The Music of Michael Samson
“Where words fail, his music speaks.
Michael Samson writes music to express the inexpressible...”
Embodying raw emotion and passion, his music communicates thoughts, feelings and stories that delve deep into the soul of each listener. Michael’s music is truly an expression of his inner self, but it remains remarkably accessible to each individual listener. His music is emotive; drawing forth a myriad of ideas, feelings and imagery. Michael’s music becomes “your” music, and in that way the experience is truly unique for each person.
Speaking of his writing process Michael said, “When I write music, it is a process of introspective exploration and self-discovery. In some ways it can seem as if the music is writing itself. I think though that as I write, the music speaks to me, and I simply speak back. It’s much like a conversation that helps me to explore what I may be feeling at that particular moment in time. As the music takes shape, new feelings emerge, ideas surface, and a personal journey beings to develop.”
Michael’s Piano playing style can best be described as “Neo-Classical” or “Contemporary Piano”. His music is highly melodic, creating beautiful themes, haunting melodies and memorable passages. In many ways his music is cinematic, at times soft, at others loud; creating a dynamic and powerful listening experience. Michael’s influences are profound, but include such notable artists as “Suzanne Ciani”, “Yanni”, “Clara Ponty”, “David Nevue”, “William Joseph” & “George Winston”. Michael has managed to create a sound both familiar and unique, and in that way he has established a signature sound all of his own.
Michael’s Early Years, With a Passion for Music
Music has been Michael’s passion from a very young age. Recalling his earliest musical inspirations Michael said, “I can remember as a child being fascinated with the music I heard in movies. I used to hum to myself songs that were the themes to the movies I loved. I probably knew the music better then the movies themselves in some cases. It was really in movies that I discovered my love for instrumental music. Some of the most beautiful compositions ever written were done so for film. To this day film music remains one of my favorite ways to experience instrumental music.”
Michael was born in August of 1979, has two younger brothers and was raised by his parents in a home on Long Island, New York. At a very young age he began his musical studies on the Viola, the “closest instrument to the human voice”. He joined the school Orchestra in Elementary School and continued playing the Viola until his senior year of High School. It was at about the age of ten years old that he would begin playing the instrument that would become his greatest passion in life. Michael began his journey on the Piano playing “by ear”, meaning that he taught himself to play without the aid of sheet music, using only his natural talents to play the instrument.
At the age of twelve Michael enrolled in formal Piano lessons. His parents encouraged his growth on the Piano and purchased him his first acoustic Piano, a Baby Grand Kawai. Recalling his first Piano lesson Michael said, “I can remember my first Piano lesson like it was yesterday. I was so excited to be there doing it! I remember that I sat down and played the song “Midnight” from the Broadway show “Cats”, which I had taught myself to play completely by ear. My teacher was very impressed by my playing technique and by my ability to play accurately by ear.” Encouraged by Michael’s natural abilities, his teacher focused him on learning musical theory and classical techniques. Reflecting Michael said, “It wasn’t easy for me back then. I worked very hard to learn to site-read. Being a person that plays by ear, site-reading didn’t come easy for me. I played my scales and learned all the key signatures. We worked on some very advanced pieces, like Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No.8 (Sonata Pathétique)” and Debussy’s “Arabesque No.1”. My teacher continued to push me to improve myself, and I worked hard to impress him.” Michael performed Beethoven’s “Sonata Pathétique” at a state competition, completely from memory, impressing the judges and earning a very high score.
Through his High School years, Michael continued in his pursuit and passion for music. Already a member of the school Orchestra, Michael also joined the Chamber Orchestra and several choral groups, including the school Choir, a selective Chamber Singer group, and a small A Cappella Vocal Jazz ensemble. Remembering those days Michael said, “Music was everything to me in High School. It practically embodied my identity. I was one of those music geeks, that guy that would be in every performing group for a single concert. Really though, I was so very lucky. My particular school district was known for having an exceptional music program, and my teachers were the very best. I really owe so much of my success today to them.”
Michael’s College Days, A Composer is Born
Michael’s journey and transition into Piano composition began in his early days at college. Michael was accepted to the University of Maryland at College Park for the fall class of 1997, and was asked to be one of the first students to participate in the then new “College Park Scholars” program. This program focused students of specific interest areas or areas of talent, and allowed them to study and live together with other students of the same interests. Michael was admitted to the program based on his musical talents, and in part from an audition tape that he submitted of himself playing the Piano.
It wasn’t in the classroom though that Michael began composing, but rather in moments of solitude. Recalling those times Michael said, “So here I was living in this dorm with lots of other artists and musicians. In those days I wasn’t a very social person. I preferred to be by myself most the time, and to a degree I am still that same way today. On many weekends while other students were out partying, I would retreat to the dorm basement where we had a Steinway Grand Piano. I used to spend hours upon hours down there, into the late night all by myself. It was in those moments of solitude that I learned I could compose. I had only written one piece before, a slow rock ballade back when I was in High School. It was really sheer luck that one night while I was improvising at the Piano I struck a series of notes that stood out to me. It was those very notes that began my first full composition for Solo Piano, a song I later named “Imzadi”.”
With the success of his first full Solo Piano piece Michael decided to continue onwards and see what else he could write. Many other songs quickly followed, and before he knew it Michael had completed his first six compositions. A recording session soon followed which took place in his former Piano Teacher’s basement. With the help of a close friend Michael was able to fully record his first six songs in a single day. Michael decided to package these first six songs together into a preliminary album which he entitled, “Light in the Darkness”, named after the sixth song he had composed. Simple album art was designed and printed, and was included with the CD which Michael was creating one by one. Michael promoted the demo album on his college campus with a series of fliers, and sold the CD’s door to door on campus. Michael said, “That was an exciting time for me. I had composed my first songs, recorded them, burned them to CD.. and people loved it! These recordings were incredibly simple. They were basically just a simple Piano keyboard sound with some light strings in the background. I was amazed though by how much everyone loved my music. Turns out it was great study music, and students were just soaking it up. So I continued to sell my CDs one by one, earning some money on the side and increasing my fan base.” Michael earned some critical acclaim on the College Park campus when the college newspaper decided write a story about him. The article entitled, “Move Over Yanni” painted an accurate portrayal of the young artist and his passion for the Piano and the instrumental genre.
Michael’s Transition Years, Finding “The Sound”
The next few years marked a lot of change for Michael as he struggled to pursue a career in web development and graphic design. This had been his college major and was his best bet to make a steady living. Through all those years Michael continued to work at the Piano and to compose new music. Michael began to learn the art of music production and slowly started to assemble his own home-based music studio. Michael’s love for modern technology has aided him in learning to produce recordings of remarkable depth and quality. As he says, “Just about anyone can make a mediocre recording. But to make a truly “great” recording, that takes a lot of work, knowledge, preparation, proper procedure and the best in equipment. I pride myself not only in writing beautiful music, but in recording it in such a way as to produce the fullest and highest quality musical experience.”
In 2004 Michael met his future wife, Mandy. At the time they met, Michael had completed roughly ten compositions. Michael was then living in New York, and would travel the long distance to visit Mandy who was attending college in New Jersey. Recalling those times Michael said, “That was an amazing time in my life. I had been through some tough years, and now I was falling in love. It’s easy to look at my life now and think of it in terms of before and after I met her. I mean, she really did change my life. Finding Mandy inspired me. It breathed life back into me, and that happiness found its way into my music. I used to drive all the way to see her each weekend. I would stay at her dorm. She usually had to study and get work done for at least a few hours each weekend. So I used to sneak off into the music department building. They had a lot of Pianos in there, nice big Grand Pianos. Each weekend I would spend a few hours composing there while she was busy working. It was wonderful, and reminiscent of when I used to write at my own college. The best part was though, that I had a new light in my life to write about.”
“Until Tomorrow Comes”, 2005
In 2005 Michael completed the songs for his first complete album, to be entitled, “Until Tomorrow Comes”. The songs for the album represented all of Michael’s earliest writings through the year 2005. Speaking about his first album Michael said, “Every musician always remembers their first album and how much it meant to them. For me though, this album was particularly meaningful. It was the culmination of years of composing and hard work, but it also marked a time of great change in my life. My first album was named after the song that I wrote for my wife, entitled “Until Tomorrow Comes”. That title was actually an excerpt from a romantic note I once left for her that said, “Only thoughts of the good times we shared, until tomorrow comes…” That was my way of telling her how much I missed her when we were apart. So that little saying stuck, and it became the title of her song, and ultimately the title of my first album. I can’t think of a better dedication then that for the person whom I love. I am so proud of this album and what it represents. This is my first album, and I know it will open many more doors for the future. But really it is a tribute to everyone that has inspired me in my life, both musically and personally.”
“A Still Motion”, 2008
With the completion of the songs for his first album, Michael moved on with his writing. The next two years saw unprecedented speed and growth in his writing capabilities. Before long Michael had completed another 12 songs, to be used in his second album entitled, “A Still Motion”. Speaking about his second album Michael said, “It was very important to me that my second album didn’t repeat ideas I had used in the first album. As a musician and an artist, I am constantly pushing myself to improve. When I say improve, I am not merely speaking of my musicality. I push myself to improve my playing techniques, my melodic structures, my compositional form, and the overall complexity of my musical presentation. I spend a lot of time listening to other artists like myself, examining their songs, trying to understand what makes them work and how I can use similar techniques to improve my own writing. No artist should ever remain static. We all change with time. Events in our lives shape and mold us. In this way I am always trying let my music capture the moment, to preserve where I am and how I feel at a particular time in my life. As an album I wanted “A Still Motion” to embody more ideas of nuance and juxtaposition. I wanted to experiment with new playing techniques and different rhythms. The title itself is revealing of what I wanted in the album, to capture both stillness and motion simultaneously. Yes, it is an oxymoron, but that is what is so amazing about music. Music can do these seemingly contradictory things! I am very proud of this album. I feel that I truly broke new ground, both musically and as a composer. I have grown!”
Michael’s Professional Debut
In early 2008 Michael started the official preparations for his professional debut. With over ten years of writing behind him, he wanted to make the very best impression when presenting his music to the world. Michael started off by forming his own production company and music label, named “Still Motion Productions” after the title of his second album, “A Still Motion”. Over the course of 2008 Michael recorded his 24 completed works in his home-based music studio. Michael spent a lot of time recording each song, focusing on it so that the final recording would be as close to perfect as possible. At the completion of the recording process, all the songs were sent off to be mastered by one of the leading audio engineers in the world. Regarding the mastering process Michael said, “These recordings represent ten years of music composition for me. I felt that these songs deserved the very best in recording and mastering methodology. Each song was meticulously recorded in order to ensure the very best representation of the composition. The mastering process itself is what gives the tracks that added depth and sparkle. When you listen to my recordings on a good sound system, the clarity, presence, depth and tone is unsurpassed. I am working with one of the best audio engineers in the world in order to produce these stunning results. Piano solo is so very transparent. You can hear every little detail, good or bad. We wanted these recordings to be stunningly beautiful. I really think all the extra work paid off, because I believe we achieved the results we set out for.”
MichaelSamson.com Grand Opening
2008 was a year of many other firsts for Michael. Over the course of the year Michael put his vast experience in web development to work, partnering with some of the greatest talent in the industry to produce MichaelSamson.com. Regarding the website Michael said, “It is tough to sum up a project like MichaelSamson.com. The sheer size and complexity of the website was daunting to me. I worked for many months just to spec out all of its many features and functions. This website is a technical marvel, and I am not afraid to say that I think it may be perhaps the greatest musician website ever created. I have worked with one of the greatest talents in the industry to create my site. We really wanted to create an “experience” for my visitors. The website boasts one of the most advanced purchasing systems ever created for digital content. But it is much more than just that. We have created a place where people can come to hear my music and experience it for the first time. They can read about me, keep up with what is new, and interact with other people in the community. I am just so proud of what we have accomplished here, it really is something special!”.
From the Keys to the Paper, Sheet Music!
In 2008 Michael also worked with another industry leader to transcribe of all his existing compositions to sheet music. Through a process known as “engraving”, Michael has created stunning representations of his songs in sheet music form. All of his works to date have now been transcribed to sheet music that anyone can learn to play from.
Michael said, “I have always felt that an integral part of sharing my music with the world is sharing the ability to play it as well. This meant that I had the challenge to transcribe (engrave) my music into sheet music that others could play from. As many of you no doubt know, not all sheet music is created equally. Engraving music into sheet music is a complex process that requires a great deal of musical and technical knowledge. Many artists all too often fall short in this regard and release transcriptions that are a mere shadow or approximation of the real thing. I knew from the very beginning though that this was not something that I would do.
In an effort to produce the most accurate and technically perfect sheet music possible, I partnered with one of the greatest music engravers in the industry today. He has worked with some of the best musicians in the world, and has transcribed sheet music for The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, The Newman Scoring Stage at Twentieth Century Fox Studios, Abbey Road Studios in London, and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, just to name a few.
Our process of engraving combined both digital and non-digital methods, so that we could capture both the notational accuracy and the musical aesthetics necessary in order to create great sheet music. During the engraving process we made sure to consider all of the important factors, such as notational accuracy, rhythm, tempo, dynamics and expression. All of my songs went through a rigorous editing process of checking and rechecking to ensure that they were truly perfect.
When you play one of my songs from this sheet music, you can rest assured that what you have in front of you is no less then exactly what I wrote and am playing in my recordings. I felt that this level of quality was very important to do for my fans, and to honor the music that I worked so hard to compose.”
Michael’s Photography & Album Art
For his first two albums Michael worked with a very talented photographer to produce album art that would equal the power and beauty of his music. Michael said, “It was a lot of fun working with the photographer. Really it was a learning experience for me. I have never had to pose for professional photos before. In some ways it came easy to me, but at other times it was difficult. I would have to find the right state of mind to get the best expressions into my photos. That wasn’t always easy to do. You would be amazed by just how much work goes into getting a single good shot. I am lucky to be dealing with a great photographer who has the patience to get the level of detail that I want. We also spent a lot of time just planning out the photo concepts for each album. It was important to me that the album’s art properly communicated what the music inside was all about. It is far too easy to do something half-fast on the album art. I personally love it when I purchase an album and have a beautiful insert to look at. To me, the total package is very important, and so I worked hard to provide this with my albums.” Michael shot his first album’s photo shoot at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. His second album was shot at the famous Hoboken Train Terminal near New York City.
“Rapture”, Coming in 2010
Towards the end of 2008 Michael began working on songs for his third album, to be entitled “Rapture”. Slated for a release sometime in 2010, Rapture is going to be a more introspective work, attempting to reach the listener on a more spiritual and personal level. The concept behind this album is somewhat of a departure from previous works in that each song will attempt to capture the very essence of an emotion or state of being. The music itself will be more primal, direct and simpler in the way that it communicates with the listener. Like Michael’s previous works, Rapture will also tell a story, except that this story will be one that echoes life, in all its beautiful nuance and complexity. If you’re interested in keeping up to date with the progress of Rapture, please feel free to read Michael’s Blog and join the Newsletter!
Looking Towards the Future and Beyond…
For the future things are indeed looking bright! With Michael’s professional debut a success, he is now working hard on his third album, entitled “Rapture”. Musically, Michael is growing as an artist and he hopes to be able to release a new album every two to three years. Michael is also working to increase his exposure in public, and is currently booking for a variety of live concerts and special events. Michael performs many different types of concerts, including House Concerts, Weddings, Special Occasions / Events, Corporate / Business Events, Church / Temple Concerts & Ministry Events, Charities, Fundraisers & Benefits, as Background Music and more! If you’re interested in booking Michael for a live concert or special event, please don’t hesitate to visit the Booking page for more information.
“As long as there is silence to fill, Michael will continue to write music. It is his love and his passion, and to him there is no greater happiness then living that dream and sharing it with the world.”