Samuel Andreyev (born Samuel Curnoe Andreeff; 15 April 1981) is a Canadian-French composer, singer-songwriter, poet and educator. As of 2021, he had completed about 30 works, nearly all of which have been recorded commercially. His YouTube channel, his videos, interviews and podcasts have been viewed extensively. He has resided in France since 2003 and currently teaches at the

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg The Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ("University of Music Freiburg or Freiburg Conservatory of Music") is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music. ...

and at the Strasbourg Center of the University of Syracuse.

Life and career

Andreyev was born and raised in Kincardine, Ontario, moving with his family to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1988. There he enrolled in

The Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto C ...

, studying

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

, as well as

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

. Additionally, he experimented on his own, fascinated by rare instruments and the possibilities offered by recording technology. While living in Toronto, he recorded 8 albums of songs, ran a small publishing house devoted to experimental poetry, performed with a troupe of local musicians, and completed his first acknowledged composition, ''Le malheur adoucit les pierres'' for wind trio. He settled in Paris in 2003 to study composition, initially with

Allain Gaussin Allain Gaussin (born 6 November 1943) is a noted French composer. Gaussin was born in Saint-Sever-Calvados, Normandy. He is a laureate of the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP) where he studied with Olivier ...

, then with

Frédéric Durieux Frédéric Durieux (born 27 February 1959, Paris) is a French composer of orchestral, vocal, and chamber works. He is a professor of composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice an ...

at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

. Shortly after graduating, he was named a member of the Académie de France à Madrid and offered a 1-year artistic residency at the Casa de Velázquez. Upon returning to France in 2013, he took up teaching positions, initially at the Conservatoire de Cambrai, and later at the Strasbourg Center of the University of Syracuse, and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. In the mid-2010s his work began to receive much wider attention, receiving major awards, including the Grand Prix du concours

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and R ...

in 2012 for his composition ''Night Division''. He settled in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in 2014. Starting in 2015, he embarked upon an ambitious project of making commercial recordings of all of his works. So far, 3 portrait CDs have been issued along with many individual works on various labels. In 2018, he was named a member of the music council of the Fondation Prince Pierre de

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. In 2024, he became a French citizen.

Poetry

Also a poet and writer, Andreyev has published two collection of poems: ''Evidence'' was issued in 2009 by Quattro Books of Toronto; ''The Relativistic Empire'' was published by Bookthug in 2015. A book of conversations about his life and work, written in collaboration with the French composer and musicologist Etienne Kippelen, was scheduled to be issued in the fall of 2021.

Punditry and teaching

Andreyev has engaged in discussions on music and culture framed by conservative and reactionary ideologies. He has appeared as a guest on Konstantin Kisin's ''TRIGGERnometry'' for the episode "Making Music in a Woke World" and

Jordan Peterson Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator. He received widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues. Often described as Conservatism, conservativ ...

's eponymous podcast. In October 2023, Andreyev spoke at the Arc Forum, organized by the privately owned Christian center-right Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. In addition to his teaching at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and Syracuse University, Andreyev teaches the history of Western music for the Peterson Academy, an online, for-profit school. In February 2025, Andreyev delivered a presentation on the current state of music composition education at the "Renewal and Renaissance" symposium, held at the private, unaccredited, and self-described "traditional"

Ralston College Ralston College is a private unaccredited liberal arts college in Savannah, Georgia. It describes itself as being dedicated to "freedom of thought and speech", and is associated with prominent conservative figures, with Stephen Blackwood as pr ...

, which has been described by its founder Stephen Blackwood as an alternative to "leftist indoctrination centers." In his opening remarks, Blackwood framed the symposium around the "renewal of human culture" against the "neo-Marxist worldview." For his part, Andreyev closed his presentation with an imperative to cast off "this stale, outworn, inadequate post-war model of public financing and institutional entrenchment of the arts." In May 2025, the far-right Australian literary, cultural, and political journal,

Quadrant (magazine) ''Quadrant'' is a conservatism in Australia, conservative Australian Literary magazine, literary, cultural, and political journal, which publishes both online and printed editions. , ''Quadrant'' mainly publishes commentary, essays and opinion p ...

, published an interview with Andreyev by music editor

Alexander Voltz Alexander Donald Kenneth Voltz (born 13 April 1999) is an Australian composer. He is also known for his political stance as a monarchist. In 2024, Voltz won the Symphonic Category of the George Enescu International Competition for his orchestral ...

Select discography

Compositions

*''Le malheur adoucit les pierres'' for bass flute, English horn and bassoon (2002) *''Music with no Edges'' for five instruments (2004) *''Passages'' for clarinet (2005) *''Stopping'' for two vibraphones (2006) *''Nets Move Slowly, Yet'' for ensemble (2006) *''Night Division'' for ensemble (2008–10) *''Vérifications'' for ensemble (2012) *''A propos du concert de la semaine dernière'' for piano and 7 instruments (2013–15) *''Strasbourg Quartet'' for flute, clarinet, percussion and cello (2014–15) *''Piano Pieces I-IV'' for piano (2011–16) *''Iridescent Notation'' cantata on texts by

Tom Raworth Thomas Moore Raworth (19 July 1938 – 8 February 2017) was an English-Irish poet, publisher, editor, and teacher who published over 40 books of poetry and prose during his life. His work has been translated and published in many countries. Rawor ...

for soprano and ensemble (2012–17)

Albums

* ''In Glow of Like Seclusion'' (London: Divine Art, 2023) * ''Iridescent Notation'' (Vienna: Kairos Records, 2020) * ''Music with no Edges'' (Vienna: Kairos Records, 2018) * ''Moving'' (Paris: Klarthe Records, 2016) * ''Compositeurs de la Casa de Velázquez'' (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez 2013) * ''The Tubular West'' (Toronto: Torpor Vigil Records 2013) * ''Songs of Elsewhere'' (Toronto: Torpor Vigil Records 2002) * ''Swollows'' (Toronto: Torpor Vigil Records 2000)

Bibliography

* 2009 - Evidence * 2015 - The Relativistic Empire * 2018 - A Needy Chap

References

Sources

* ''Evidence'' (Toronto: Quattro Books, 2009)

External links

Samuel Andreyev's YouTube channel

Samuel Andreyev's personal web site

Impronta Edition (Mannheim), publisher of Samuel Andreyev’s music

Samuel Andreyev's biography
on Cdmc website {{DEFAULTSORT:Andreyev, Samuel 1981 births Living people People from Bruce County The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Canadian composers Canadian male poets Singers from Ontario 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian expatriates in France 21st-century Canadian composers Poets from Ontario