About

Sam Mitchell is an Australian pianist and countertenor based in Oxford, celebrated for his versatility across classical and contemporary repertoire. His performances have taken him to stages across Europe, Australia, the USA, Asia, and Africa, with notable appearances on BBC Radio 3, Australia’s ABC Classic FM, and New York’s WNYC.

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

As a countertenor, Sam has performed with leading ensembles such as 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. His solo highlights include the role of Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha alongside James Gilchrist, as well as featured performances in 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, he was a lay clerk in the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

Beyond performance, Sam is a highly sought-after music educator. He teaches piano at two of the UK’s most prestigious schools—St Helen and St Katharine, where he was Acting Head of Piano, and Radley College. He also maintains a busy schedule as an accompanist and répétiteur, working with leading soloists and ensembles, and serves as an official accompanist for Oxford University. Sam holds a Bachelor of Music with First-Class Honours and an MPhil in Chamber Music and Accompaniment from the University of Queensland. His thesis on Benjamin Britten earned a Dean’s Award for its significant contribution to research.