Sam Bobinski is an adventurous and versatile double bassist, electric bassist, arranger, and teacher based in Connecticut. With backgrounds in classical, jazz, rock, and funk music, Sam has thus far had an eclectic career as a remote recording artist and performing musician.

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Sam performs and records remotely in his home studio for video game soundtracks, independent albums/projects, and other media of varying styles, both on double bass and electric bass. He has recently performed for Mortal Kombat 11, ANEW: The Distant Light, Super Lucky's Tale, and Ambition: A Minuet in Power. Sam is no stranger to the stage either – he has performed with a variety of ensembles and festivals, including Catalyst New Music, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Cantata Profana, the Round Top Festival Institute, and the Norfolk New Music Workshop. In addition to these recording and live performing ventures, Sam is the bassist and booking agent for the funk fusion band DiscoCactus, a group that specializes in arranging and recreating music from video games. They released their debut album, Mania Mode, in May 2022.

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Sam has also created original arrangements for orchestras, jazz bands, soloists, and chamber groups. He frequently collaborates with the ensembles Symphony By The Sea, White Mountains Music Festival, the North Country Chamber Players, and the record label Materia Collective. Sam has also arranged music for L'Orchestre Jeux Video, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, award-winning vocalist Christen Horne, and the band DiscoCactus, among others. Sam also provides orchestration, copyist, and engraving work for many of these ensembles.

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As an educator, Sam has considerable experience working with middle school to college-level students. Sam was a fellow and teaching artist with the MusAid Organization, teaching at their workshops in Belize City, Belize (2014, in collaboration with the Pallotti School of Music) and San Salvador, El Salvador (2017, in collaboration with El Sistema El Salvador). In both of these programs, Sam worked with students of all ages, teaching private lessons, coaching chamber ensembles, and coaching the youth orchestras in intensive 2-week sessions. Sam was also a teaching artist with the Yale Music In Schools program from 2014-2016, teaching private lessons and coaching ensembles in both their school year program and their summer academy program. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut.

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Sam studied double bass with Donald Palma, Tim Cobb, Lou Kosma, Jonathan Storck, and Jay Brunka. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance in 2013 from Rutgers University, and a Master’s in Music from Yale University in 2015. Highlights at Rutgers University include winning first prize in the Rutgers Sinfonia concerto competition, performing Nino Rota’s Divertimento Concertante as soloist with the Sinfonia, and recording Massenet’s Cendrillon with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra. Highlights at Yale include performing John Adams’ Absolute Jest as principal bass with the Yale Philharmonia (under the baton of the composer), studying arranging with Prof. Willie Ruff, and performing in master classes ran by Michael Klinghoffer, Joseph Conyers, Jeremy McCoy, and Bret Simner.

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In addition to his performance and freelance work, Sam is the assistant manager of the Yale Philharmonia, where he manages the orchestra’s library, stage crew, and assists in running the New Music New Haven program. Outside of music, Sam is an avid home cook, an amateur beer brewer, a Twitch streamer, and was once a karate instructor, with experience running classes for students of all age groups and skill levels.