The Samford Quartet is part of the Division of Music in Samford's School of the Arts. In addition to teaching applied lessons, the quartet works closely with chamber music groups and the Samford Orchestra, gives regular concerts on campus and collaborates with School of the Arts faculty in a variety of projects.
Since its inception in 2011, the Samford String Quartet has enjoyed playing concerts in various parts of the United States and around the world. The quartet was launched through a generous endowment from the late Dr. Wilton Bunch and his wife Victoria, whose love for music and Samford University inspired their support.
The ensemble received critical acclaim from its premiere concert. The Birmingham News extolled its “finely blended sound” and “rhythmic energy”. They added, “This quartet is on a fast track to putting Samford and Birmingham on the chamber music map”. The Samford Quartet has performed together in England, France, the Dominican Republic, and throughout the United States. They performed a successful Carnegie Hall recital in 2016. In addition to performing standard quartet literature, the quartet is also interested in playing very new music, Appalachian music, and sacred music. In the spring of 2016, they gave the world premiere of Joel S. Davis’ first string quartet: Vespers. The Samford Quartet has also taken the initiative to play for thousands of students in schools across the United States. The players interact with the students through performances, teaching and masterclasses.
About the Quartet Members
The Samford String Quartet is made up of two married couples. They have previously held positions in major symphony orchestras, performed and taught at many music festivals, and performed as recitalists. As professors at Samford, they work closely with students in applied lessons, chamber music, orchestral studies and pedagogy. Samford University, founded in 1841, is a private university located in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.
Caroline Nordlund, Violin
Violinist, Caroline Nordlund, is a lecturer at Samford University where she teaches string methods, instrumental pedagogy, and plays in the Samford String Quartet. Caroline teaches violin at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and serves as the President of the Alabama chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
Caroline is on the faculty of the Lutheran Summer Music Festival, where she teaches violin and musicianship, and coaches chamber music and orchestra sectionals. While at LSM, she is a member of the Omega String Quartet and performs in a variety of chamber and solo concerts.
As an orchestral musician, Caroline has performed with the Alabama Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Northwest Indiana Symphony, and Augusta Symphony, and SC Philharmonic, among others. She is also a member of String Theory Birmingham, an instrumental pop group comprised of conservatory-trained musicians that plays an eclectic mix of original and modern pop songs arranged for string quartet and acoustic bass and drums.
In addition to teaching and performing, Caroline is an active adjudicator and presenter, giving sessions at the state and national levels. She is the former director of the Scrollworks Youth Music School in Birmingham, AL, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to making music instruction available to all.
Caroline earned a Master of Music in violin performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University as a student of Gerardo Ribeiro. At Northwestern, she was awarded the Richard and Helen Thomas Fellowship while a graduate assistant to Stacia Spencer and Dr. James Kjelland. Caroline is a former faculty member of the Northwestern University Music Academy where she taught violin and Kindermusik. As the assistant group director of Northwestern Strings, Caroline led her students on a tour of Italy as a part of the American Celebration of Music.
Caroline has attended the Meadowmount School of Music, Aspen Music Festival and School, Spoleto U.S.A. and Sewanee Summer Music Festivals. She has participated in masterclasses and additional studies with Mimi Zweig, Vadim Gluzman, Benny Kim, Chee-Yun, Herbert Greenberg, Ian Swensen, Axel Strauss and Thomas Moore.
Caroline is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the American String Teachers Association and the National Association for Music Education. Originally from Hartsville, South Carolina, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance.
Samuel Nordlund, Cello
Samuel Nordlund teaches cello and chamber music at Samford University in Birmingham,AL, where he is also a cellist in the Samford Quartet. He is a regular member of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and subs with the Alabama, Charleston (SC), and Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestras. Prior to moving to Alabama, he was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and a substitute player with the Chicago and Milwaukee symphony Orchestras. He holds a doctorate from the University of Alabama, a Masters from Northwestern University, and has performed at summer festivals including The Music Academy of the West, Meadowmount School of Music, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and the Brevard Music Center. Primary teachers have included Hans Jorgen Jensen and Carlton McCreery, he has additionally studied with Richard Aaron, Steven Geber, Alan Stepansky, Thomas Landschoot, and Patricia Pilon.
A member of the Samford Quartet since 2012, Samuel also is faculty at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival, he teaches cello, performs with the Omega Quartet, and directs the early music Collegium Musicum. Additional faculty engagements include teaching at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, and at Samford’s Piano and Chamber Music Institute.
Samuel is currently President of the Alabama Orchestra Foundation, which supports and organizes student orchestra functions across the state, including the All-State Orchestra Festival. Previously, he has served as Assistant Director of Performance Activities at the Music Institute of Chicago, and Music Director of Scrollworks and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Central Alabama. Samuel has guest conducted the Cave Run Symphony Orchestra (Morehead, KY), and the Alabama ASTA Honors Strings Festival Orchestra.
