ABOUT SAM

Pacific Northwest based conductor and violist Sam Ross is a champion of contemporary music and music by underrepresented composers. As of 2025, he serves as the music director of the Grande Ronde Symphony in La Grande, and the Tilikum Chamber Orchestra in Portland, OR, alongside being the Youth Orchestra Director with the Oregon East Symphony. In concert, he has conducted the Orchestra Now, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony of Portland, and the Bard College Community Orchestra; and has regularly worked with the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Conservatory Orchestra. Sam also works as a clinician with middle and high schools in Vancouver, WA and Salem, OR. 

           Sam was a teaching artist with the Eugene Symphony during the 2024-25 season, working with the Douglas County Youth Orchestras in Roseburg OR. He has also performed with numerous orchestras as a professional violist under the batons of esteemed conductors such as Leon Botstein and Tan Dun with the Bard Conservatory Orchestra; as well as with the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Mozart Players, Vancouver Symphony (WA), the Newport Symphony and the Orchestra Next.

            Sam graduated with a Master's of Music in Conducting in 2024 from the Graduate Conducting Program at Bard Conservatory in New York studying under James Bagwell, and a Bachelor's Degree in viola performance in 2022 from the University of Oregon.He attended the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra summer conducting seminar in 2023, studying with Markand Thakar; and performed in masterclasses on viola for Roberto Diaz, Ori Kam, and Brett Deubner.