Sam Nester

Sam Nester is an Australian-born trumpet player, composer, and sound artist based in New York. He has been the artist-in-residence for the US National Parks in Hawai’i, Bruny Island (Australia), and the Festival of Arts Design Acerenza (Italy). He is currently the artist-in-residence at the Center for Genomics & Systems Biology at NYU Abu Dhabi, exploring the intersection of art and science through interdisciplinary collaborations and creative projects with scientists whose research focuses on environmental adaptation and sustainability.

He has received commissions for the creation of site-specific environmental sound installations and musical compositions from the US State Department, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), Colby College, George Mason University, EcoArt Project, Metropolis Ensemble, the National Parks Arts Foundation, and the City of Hobart (Australia).

Since 2022, Nester has been working with policy officers from the European Commission Directorate-General for Environment and scientists from the Joint Research Centre on sound installations at the nexus of art, science, and policy, due to open to the public in May 2024.

He has performed for Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival & Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the Beijing Modern Music Festival, Paris Opera Ballet, Wordless Music Orchestra, Mark Morris Dance Group, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC among others.

As a Fulbright scholar, Nester received a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music, earning the Helen Cohn Award for outstanding performance. He serves on faculty at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music.