Sam Alvarez (they/he) is a composer, saxophonist, and interdisciplinary artist who is interested in finding meaning in things.
In their practice—twining together composition, live performance, video art, improvisation, electroacoustic composition, field recording, archival audio/video, and more—Sam looks closely at familiar materials, sounds, objects, and words, preoccupied with (and haunted by) the tangled meanings and intractable histories everything holds.
Sam has presented interdisciplinary performances, compositions, and installations at festivals across the US and Europe, including Festival Archipel, Festival MIXTUR, KorSonoR, Festival Antigel, Impromptu Fest, Bled Contemporary Music Week, Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, Access Contemporary Music’s Thirsty Ears, and others. Sam has been commissioned by ensembles including Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble TaG, ~Nois Quartet, Trio Catch, the Northwestern University Saxophone Ensemble, Masso Quartet, the Geneva Consort, and others.
A devoted performer of New music, Sam has commissioned and premiered over 50 works for the saxophone, and frequently performs as a soloist and chamber musician in diverse settings. As Co-Artistic Director and founding tenor saxophonist of Chicago-based Masso Quartet, Sam has commissioned and premiered 16 new works for saxophone quartet, engaged with over 4,000 students through educational outreach, held residencies at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival and the Andrew Rafacz Gallery, and presented over 25 concerts in five US states. Masso has been praised for their “sensitivity and penchant for subtlety,” and their “rigorous timbral explorations” (Chicago Classical Review).
Sam holds a Composer-Performer MA from the Haute École de Musique de Genève (‘26), and a BM from Northwestern University in Saxophone Performance, English Literature, and Composition (‘24).
