SOLD OUT: Sam Barber – Till I Return Tour wsg Nolan Taylor

Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981) Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA on 9 March 1910. His musical ability emerged at an early age and he had already filled a post as an organist when he was twelve. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Rosario Scalero for composition, Isabelle Vengerova (piano) and Emilio de Gogorza (voice). He was later to return to the Institute to teach orchestration and composition. He began composing seriously in his late teenage years and by the age of twenty three an orchestral work, Overture to the School for Scandal, was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Orchestral writing was to become a main feature of his composition and produced the work for which he is most well known now, Adagio for Strings. He achieved international prominence as the first American to be performed by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony when they introduced the Adagio along with Essay No. 1 for Orchestra. After serving in the Army Air Corp (which commissioned him to write his Second Symphony) during World War II he returned to live in the USA, near Mt. Kisco where he shared a house with another great American composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Most of his post-war works were written here. He won two Pulitzer prizes in 1958 (the opera Vanessa- text by Menotti) and 1963 (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra). The world premiere of the opera Antony and Cleopatra opened the new auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera at the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts on 16 September 1966. Although Barber is most popularly remembered for the Adagio for Strings, his compositions for voices are a significant part of his work. He was the nephew of the celebrated contralto Louise Homer and thus had access to many great singers and songs from an early age, later studying voice himself. This background is reflected in all his writing. One of the most significant and memorable qualities of his work is his ability to write sustained and flowing melodies. Combined with an undoubted skill in orchestration this lyricism produces an intense, emotional strength in his writing which was sustained throughout his career. "His work as a whole is like a living organism with a clearly stamped individuality, enriching itself as it grows" Nathan Broder.

Sam Barber was raised on a farm in a small town in Southeast Missouri surrounded by a supportive family and an abundance of friends. Most of his childhood was devoted to athletics where he learned many lessons such as the importance of a team, practice, discipline, respect and hard work. Music has not always been his passion and as a child, he never participated in music class or music performances. Sam's music journey has been completely unplanned and his success continues to astound him. When he was 16, Sam picked up his great grandfather's Gibson, out of tune with 5 strings and fell in love with the art of playing. He soon learned that he also had the God-given talent to sing along. Sam's vision is to continue to grow and become stronger as a vocalist and songwriter. He wants to deliver songs that people feel in their soul. Above all, he wants to stay true to his faith, the man he truly is, and the type of music he wants to make without boundaries or conforming. Since releasing Straight and Narrow in November 2022 Sam's social reach has soared past a million followers and garnered over 4.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Sam has hit the Global viral charts and reached #1 in UK, Aus, Ire and more.