About

Maxim Samarov is an award-winning composer with an eclectic style that speaks directly to audiences’ emotions and shared humanity. His compositional voice draws inspiration from wide-ranging influences such as film soundtracks, Italian verismo, and the symphonies of Shostakovich. These elements, along with Samarov’s passion for social activism, are woven into an incisive musical language that enriches and connects with audiences from all backgrounds.

His commitment to storytelling through music, especially stories that haven’t been told but need to be spoken, has manifested in many of his pieces, particularly opera. Samarov’s newest work-in-progress, the opera Behrman’s Masterpiece, is a modern retelling of the short story by O. Henry The Last Leaf. With a libretto by the composer, it expands the boundaries of queer representation in opera. After participating in a workshop performance of fragments from the opera, mezzo-soprano Rachel Steinke stated: “I am so in love with this opera. It’s the first time I’ve seen queerness represented in opera, and it is so beautiful and validating of my experience as a bisexual person.” Behrman’s Masterpiece is currently being workshopped by Tulane Opera with workshop performances coming up in March and a full production in November 2024.

His song cycle, “Alexandrian Love Songs,” which was premiered by the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra in 2022, is set in ancient Egypt and centers on a love story between two men. The monodrama “Falling…” (2021) was given a staged performance by Tulane Opera Workshop in 2021 and tells the story of an abusive relationship from a woman’s perspective. Composer Michael Rihner noted the mastery of form, phrasing, and colorful orchestration in these pieces, saying both are “exceptionally well-crafted works.”

Samarov collaborated with the renowned New Orleans artist and cultural icon, Big Chief Juan Pardo, in an immersive piece titled Birth of a Culture. The work incorporates full orchestra with dancers, actors, and a Mardi Gras Indian tribe to celebrate the music and dance traditions that date back over two hundred years. This electrifying new work was premiered by the Louisiana Philharmonic on January 25, 2024. A US tour of the piece is in the works.

Samarov’s many compositions include a symphony, guitar concerto (slated to premiere in June 2024), string quartet, multiple chamber works, and operas. His cantata for soprano, bass, and chamber orchestra, Ars Moriendi, was a winner of the American Prize for Orchestral Composition, Professional Division, in 2020, garnering much praise. Composer Kevin Scott said the work “grips the soul and mind of the listener and performers alike….” Music Director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Markand Thakar, also noted: “I am very moved, and very impressed. This is a very serious work of art.”

His piece for string orchestra, Musica Dolorosa, was premiered by the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra in 2020. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Quintet performed his Wind Quintet (2009-2010) in 2011 and his Little Suite for 10 Winds has been performed by Tulane Chamber Winds on multiple occasions. 

An accomplished conductor, Samarov is the co-founder and music director of the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble that is committed to presenting works of local interest with ties to the city’s rich cultural history and classical music traditions. Since its founding in 2016, NOCO has premiered multiple new pieces by New Orleans composers. In addition to conducting premieres of his own work and those of his contemporaries, Samarov enjoys conducting canonical symphonic repertoire, often pairing standard orchestral pieces with new works, building sonic bridges between the past and present. He has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras in Bulgaria and Romania and made his operatic debut in 2014, conducting Verdi’s Rigoletto at the State Opera Burgas in Bulgaria. He later conducted Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Verdi’s La Traviata at the State Opera Stara Zagora, also in Bulgaria.

Samarov’s social activism often finds outlets in his musical endeavors. In 2019, his ensemble, the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra, partnered with New-Orleans-based nonprofit organization Operation Restoration to create a concert series titled Restoration Through Music, which provides classical music experiences for incarcerated women in Louisiana. The program aims to alleviate the imbalance of music and arts programs between men’s and women’s prisons in the state and offer equivalent opportunities for incarcerated women.

He is also involved with Make Music NOLA, an organization inspired by El Sistema that provides music education access and opportunities to children who are eligible for free lunch in Orleans Parish. Samarov teaches and works with Tulane University’s Center for Public Service to connect student teachers with these communities for intensive music training.

A devoted educator, Samarov serves as orchestra director for Tulane University where he also teaches music theory, chamber music, and conducting. He is in demand as a high school and youth orchestra clinician and has given countless successful and captivating workshops within this setting. He previously held faculty positions at Luther College in Iowa and St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

Born in Moscow, Russia, to a family of musicians, he began playing cello at age five, studying at the Moscow Conservatory Junior College and later at the Jerusalem Music Academy. Samarov has performed extensively as a cello soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra member across Russia, Europe, Israel, and the US, including multiple appearances as a substitute cellist with Louisiana Philharmonic. He received his graduate conducting degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City and Michigan State University, as well as an Artist Certificate in cello performance from Southern Methodist University. His doctoral thesis focuses on interpretations and underlying meanings in Shostakovich’s Fourteenth Symphony, a work that has captivated his imagination since childhood. He lives in New Orleans with his wife, Tanya, and their son, Julian.