Samuel Sparrow

Biography

A North Carolina native, Samuel Sparrow began his position as Section and E-flat Clarinet with the Charlotte Symphony in 2017, and also served as Acting Principal Clarinet in the 2018-19 season. In addition to his post in the Charlotte Symphony, Mr. Sparrow has performed with the New York Philharmonic; Charleston, North Carolina, and New World Symphonies; and Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. He has collaborated with many of today’s leading conductors and soloists, including Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert, Charles Dutoit, Yuja Wang, and Martin Fröst.

As a soloist, he has appeared with the Raleigh Symphony, Garner Sinfonia, and Triangle Youth Philharmonic. Each summer, he also performs at the Seven Hills Chamber Music Festival in Lynchburg, VA. Other performance highlights include a featured appearance with Sting at the Main Assembly Hall of the United Nations and the West Coast premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s chamber opera, Second Nature.

In addition to performing, Mr. Sparrow is an avid proponent of music education. He joined Queens University of Charlotte as an Adjunct Professor in 2019 and has also offered presentations at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Appalachian State and Winthrop Universities, and Hebrew Union College. He regularly gives coaching at local schools throughout Charlotte and serves as a coach for the Charlotte Symphony and Cornelius Youth Orchestra programs. His private students have performed in numerous honors bands throughout the region, including as first chairs of the NC All-State Band, and have pursued studies at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

The recipient of the Leon Russianoff Memorial Scholarship, Mr. Sparrow earned his Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. His primary teachers include Mark Nuccio, Anthony McGill, and Pascual Martinez. During his summers, he furthered his studies at the Brevard Music Center’s Orchestral Institute and the Music Academy of the West in California.