SAM RAUCH is a compelling and versatile performer whose musical explorations center on creating meaningfully connective performances. Classically trained as a mezzo-soprano, they are a strong advocate for contemporary and underperformed repertoire, as well as the re-examination of narratives found within the traditional canon.

 

Making a current artistic home in Philadelphia, PA, Sam has seen recent engagements with local organizations both large and small. Most recently, Sam has been engaged as a chorister for Opera Philadelphia’s productions of Madame Butterfly and Simon Boccanegra. Sam is also a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Chorus, the resident chorus of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and performed most recently in Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen. Sam has also been in close collaboration with Misha Dutka and the Delaware Valley Opera Company in the creation and premiere of the new opera, Brandon’s Song, which will see its concert and staged premieres in Fall 2024 and Summer 2025, respectively. 

Sam is most passionate about creative concert work and socially-informed performances. Recent years have seen Sam performing in Toronto Summer Music Festival’s ReGeneration concert series under an Art of Song fellowship; as well as concert appearances in New York which include chamber pieces by living composers such as Jennifer Higdon, György Kurtág, and Jake Heggie. In collaboration with Alexis Seminario, they curated and performed in the digital-release concert “I Bear Your Colors”, a program recorded at the Vanderbilt Historic Mansion celebrating the unique relationships between queer women through American art song and chamber music. 

Also a strong advocate of early music, Sam has brought to life such works as Rosa Badalla’s solo cantata O fronde care with the Bard College Baroque Ensemble, and has performed in J.S. Bach’s Christmas Cantata with the Albany Symphony and as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with The Orchestra Now. Sam also spent three years engaged as a teaching artist with ROK (Reimagining Opera for Kids), bringing opera to schools and community spaces in their innovative fully-digital productions of Gabriela Ortiz’s Ana y su sombra and Chappell Kingsland’s The Firebringers during the pandemic. 

A native of southeastern Ohio, Sam holds a Bachelor’s degree in voice from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a Master’s degree from the Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program (VAP) under the artistic direction of Stephanie Blythe and the vocal guidance of Richard Cox.