Sam Kohler
Photography by Eyeluster Photography
Sam Kohler is a composer, educator, and multi-instrumentalist based in New Orleans, LA. A lifelong musician from a family of dedicated musicians, his music conveys scenes such as shards of rainbow lightning whipping back and forth across a hazy technicolor plane, or an alternate universe undergoing an epochal transition from a bleak black-and-white landscape to sudden bursts of radiant colors. Recent collaborations include the Marigny Opera Ballet, Talea Ensemble, Rhythm Method String Quartet, Avenue Azure, Polymnia Quartet, Cascade Quartet, and the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra. He has participated in the Albany Symphony Composer's Workshop and the Lake George Music Festival Composer Institute. In Summer 2022 he attended the Aspen Summer Festival as a composition fellow.
A dedicated performer, Kohler has sought to develop deep relationships with his audiences and bandmates. Currently he is the guitarist for New Orleans-based fusion band Skeptic Moon. Their debut album, "White Lies, Lullabies," was released in 2022. Kohler was formerly the bassist for neo-soul band Jank Setup and cumbia band Agua de Valencia, the latter of which could be seen every Sunday at the Apple Barrel on historic Frenchman Street in New Orleans before the 2020 Pandemic. From 2017-20 he served the congregation of St. Paul Lutheran in the Faubourg Marigny as their organist and choirmaster.
Also a passionate educator, he has been on the faculty of Make Music NOLA and the Baltimore School of Music. Currently he teaches in New Orleans at Spreading the Music and LAAPA. Previously he worked as a teacher's assistant at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and has run a private lesson studio. As a teacher he strives to inspire a love of music-making in his students.
From 2013-14, Kohler led his own ensemble, the Sam Kohler New Music Ensemble. The Ensemble released its debut recording, entitled Synchromy, in October 2014. In June 2016, Kohler recorded Synchromy No. 2 with the Cascade String Quartet and Kate Kohler.
He studied composition with Felipe Lara at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins and with Barbara Jazwinski at Tulane University. Other mentors include Jesse McBride, Maxim Samarov, Oscar Bettison, Kevin George, and Christopher Theofanidis.
A dedicated performer, Kohler has sought to develop deep relationships with his audiences and bandmates. Currently he is the guitarist for New Orleans-based fusion band Skeptic Moon. Their debut album, "White Lies, Lullabies," was released in 2022. Kohler was formerly the bassist for neo-soul band Jank Setup and cumbia band Agua de Valencia, the latter of which could be seen every Sunday at the Apple Barrel on historic Frenchman Street in New Orleans before the 2020 Pandemic. From 2017-20 he served the congregation of St. Paul Lutheran in the Faubourg Marigny as their organist and choirmaster.
Also a passionate educator, he has been on the faculty of Make Music NOLA and the Baltimore School of Music. Currently he teaches in New Orleans at Spreading the Music and LAAPA. Previously he worked as a teacher's assistant at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and has run a private lesson studio. As a teacher he strives to inspire a love of music-making in his students.
From 2013-14, Kohler led his own ensemble, the Sam Kohler New Music Ensemble. The Ensemble released its debut recording, entitled Synchromy, in October 2014. In June 2016, Kohler recorded Synchromy No. 2 with the Cascade String Quartet and Kate Kohler.
He studied composition with Felipe Lara at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins and with Barbara Jazwinski at Tulane University. Other mentors include Jesse McBride, Maxim Samarov, Oscar Bettison, Kevin George, and Christopher Theofanidis.
