Sam Weiser, currently the first violinist of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, is a lifelong chamber musician and advocate of contemporary music.

He holds a number of positions around the Bay Area, including co-concertmaster of Symphony San Jose, assistant concertmaster of the California Symphony, member of One Found Sound, and violinist in sfSound. Formerly, he was a member of the award-winning Del Sol Quartet.

Sam has performed in venues around the world, from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to a raft floating along the Yampa River. He has premiered over 250 new works by composers such as Vijay Iyer, Huang Ruo, and Laura Kaminsky.

Sam is also a dedicated educator, having taught violin and chamber music at Sacramento State University, Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, Ohio, and Chamber Music Conference of the East, in addition to maintaining a private teaching studio.

Sam studied with Ian Swensen, Lucy Chapman, James Buswell, and Patinka Kopec. He holds bachelors’ degrees from Tufts University in computer science and the New England Conservatory in violin, as well as a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in chamber music. He plays on a violin made in 1758 by Lorenzo and Tomaso Carcassi in Florence, Italy.

Outside of the violin, Sam loves cooking, a long hike, or a game of Dungeons & Dragons.