Sam Rich

Supported by Warwick & Linda Webb MNZM

Auckland-born Sam joined the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as Sub-Principal Percussionist at the end of 2019.

Sam began his musical studies at age six with Judy Stokes in percussion and later with Glen Rodgers in drum kit and Scottish pipe band drumming.

He earned a Bachelor of Music from The University of Auckland, where he studied with Eric Renick, followed by a Bachelor of Music with Honours at Victoria University of Wellington with Laurence Reese and Leonard Sakofsky.

During this time, he was awarded first place at the 2014 Melbourne Snare Award, performed as a soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia, and was a fellow at the Music Academy of the West summer festival in the USA.

In 2017, Sam was awarded the prestigious Kiwi Music and Patricia Pratt Scholarships to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Jacob Nissly. He graduated with a Masters of Music with First Class Honours.

He has performed with a variety of ensembles, including the San Francisco Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Stroma New Music Ensemble, and Orchestra Wellington, where he held the Principal Timpani position.

Sam is a proud alumni of the New Zealand Symphony National Youth Orchestra.

It's up to each percussionist to experiment before and during rehearsals to decide which instrument (or multiple instruments) suits the music. The last time we played Mahler's Second Symphony, I had 5 suspended cymbals and 4 pairs of crash cymbals set up around me. One of those cymbals was only used a single time! No other cymbal cut it in my opinion so I just had to have that one on stage with me as well!