Sam Allison - Bio A gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer who has toured and performed with Hawksley Workman, The Silver Hearts, Mantler, Serena Ryder, Martin Tielli, Jon Southworth, Jon McCutcheon, Washboard Hank, Richard Underhill, Heather Banbrick, Peter Appleyard, The Royal Jelly Orchestra, and Jono Grant. Sam has performed as principal banjoist for the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra. He can be found in Peterborough, Ontario in his studio playing one of dozens of instruments including euphonium, double-bass, gourd banjos, tympani, tubular bells, vibraphone, erhu, celeste, jaw harps, ravnahattha beena, saranghi, shruti box, bass harmonica and a triangle. Since 1999, Sam has regularly toured through the southern and eastern United States where he has studied and performed extensively as a clinician in traditional music and dance with Canadian fiddle band Flapjack. During this time, Sam has become heavily involved in the technique and repertoire of the banjo and fiddle, visiting and studying with traditional musicians of the American South. Sam has just completed his first banjo album with his band Lotus Wight. Sam now has his recording studio in Peterborough, Ontario with engineer/producer Christopher Culgin where he composes for films, studies fiddle and makes his home. Sam also studies with Hindustani vocalist Vinayak Phatak in Toronto. He is busy working on his second record and planning a work\study trip to India in the fall of 2006.

Sam Allison emigrated to Canada from London, England with his family in the autumn of 1970. Born to Dutch-Indonesian heritage, he was encouraged by his family to explore cultures other than his own in music, art and cuisine. By his pre-teens Sam was involved in music amongst his school friends, leading bands as a guitar player, performing traditional ragtime and acoustic blues. Before attending Humber College as an Upright Bass and Composition major in 1993, Sam studied classical guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Music, with guitarist Don Ross, and John Campana as a sitar student at the University of Toronto. After touring, television and studio time with many Canadian performing artists as a bass player, Sam took a position as Music Director for the Canadia del’Arte Theatre Company in 1998, performing, conducting and co-composing with Christopher Cummings, earning two Dora Maver-Moore nominations for excellence in theatrical music under director Peter Rietzel. This lead to Sam’s involvement in film scoring.(see filmography)