Samuel Holmberg Organist and Liturgical Music Associate

Samuel Holmberg has been the Principal Organist and Liturgical Music Associate at The Basilica of Saint Mary in downtown Minneapolis since September 2021. He directs the Missa Choralis Series and Chorus Cantorum.

Prior to his appointment at the Basilica, Samuel served as the Diocesan and Cathedral Director of Sacred Music at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, Michigan, and as the Sacred Music Intern at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (M.M.) and Luther College (B.A.), he holds degrees in organ performance, literature and sacred music. Principal teachers include David Higgs, William Porter, Gregory Peterson and 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 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 Stephen Paulus, Philip Moore and David Briggs. He holds memberships with the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (CRCCM), the American Guild of Organists (AGO), and the North American Branch of the Herbert Howells Society.