About

Sam Mitchell is an Australian, Oxford-based pianist and countertenor. He has performed with many leading groups including Tenebrae, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The Oxford Bach Soloists, Ex Cathedra, The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, The Song Company, and the Mogens Dahl Kammerkor. Solo performance highlights include the role of Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha alongside James Gilchrist, Handel’s Messiah with the Hanover Band, Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Eboracum Baroque, and Haydn’s Nelson Mass with Instruments of Time and Truth. For six years, Sam was a lay clerk in the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

Sam is a founding member of the contemporary music collective Nonsemble, with whom he has presented at TEDx, featured twice on the influential “I Care if You Listen” mixtape, and has been played on New York’s WNYC show “New Sounds” on multiple occasions. Their 2015 EP Go Seigen vs. Fujisawa Kuranosuke was hailed “a monumental contemporary classic” (Cut Common Magazine). A passionate advocate for new music, he has given state, national and world premieres by composers including Connor D’Netto, Chris Perren, Nico Muhly, Piers Connor Kennedy, and Steve Reich. He frequently performed in the acclaimed Dots+Loops new music series and is a regular collaborator with Orchestra VOX. In March 2024, he released a set of recordings as part of a compilation of contemporary piano repertoire under the Corella label. As a pianist, performance highlights include John Adams’ Phrygian Gates at MOMA in Tasmania, and opening the 2019 Extended Play Festival at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.

Sam is in demand as a music teacher. He currently teaches piano at two of the UK’s most prestigious schools; St Helen and St Katharine (where he is currently acting head of piano), and Radley College. He also has a busy schedule as an accompanist and répétiteur for many leading soloists and ensembles as well as being an official accompanist for Oxford University. He has a Bachelor of Music with Honours (first class), and an MPhil in chamber music and accompaniment from the University of Queensland. His thesis on Benjamin Britten was a recipient of a Dean’s Award for making a substantial contribution to the field of research.