Oklahoma City University : Bass School of Music

OCU : Bass School of Music : Faculty

< Back to Faculty List

Samuel Formicola
Adjunct Instructor of Violin/Viola

Email: sformicola@okcu.edu
Phone: (405) 208-5647
Office: BC A207

Samuel Formicola, was appointed to the faculty of the Bass School of Music in 2011. He is a violinist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and has held positions with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, and Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia, and has worked extensively with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He toured Mexico with the Orchestra of the Californias and has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, and the San Diego and Pacific Symphonies. He has also performed during the summer at Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo. Formicola has worked in Hollywood studios for the past 12 years, performing on the soundtrack of more than 200 films and playing on commercial recordings and on two Grammy Awards telecasts.

Formicola received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with Camilla Wicks. He later studied in Oslo, Norway, for two years, earning an Artist Diploma degree at the Barratt-Dues Musikkinstitutt, studying with Stephan Barratt-Due. While in Norway, Formicola was leader/conductor of his school's youth chamber orchestra, performed the Korngold violin concerto with the Stavanger Symphony, and held a position with the Oslo Philharmonic, touring extensively throughout Europe under the direction of Mariss Jansons. He later studied at the European Mozart Academy in Krakow, Poland, performing chamber works in Krakov, Prague and Florence.

He has performed with pianist Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio, pianist Jeffrey Kahane and members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, violinists Cho-Liang Lin and Scott Yoo, violist Paul Colleti, cellist Alyssa Weilerstein, the Capitol Ensemble, the Vista Trio (with Andrew Cook and Shari Raynor), the Debussy Trio, the New Hollywood String Quartet, and the California String Quartet. He has performed at the LA County Museum of Art on KMZT's live program, "Sundays Live" on several occasions.

Samuel was a co-founder of the Gold Coast Chamber Music Festival in Woodland Hills, Calif., and teaches there every summer, as well as at the Masterworks Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana.