Hailed by the CBC as one of Canada’s top ’30 under 30’ classical musicians, Samuel Kerr is a Calgary-born percussionist, pianist, conductor, and composer. Equally at home in the worlds of performing and creating, Sam’s music examines the role of memory, belonging, and the shifting concepts of home brought about through one’s coming of age. Further inspired by stark alpine soundscapes and wide-open spaces, his work combines a reverence for the natural world and mountains he grew up in with the permeating percussive rhythms and textures of his extensive background as a performer.
Sam is a winner of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and University of Toronto Winds concerto competitions. A recipient of the Hartenberger Percussion and Homburger Memorial scholarships at UofT, he had the honour of being nominated as a Rhodes Scholar by the same institution in 2021. Sam had the joy of joining the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for the summers of 2022 and 2023, receiving an Award of Excellence for both sessions. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and New England Conservatory, and is proud to count Kati Agócs, Gary Kulesha, Charles Settle, and Aiyun Huang among his primary mentors.
In his free time, Sam can be found either exploring the mountains or trying to fit very large instruments into very small cars.
Hailed by the CBC as one of Canada’s ’30 under 30’ classical musicians, Samuel Kerr is a Calgary-born percussionist, conductor, and composer. Sam’s music combines a reverence for the natural world and mountains he grew up in with the permeating percussive rhythms and textures of his background as a performer. As a composer, he has written for the UofT Wind and Percussion Ensembles, Green Room Sound Collective, and celebrated performers such as Britton-Rene Collins, Beverley Johnston, and Jacob Valcheff.
Sam is a winner of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and University of Toronto Winds concerto competitions and spent two summers as an Award of Excellence student with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. A graduate of the University of Toronto and New England Conservatory, he is proud to count Gary Kulesha, Aiyun Huang, and Kati Agócs among his primary mentors.
