Samuel Park

A native of Arizona, Samuel Park started playing the violin at 5 years old and made his solo debut with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. An enthusiastic and devoted chamber musician, Samuel has collaborated with notable artists such as Gil Shaham, David and Phillip Ying, Desmond Hoebig, and Brinton Smith. He most recently performed in a chamber music recital at the Mendelssohn-Haus in Leipzig and Händel-Haus Halle in Germany, and was featured in performances at the Toronto Music Festival with members from the Escher and New Orford String Quartets. Samuel also participated in Juilliard’s 2015 Chamberfest and in George Perle’s Centennial Celebration at the New York Public Library with Perle’s Quartet No. 2. Currently, he is a core member of the Kinetic Ensemble in Houston.

In addition to having a passion for chamber music, Samuel served as concertmaster and held principal roles for numerous orchestras, including the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the Rice University Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and the Juilliard Opera Orchestra. He also participated in several prestigious orchestra festivals, such as the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Music Academy of the West, Pacific Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

In recent years, Samuel has been fully committed to teaching. He maintained a private studio in Arizona, taught middle and high school students at the Cleveland School for the Arts, and spent time teaching at the Daegu International School in Korea. Currently, he holds an adjunct faculty position at the Lone Star College in Houston.

Samuel holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is currently a doctoral student at Rice University under the guidance of Paul Kantor. Other primary teachers include Joel Smirnoff, Joan Kwuon, Catherine Cho, and Jonathan Swartz. He plays on an 1828 Johannes Francesco Pressenda violin and a Giovanni Lucchi bow, on generous loan from the Maestro Foundation.