Samuel Oram

Praised for his “stunning artistry” in “the way he uses virtuosity for musical coherence and precise expression” (Pittsburgh Tribune), pianist Samuel Oram has performed in many countries of the world. A frequent concerto soloist, he has worked under conductors including Philippe Entremont, Raphael Alpermann, Benjamin Zander, John Gibbons, Steven Smith, and Juan-Pablo Izquierdo. He has appeared as a recitalist and concerto soloist in Carnegie Hall (Zenkel) in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Jordan Hall in Boston, Jüdische Volkshochschule in Berlin, Conservatorio Profesional de Música “Jacinto Guerrero” in Toledo, 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 studies at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and continued his studies at Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Ursula Oppens, Tamás Ungar, 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, First Prize in the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania Piano Competition, and Honorable Mention in the International Wideman Competition.

In addition to performing as a soloist, Oram is also an avid chamber musician. During his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California, he worked for three years as the studio pianist for the concertmasters Glenn Dicterow and Martin Chalifour. Since then, he has presented chamber recitals with members of prominent symphony orchestras across the country. Since coming to Connecticut in 2023, Oram became the principal pianist for the New England Chamber Orchestra and a rehearsal pianist for the Connecticut Lyric Opera. He was also appointed as the main pianist for the Narnia International Opera Academy, a program belonging to the Narnia Festival in Umbria, Italy. Having previously held faculty positions at Missouri State University and Union College in New York, Oram currently serves on the piano faculty at Connecticut College.