Postcard From Composer, Pianist, and Accordionist Sam Reider
In SFGC’s Postcard series, our guest artists, collaborators, and faculty take us behind the scenes and share an intimate look into their thoughts about music, life, and art-making.
This postcard features pianist, composer, and accordionist Sam Reider, who is the guest artist for the SFGC Winter Concert: Folk Songs of the World. Below, Sam shares more about his relationship to folk music, the accordion, and collaboration ahead of the concert!
Sam Reider is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated pianist, accordionist, composer, and educator from San Francisco, California. His work brings together various streams of American music, from jazz and folk tunes to popular song and contemporary composition. He has appeared as a bandleader and soloist at major festivals and venues around the world and his performances and original compositions have been featured on NPR, PBS and the BBC. Reider has performed, recorded and collaborated with a range of artists including Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, and Paquito d’Rivera.
From his genre-bending acoustic ensemble The Human Hands to his duo collaboration with Grammy-nominated Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem, Reider’s unique compositional voice and melodicism runs throughout his eclectic projects. His 2022 solo piano record of original music Petrichor received four stars and made the Best of 2022 in Downbeat Magazine. Reider and Glem’s album Brooklyn-Cumaná was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and was nominated for Best Instrumental Album in the 2023 Latin GRAMMY Awards. In addition to his work as a performer, Reider is a prolific composer and has worked with a variety of chamber ensembles and artists ranging from the Bay Area’s Del Sol Quartet to Grammy-nominated soloist Tessa Lark.
Sam Reider, Pianist, Composer, and Accordionist
The accordion is a unique and rare instrument. How did you come to it as one of your main instruments?
I've been playing piano since I was five years old—it's sort of a family instrument. My father and grandfathers were all pianists. When I was growing up I never dreamt of playing the accordion. But then beginning in college, I started to become interested in various types of folk music—bluegrass and old time, jazz manouche and Roma music, blues, celtic, etc. I wanted to participate in folk music ensembles and jam sessions where there were rarely pianos present. I needed a portable instrument that I could bring around with me.
I picked up an old accordion that my high school drama teacher had given me. Learning it was slow-going (the only similarity with the piano is the right hand keyboard.) But what kept me going was a sense that I was sort of inventing my own musical language and voice. Whereas I had had many years of formal classical and jazz training on the piano, the accordion presented a sort of a blank canvas; there were no expectations attached.
Everywhere I brought the instrument, it acted as a conversation starter. Everyone had a story about it—or about their aunt or uncle or grandfather that played the accordion. The instrument became a vehicle for me, giving me access to folk musicians and musical experiences all around the world. When I began to travel and perform as a musical ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, the accordion came with me on my back and became a bridge for connecting with people from different cultures.
While I still consider myself a pianist as well, the accordion has really become my signature artistic voice and it has opened so many doors for me. I'm very grateful to have found this unlikely outlet for my creativity.
This year, SFGC’s program at Davies centers around folk music. What is your relationship to folk music? What speaks to you about it?
What initially drew me to folk music was actually the way in which instrumental virtuosity is combined with beautiful songs and singing. I love the way the bluegrass ensemble functions: lyrics that tell stories, sung in beautiful harmony, and offset by exciting instrumental solos. The mixture of all those elements makes for such a captivating performance.
I also love the way in which in folk music, every instrument is responsible for contributing to the groove as much as possible. There's rarely a time when one instrument is entirely laying out, in the way that a jazz saxophonist might step to the side of the stage when someone else is taking a solo. For me, the experience of creating rhythm collectively with an ensemble is ecstatic—there's nothing better.
Is there a folk song that has a special place in your heart?
The song Wild Mountain Thyme, which we'll be performing at Davies is a beautiful melody that I've been playing for years.
You have collaborated with a wide variety of performers including Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, and Paquito d’Rivera. What is your approach to collaboration? How does it challenge you?
Collaboration is a fundamental part of the musical experience, whether you are playing folk, jazz, classical, or anything else. I love to work with musicians that challenge me as an instrumentalist; and I also relish the opportunity to compose music that challenges my collaborators as well. Effective collaboration requires a commitment to listening, learning, and also improvisation. You need to be able to really understand the sound, the rhythmic feel, and the musical tendencies of another artist in order to play with them. You also need to be able to adapt your own technique and style in order to be able to meet your collaborators in the middle. Collaborations take many forms. Sometimes, you just perform one time with an artist on a concert or a recording. Other times, musical collaborations lead to long term relationships. I would count many of my collaborators as some of my closest friends.
What are your two favorite albums and what draws you to them?
I have pretty broad interests, so it's impossible to pick just two favorite albums, but two I come back to year after year are: Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and Duke Ellington's Money Jungle. For me Ray and Duke are two quintessentially American artists. Ray synthesized blues, gospel, R&B, and country music into a compelling blend that today we might call the ultimate Americana; more importantly, when you listen to his music, you experience his transcendent joy, even when the lyrics of the songs express sadness and adversity. Duke took the jazz and pop music of his time period and combined it with Black folk music styles from the American south, sounds and rhythms from around the world, and the formal structure of European classical music. Duke's legacy as a pianist, composer and bandleader is an enormous influence for me.
What advice can you give to our singers that you wish you had received when you were their age?
The musical landscape is so different today than it was when I was their age. It's hard to say if things are easier or harder now, or what direction the business is heading. Everything is changing so fast. I guess I would say that if music is your driving passion, then dive in wholeheartedly and devote yourself first and foremost to the practice of your craft—to learning and working with as many people as possible. Don't worry too much about finding your "authentic voice"—that will come when you are ready—or about presenting a "brand" to the world. We are all carried away by the incredible pace of the world. As an artist, your greatest gift is time—and it is a gift you give back to others everytime you perform. Cherish that time. For an artist that really loves music, a life spent writing, practicing, rehearsing, and performing, is a life worth living.
What inspires you about working with SFGC?
This has been a very exciting opportunity for me to get back into composing/arranging vocal music. I've been mostly focused on instrumental music for these last few years. I'm so excited to hear these arrangements come to life and I feel inspired to compose more choral music in the future!
What are you excited to work on in the future? Give us a sneak peek!
I have a new record coming out in 2024 with my folk music ensemble The Human Hands. The album features a new suite of music I composed based on the Jewish legend of the Golem, a magical clay man brought to life by a mystic. My idea was to compose a narrative piece in the tradition of the classical tone poem, but to perform it with an ensemble of improvising folk and jazz musicians. I'm really excited about how it turned out and can't wait to share it with the world!
Sarah Gibson, Composer, “This is What it means”
Your bio states that your compositions “reflect [your] deep interest in the creative process across various artistic mediums - especially from the female perspective.” What does your creative process for composition look like?
I very often begin my creative process by either going to an art museum or going to a live concert. Both activities get my juices flowing. Seeing artists express themselves through different mediums than my own is always inspiring. As a collaborative pianist, going to concerts and seeing performers communicate with each other on stage is always exhilirating. Once I find that initial spark of inspiration, I normally go to the piano to improvise and find my way into a piece.
How does the female perspective manifest in your work?
My mother is a painter, and growing up, arts and crafts were a part of my every day experience. Each day was a creative playground where I could make no mistakes. Having such a strong artistic role model from a young age definitely influenced me as a composer and performer. In recent years, it has been very important to me to highlight and celebrate underrepresented artists, and as a woman, the female perspective has been the most inspiring and personal for me.
Tell us about “This is What it Means”! What was your way into the piece?
Madeline Miller's Circe is a creative take on Odysseus from the female perspective of Circe. I was so enveloped in the book and the impressive female protagonist. The final sentences in the book are the text I use for This is what it means. I love the peacefulness of the text, the way it invites readers/listeneres to breathe and be connected to themselves and the earth.
The premiere of “This is What it Means” is presented through the California Festival. What distinguishes California music and musicians?
California is such an exciting music scene...I can't imagine living anywhere else. Musicians here are so open-minded and curious...no one really fits into a box like in other places. You can go to a concert and each piece is a different style and played amazingly. This is so exhilirating as a composer and performer and I don't think is replicated in other states.
What advice can you give to our singers that you wish you had received when you were their age?
Your voice is individual and cannot be replicated. If you express yourself truly, you will be heard and respected. Authenticity speaks!
What inspires you about working with SFGC?
Working with the next generation of musicians is always exciting. I am passionate about supporting and encouraging young musicians to be the most authentic version of who they can be. Considering the text I use in this piece and also the breadth of the California Festival, it is even more meaningful to me that young women will be represented in the concert.
What are you excited to work on in the future? Give us a sneak peek!
I have an upcoming orchestra piece I am working on and a few other chamber pieces in the works. I'm excited to continue to find ways to support the female voice and broaden narrative in my work.