Samuel Himes, horn, is thrilled to begin his first season with the Chautauqua Institute’s Music School Festival Orchestra. Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Sam graduated from the University of Michigan with Bachelor’s degrees in horn performance and music education studying with Adam Unsworth and Bryan Kennedy. Sam is currently in the process of earning his Master’s degree in horn performance at the University of North Texas (UNT) studying with Stacie Mickens. At UNT, Sam holds a Teaching Assistant position with the Center Woodwind Quintet, a competitive ensemble that was named a finalist at the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition in Reno, Nevada. Sam has performed with the Adrian Symphony, Michigan Philharmonic, and the Ohio Light Opera. With core values in modern music education, he has also been hired to perform with the Greater Rockwall Youth Symphony and the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College orchestra and teaches privately in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Sam has stayed active with music on social media by creating arrangements, recording them in his home studio, mixing and mastering them himself, and posting them on TikTok and Instagram, reaching over 30,000 followers and accumulating millions of views on his projects (@samthehorn).

Samuel is the recipient of The Ernest W. and Jeannette McClure Polley Scholarship, the Dorothy Dann Bullock Award, and The Reed Family Scholarship.