Samuel Holmberg Organist and Associate Director of Music

Samuel Holmberg is the Organist and Associate Director of Music at The Basilica of Saint Mary in downtown Minneapolis. He directs the Missa Choralis Series, coordinates the cantor and psalmist ministry, and plans The Basilica’s weddings. Prior to his appointment at The Basilica, he held positions at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, Michigan and at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the Adjunct Professor of Organ at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he teaches undergraduate students in the music department and graduate students in the School of Theology. He serves on the executive board of the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (TCAGO).

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Luther College, Samuel holds degrees in organ performance, literature, and sacred music. His principal teachers include David Higgs, William Porter, Dr. Gregory Peterson and Dr. Lynn Trapp. He studied improvisation and repertoire with visiting Professors Michel Bouvard (Paris Conservatoire) and Edoardo Bellotti (Conservatories of Trento, Italy and Trossingen, Germany). He is a former co-chair of the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI), a global center for organ performance, research, building and preservation. Further study was in a program for select undergraduate students at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music.

Samuel has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He has recorded for Minnesota Public Radio in solo and ensemble roles and has been featured on Pipedreams, a radio program supporting the art in sacred and concert venues. He has given the world premiere of several newly commissioned works, including works by Philip Moore, David Briggs, and the late Stephen Paulus. He holds memberships with the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and the North American Branch of the Herbert Howells Society in the UK.