9/28 Sam Chandler duo with Nick Isherwood

Sam Chandler, piano

Nick Isherwood, double bass

Sam Chandler is a dynamic and versatile pianist, composer, and educator based out of Boston,

Massachusetts. A Ravinia Steans Music Institute Jazz Program Fellow and Berklee College of Music

graduate, Sam has studied with Ayn Inserto, Billy Childs, Kenny Werner, Greg Hopkins, Rufus Reid,

Ryan Frane, Yoko Miwa, Steve Wilson, Steven Feifke and Kevin Harris. He has played with Bijon

Watson’s and Steven Feifke’s Grammy-winning Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, the Ayn Inserto Jazz

Orchestra, Berklee’s Billy Childs Ensemble, and the Berklee Jazz Composition Faculty Ensemble, in

addition to various groups at venues including Wally’s Café Jazz Club, the Lilypad Inman, and Cellar

Dog in New York City. 

Raised in Duluth, Minnesota, Sam began classical piano lessons at age 5 with Denise Lindquist

through the Suzuki Method. He later branched off into jazz when he studied with Ryan Frane,

Director of Jazz Studies at University of Minnesota Duluth. This transition to improvised music

allowed Sam to participate in several community and regional performing opportunities, such as the

Duluth East High School Jazz Band (2019 winner of the Class AA Eau Claire Jazz Festival Large

Ensemble Contest), the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) All-State Jazz Band 2017-

18, Interlochen Center for the Arts' Jazz and Improvisation Camp, Shell Lake Arts Center's Jazz

Camp, Owl's Club Big Band, and the Big Time Jazz Orchestra, an ensemble committed to providing

the highest quality jazz performances and educational opportunities to Northeastern Minnesota. 

For the last two years, Sam was a tutor in Berklee College of Music’s nationally recognized Core

Music Tutoring department, a peer-to-peer service where students receive help for their fundamental

music courses at Berklee. He has also served as a Teaching Assistant since 2022 at Interlochen

Center for the Arts’ Jazz Piano Intensive, held annually in the summer. He currently holds a teaching

position at Page Music Lessons in Boston, MA.