photo by Guy Hills
“The Eric Clapton of the Lute!”
Paula Chateauneuf
"A rising star"
Chris Goodwin Lute News
"Sam interpreted with a strength and sensitivity that captivated the audience"
Angela McTavish Good Vibrations
"The beautiful Guitar Concerto [...] was magical from start to finish. Sam Brown plays the piece wonderfully. A wonderful recording!”
Chris Dumigan Classical Guitar Magazine
"A sensitive accompanist, [and] his beautiful solos were captivating."
Ingo Negwer Online Musik Magazin
“A master musician in the making.”
Simon Jenner Brighton Argus
“A sensitive poet of the lute … introverted, unobtrusive, internalised style. A profound knowledge of the Shakespearean sound world characterises this English lutenist, who brought out the facets of his Renaissance lute in the most subtle and beautiful way.”
Roswitha Frey Badische Zeitung
Sam Brown was first mentored at the Regis School of Music by Sasha Levtov - an inspirational teacher and music lover who influenced him profoundly. A star pupil of the School, he performed for many years with the West Sussex Guitar Club, who elected him an honorary member in 2012.
Sam briefly enrolled at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music before going on to full-time study there, where he trained with Charles Ramirez. Here he also encountered the lute, and was taught by Jakob Lindberg. After graduating in 2015, Sam moved to Lugano, Switzerland, where he studied at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italia with Lorenzo Micheli.
After returning to the UK, Sam devoted himself to the lute, although he continues to teach the guitar, his first love. He is widely considered as one of the finest players of his generation, and is particularly sought after for his sensitive knowledge of lute song. As well as a soloist, Sam frequently performs with early music ensembles Dowland Works and Fair Oriana, and with virginalist Nathaniel Mander.
Sam has performed across Europe - including at Bolivar Hall, the House of Lords, Seville Guitar Festival, the European Lute Festival, the Barbican Centre, Klosters Music Festival, and St Martin-in-the-Fields - and as far afield as Beijing and Nairobi, where he gave the Kenyan debut of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez in 2015. Sam is also the dedicatee of Barry Mills' guitar concerto The Travels of Turlough O'Carolan, which he has recorded for Claudio Records. In 2019, Sam was privileged to join Emma Kirkby on the stage of the Wigmore Hall as part of her 70th Birthday Recital.
Alongside his work as a recitalist, Sam has collaborated on many theatre and dance projects, performing at the Globe, the Shakespeare Institute and for the BBC, and spoken on the lute in art at the National Gallery. He has given several lecture-recitals on the lute music of John Danyel, and in 2015 helped organise the first ever conference on Samuel Daniel. Sam has also coached students at Bath Spa University and at the University of Bath, where he is a visiting teacher.
Sam is presently based in Bath, and pursues a busy performing career.
Sam is currently supported by Help Musicians UK.
He is also grateful for the support of
EMI Music Sound Foundation
J.R. esq.
Friends of the Regis School of Music
West Sussex Guitar Club
Rotary Club of Chichester Priory
Betty Martin Charity
Basil Shippam and Alsford Trust
Talent Unlimited
Mr James Morgan
instruments
renaissance lute 7 course spruce and yew, Michael Lowe, ?1970
baroque lute 13 course spruce and rosewood, Matthias Wagner, 2011
classical guitar spruce and ziricote, Daniele Chiesa, 2014