Sam Kane is a Violinist and Composer from County Armagh, who draws inspiration from traditional Irish music. Winner of the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Rushworth Composition Prize 2023, he was commissioned to write for Ensemble 10:10 under Domingo Hindoyan. His music has since been performed by the Ulster Orchestra, Buxton International Festival, NOMAD, Ulster Youth Orchestra, Mourne Chamber Music Festival, and the Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, where he was Featured Young Artist in their 2023/24 season. Sam has appeared as both soloist and composer at Wigmore Hall, Leighton House, and St James’ Palace, London, and Sam’s music has been broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster and Classic FM. Recent highlights include collaborations with NOMAD and Ben Nobuto, as well as composition lessons with Caroline Shaw at the Stauffer Centre for Strings in Cremona.

Sam has performed as soloist with the Ulster Orchestra, the Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, the Furness Festival Strings, and at festivals across the UK and Ireland, including Clandeboye, Charles Wood, Blackwater Valley Opera, Belfast International Festival of Chamber Music, Mourne Chamber Music Festival, and Harp Ireland. A finalist in both the RNCM Concerto and Gold Medal Competitions, Sam received the Norman George Violin Prize, the Irish Heritage Homan Potterton Bursary for Strings, and the BBC Northern Ireland Young Musician’s Platform Award. Sam has freelanced the Ulster Orchestra, Northern Ireland Opera, the Hallé, and Camerata Ireland - with whom he toured China in 2025.

Sam was Artist in Residence at the Barrow Classical Music Foundation in 2025, and is the founder and Artistic Director of Furness Festival Strings, an emerging chamber ensemble based in Barrow-in-Furness. Sam graduated with distinction from the RNCM in 2024, where he studied violin with Cecily Ward, supported by Help Musicians Postgraduate Awards.

Sam plays a Vincenzo Panormo violin (c. 1800-10), generously on loan from the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.