Hailed as 'a major new talent' International Piano and a ‘pianist of splendid individuality’ Arts Desk English pianist Sam Armstrong made solo debut recitals at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in New York as well as at the Wigmore Hall in London, and as concerto soloist with the National Symphony of Ecuador.

Passionate about chamber music, he has performed with musicians including Elina Buksha, Valeriy Sokolov, Krzysztof Chorleski, Viviane Hagner, Hannah Roberts, Ralph Kirshbaum, Alban Gerhardt, Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer and Pablo Barragan. He has appeared at festivals including Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Krzyzowa Music, Mecklenburg-Vorpommen, Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, Ravinia and in venues such as Seoul Arts Centre, Esplanade Singapore, Kumho Art Hall Seoul, and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. He has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Radio Suisse-Romande/Espace 2, NPO Radio 4, WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago and Radio New Zealand.

Sam maintains a regular partnership with the soprano Katharine Dain, releasing their first album “Regards sur l’Infini” in November 2020. The disc received major critical acclaim and won the prestigious Edison award in December 2021, the jury describing it as “a debut album that hit like a bomb”. It was also The Guardian’s classical album of the week, was selected amongst Het Parool and Trouw’s best classical albums of the year. The duo have given recitals in, amongst others, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, International Lied Festival Zeist, Wonderfeel Festival, Concertgebouw Brugge and De Doelen Rotterdam in 2022/2023. 

Sam was a prize winner in the Porto International Piano Competition, the Brant Piano Competition, Beethoven Society of Europe Competition, and was also laureate of the Epinal International Piano Competition in France. He also received awards from the Philharmonia Orchestra/MMSF, MBF/Help Musicians Fund, Wingate Foundation, Kirckman Concert Society and the Solti Foundation.

He studied with Helen Krizos in Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music and subsequently in New York with Richard Goode at Mannes College of Music, winning the most important awards for piano in both institutions: first prize in the RNCM Piano Recital Prize and the Nadia Reisenberg Debut Award from Mannes. He also worked with John O’Conor in Dublin and in masterclasses with Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler, Murray Perahia, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Roger Vignoles.

In September 2023, he joined the faculty of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London as Senior Tutor in Keyboard Chamber Music.