York Philharmonic concertmaster, Glenn Dicterow. Ever since then, presenting chamber concerts and Lied recitals has formed a substantial part of his performing life. Recent highlights have included working with living composers John Harbison and Juliana Hall on performances of their own compositions. Having previously held positions at Missouri State University and Union College in New York, Oram currently teaches at Connecticut College.