“A thing of mesmerising beauty.”

— David Kettle, The Scotsman

Based between France and Ireland, Sam Perkin composes music for leading musicians and ensembles in Ireland and abroad. His music has been performed in 20 countries. In the space between classical and experimental music, his artistic work has a particular focus on the exploration of wonder and awe.

Sam has had fruitful collaborations with a vast array of performing artists such as The Irish Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Luminosa Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, The Vanbrugh Quartet, The Marmen Quartet, The Tchalik Quartet, Crash Ensemble, Explore Ensemble, Alex Petcu (Percussion), Aisling Ennis (Harp), Anna Cashell (Violin), Finghin Collins (Piano), Miranda Cuckson (Violin), Marcus Mohlin (Harpsichord), Dohyo Sol (Archlute), Diamanda Dramm (Violin), Will Duerden (Double Bass), James McVinnie (Piano), The Fidelio Trio, The Sitkovetsky Trio, The Paddington Trio and Vicky Chow (Piano).

Perkin has also successfully worked with festivals such as Musica Nova Festival (Helsinki), Network For New Music (Philadelphia), West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Das Haus (Belgium), Kilkenny Arts Festival, Alpenarte Festival (Austria), Louth Contemporary Music Festival, Buxton International Festival (UK), Sound Festival (Scotland), Gregynog Festival in (Wales), Festivalta (Norway) and La Cote Flute Festival (Switzerland).

Sam had a Wigmore Hall debut in 2023 with his Piano Trio “Freakshow”, which has now been performed over 55 times worldwide. Perkin’s Piano Trio “Freakshow” was performed at Janine Jansen’s International Chamber Music Festival in Utrecht last year is also programmed at Lucerne Chamber Music Society in 2027.

Commissioned for the prestigious Clara Haskil International Piano Competition 2025 in Switzerland, “Le Monde des Adultes” was performed by the 25 pianists for the competition, a rarity for a composer of today. Notably, Perkin’s work “Visualization” was performed by Dejana Sekulič at the opening launch concert of the 33rd Music Biennale Zagreb 2025.

“Waves” for Solo Percussionist and String Orchestra was composed as a self-cure for tinnitus and is one of the fruits of a bountiful collaboration between The Irish Chamber Orchestra and the composer over a number of years, supported by The Arts Council of Ireland. Nimbus, for 18-Part String Orchestra, was set to a beautiful choreography by Liz Roche of Luail, Ireland’s National Dance company and performed at Ireland’s largest theatre in 2025.

“Language”, a substantial work for Solo Violin, was commissioned by West Cork Chamber Music Festival for contemporary violin specialist Miranda Cuckson and explores the inner workings of different human languages. In “Alta” for Two String Trios with The Sounds of The Northern Lights, Sam collaborated with Finnish scientist and Northern Lights specialist, Unto K. Laine, to weave the recently discovered and recorded sounds of the Aurora Borealis into the work, which was commissioned by Alta Chamber Music Festival, Norway.

Sam’s highly visual and imaginative work “Visualization” was premièred by Luminosa Orchestra at Galway Cathedral in 2021. Inspired by the Sonic Meditations of Pauline Oliveros, the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Fripp and Dalcroze specialist Diane Daly, the new work signalled a ritualistic return to live performance, exploring through physical gesture what it means to be together at a concert.

“Children In the Universe”, a large-scale symphony for Crash Ensemble with Diamanda Dramm as Guide, was premièred at Galway Arts Festival and New Music Dublin in 2022 and released by Crash Ensemble in 2023, and takes on to the farplains of Sam Perkin’s explorations into venturing into pure awe through music.

”Washing Away The Sorrow”, for Solo Double Bass & Piano was composed for rising Double Bass star Will Duerden and commissioned in 2024 by Buxton International Festival. The work seeks to create a place for the listener to be cleansed of what needs to be cleansed. In the piece Will Duerden emerges, each time anew, from the purifying washes of sound which gently cascade over us from afar, confirming the unsurpassed beauty and power of music.

“More Beautiful Than It Has To Be” was premièred by violist Nathan Sherman in 2024 at Hošek Contemporary, Berlin. In 2024, Dohyo Sol and Marcus Mohlin of Copenhagen-based Camerata Øresund premièred “Childhood’s Awe” for Archlute and Harpsichord at West Cork Chamber Music Festival. In 2025, “Jardin Magique” for Solo Violin & Harp was premièred by Anna Cashell & Aisling Ennis. The work takes us on a tarantella-inspired journey to the depths of a secret inner-garden.

At the beginning of 2026, Sam Perkin completed a deeply personal and heartfelt new set of 12 Preludes for Solo Piano: “12 Preludes for 12 Pianists - A Child’s Secret Treasure Chest”, an intensely personal set of pieces inspired by childhood, composed for the following stellar line-up of 12 Pianists: Nathalia Milstein, Finghin Collins, Hugh Tinney, Izumi Kimura, Eliza McCarthy, Cormac McCarthy, Ryan Molloy, Isabelle O’Connell, Máire Carroll, Fiachra Garvey, James McVinnie & Vicky Chow.

Sam holds degrees in Composition from the Cork School of Music, Ireland, and an Artist Diploma from Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon, France, where he was awarded the Prix Salabert for Composition. Sam Perkin completed a residency in 2022 with Crash Ensemble, Ireland’s leading new music ensemble. He was awarded The Next Generation Award in 2018 by The Arts Council of Ireland and has conducted and composed for The Irish Chamber Orchestra.

“A perfect thing.”

— Iarla Ó Lionáird on “The More Beautiful World”