About

Recognized for her “authenticity” and “attention to text,” American soprano Samantha Farmilant Grambow appears internationally on the opera, oratorio, and concert stages. An accomplished recitalist, Samantha curates lecture-recitals, a synthesis of performance and research that explores the parallels between history and the present, to facilitate conversations between communities and to foster empathy for shared experiences. Her repertoire spans from Baroque to 21st-century composers and includes classical, popular, and folk music.

An advocate for new work, Samantha gave the world premiere of Gwyneth Walker’s Emily! at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Publishers Showcase in Chicago and the Pacific Northwest premiere of Patrice Michael’s THE LONG VIEW: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs (selections) in Lincoln City, Oregon. In 2022 she and tenor Ryan Townsend Strand will premiere PRIMER by Adore Alexander, a commissioned work that sets to music the anonymous journal entries written by non-BIPOC individuals in response to the questions posed in Layla F. Saad’s “Me and White Supremacy”.

As co-founder of The Floating Opera Company, she produced and performed in a series of immersive, site-specific operas including a Super Mario-inspired production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte; War and Peace, an original composite opera created by Daniel Grambow to commemorate the centenary of World War I; and an immersive cooking experience paired John G. Bilotta’s 15-minute opera Quantum Mechanic.

A Chicago native, Samantha credits her musical education and deep-rooted love of artistic collaborations to her work in the Chicago community with such organizations as Facility Theater (David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion), the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, and Opera on Tap Chicago. As a member of the Chicago Children’s Choir’s alumni choir, Vocality, she has performed with Bobby McFerrin, Marin Alsop, and Ramin Djawadi, among others. She has worked with nearly every major professional music organization in the Chicagoland area including Ravinia Festival, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Music Festival, The University of Chicago Presents, and the Chicago Loop Alliance. Notable performances include the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience at the United Center and All-State Arena, Distant Worlds at Chicago Symphony Center, and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms at Carnegie Hall. Recording credits include the 2020 GRAMMY-nominated recording of The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Kurt Sander. 

On the opera stage she appeared as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Fire in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Her international credits include Suor Genovieffa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica (Viterbo, Italy) and Ascanio in Pergolesi’s Lo frate ‘nnamorato (Rome, Italy). She received a scholarship from the American Opera Society of Chicago and the Irvin Bushman Memorial Prize from Cleveland Institute of Music. She serves on the board of the Chautauqua Institution Opera Guild. 

Her concert soloist engagements include Messiah and Judas Maccabaeus (Handel) with Portland Chamber Orchestra and a Día de los Muertos concert with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra which launched Tucson's All Souls Procession Weekend. She is a frequent guest artist at the Siletz Bay Music Festival in Lincoln City, Oregon. 

Samantha received her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Music and French from Oberlin College. She currently resides in Chautauqua County, NY.

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