About Me
Sam is an Associate of the Royal College of Music, London and a recipient of the Madeline Walton Guitar Prize. In 2023 she was the first person in the world to be awarded a PhD on the ukulele (University of Surrey, Guildford, UK), the title of which is New Works for Classical Ukulele. A leading exponent of the classical ukulele style Samantha has performed and presented workshops at ukulele festivals including the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain (Cheltenham), the Highland Ukulele Gathering (Scotland), the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival (Huddersfield), the Yeovil Ukulele Festival (Yeovil), the Aluha Ukulele Festival (Germany), and the Valla Beach Ukulele Camp (Australia). Her classical ukulele workshops have been attended by literally hundreds of ukulele enthusiasts across the world both online and in person. She is tutor in residence for the Forest Ukulele Retreat (Forest of Dean) and the Halsway Manor Ukulele Weekend (Taunton).
Samantha has given lectures and presentations on the classical ukulele style for the International Guitar Research Centre at the University of Surrey, the Guitar Foundation of America, the 21st Century Guitar Conference, the Dublin Guitar Symposium and the European Guitar Teachers Association. Her compositions and arrangements are published by Schott and Les Productions d’Oz. She has acted as a consultant for RockSchool Ukulele Exams and contributed to the University of West London ukulele exam syllabus.
As well as playing the guitar and the ukulele Samantha also plays the machete de Braga and the rajão - the forerunners of the ukulele from the Portuguese island of Madeira. In 2021 she participated in Ukulele - a history of Hawaii’ national instrument hosted by BBC programme The Forum. Her ground breaking research into the machete was published by Revista Portuguesa de Educação Artística, Volume 11, No.2.2021, (pub. Dec. 2022). Samantha is a member of the Cambridge Consortium for Guitar Research at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.