THE SCHOLARSHIP HOLDERS
Violin
Samuel Nebyu
The Ethiopian-Hungarian violinist Samuel Nebyu has performed as a soloist at international music festivals and venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, Berlin’s Philharmonie, the KKL in Lucerne, Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Marian Anderson Hall and the Perelman Theater in Philadelphia, the Centre of Performing Arts in Brussels (BOZAR), Peles Castle in Romania, the “Grosser Saal” at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Teatro Mayor in Colombia and Gran Teatro Nacional in Peru.
His first CD, “Music by Composers of African Descent,” was released on the BCM+D label and named Album of the Week by WRTI radio in Philadelphia and WQXR in New York. Samuel Nebyu is featured on a second CD, “Majestic Classics,” performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the iPalpiti Chamber Orchestra and violist Juan Miguel Hernandez. In 2019, he was the featured soloist at the Kimmel Center’s Marian Anderson Hall in Philadelphia, performing the concerto for violin with choir and orchestra “Singing Rooms” by Jennifer Higdon, and also gave a recital with Lambert Orkis in Rock Hall, Philadelphia.
Samuel Nebyu has received a commendation from the city of Los Angeles after his performance at the Walt Disney Hall in 2019. In October 2019, Samuel Nebyu joined Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Virtuosi on her sixth tour with the exclusive soloist ensemble. He performed Mendelssohn’s Octet and Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with Anne-Sophie Mutter.
In January 2021, during the lockdown, Samuel Nebyu performed a recital with Charles Abramovic on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Philadelphia virtually for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Also in 2021, Samuel Nebyu joined Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mutter’s Virtuosi on a month-long tour of Europe, giving 19 performances in Austria, Denmark, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Samuel Nebyu had the privilege to perform the Swiss premiere of Unsuk Chin’s “Gran Cadenza” for two violins with Anne-Sophie Mutter at the KKL in Lucerne. In September 2022, he performed at the Lucerne Festival with pianist Charles Abramovic, presenting a recital of composers of color, which included a world premiere written for Samuel Nebyu, “Grey Fireworks” by composer Tyson Davis.
Following Samuel’s Lucerne Festival debut recital, his performance was broadcasted on Switzerland’s Radio SRF 2 Kultur (Im Konzertsaal) and featured on American public radio via Performance Today, airing on stations including WCLV 90.3 Ideastream (Cleveland) and Minnesota Public Radio’s MPR Classical.
Samuel always had an interest in teaching the next generation of young musicians and has been teaching at Temple University (2019-2022), giving masterclasses at the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles in 2023, and the Denver Youth Orchestra programs in 2025.
Samuel has joined the 2023 Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Virtuosi tours, where, with Anne Sophie Mutter and her exclusive ensemble, they have toured Europe and the United States, performing more than twenty concerts together. This particular tour also included an incredible Deutsche Grammophon recording and video recording that was produced from the concert at the Musikverein Wien.
In 2023, Samuel was appointed Resident Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. A year after being in Los Angeles, Samuel Nebyu was appointed the Assistant Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in 2024. In 2025 Samuel has been appointed the Principal First Violinist of the UAE National Orchestra.
September 2025

