Sam DeCaprio

We are absolutely thrilled to present the fifth season of the Arazzo Music Festival in Connecticut from June 7-27, 2026! Over the coming days, we will introduce each of the incredible artists who will be making music with us next month 🎉🥳 But first, for those who may not know me—my name is Sam DeCaprio (@samdecap ), and I’m the founder and artistic director of Arazzo 🤓 📸: @den_sweeney — A dynamic leader at the intersection of performance and cultural advocacy, cellist Samuel DeCaprio is a rising arts executive, curator, and educator dedicated to redefining the role of the modern musician. As the Founder and Artistic Director of the Arazzo Music Festival, DeCaprio oversees the executive administration, strategic development, and artistic curation of the Connecticut-based nonprofit. Since its inception in 2022, he has transformed the festival into a vital vehicle for the democratization of classical music, providing free, high-caliber chamber music and community-focused educational programming through partnerships with diverse cultural institutions. His administrative work is further supported by state-level recognition, as he is a multi-year recipient of the Supporting Arts Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. DeCaprio’s executive leadership is grounded in an elite academic pedigree, culminating in a Doctor of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School, where he served as a C.V. Starr Fellow and a Teaching Assistant to the late Joel Krosnick. An active chamber musician and recording artist, DeCaprio’s festival appearances include Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, IMS Prussia Cove, Kneisel Hall, Meadowmount, and Orford Musique. He has collaborated with many of the industry’s most distinguished artists, including Atar Arad, Paul Biss, Natasha Brofsky, Steven Doane, Vladimir Feltsman, Joseph Lin, Daniel Phillips, David Shifrin, Barry Snyder, and Irma Vallecillo. Through his dual roles as a performer and executive, DeCaprio continues to advocate for a more inclusive and innovative future for the classical music industry.

a bit of a longer video today, as I wanted to get through these two lines of music 🎶 the dynamic and character here required me to focus on keeping my hands very light and relaxed as possible, and was a great exercise in bow control! Just one more phrase until this project is over 🤓 Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 (mm. 93-104) #cello #cellopractice #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #music

autocorrect wanted to change “Kol Nidrei” into “Lol Nidrei,” and that’s exactly how my practice is feeling tonight—do you ever have days when everything seems to be going wrong in your playing?! 🤣😩😭 Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 (mm. 87-91) #cello #cellopractice #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #music

rainy day practicing 🌧️ this passage always feels uncomfortable because of the string crossings—there probably is a better fingering to use here but this is always what I’ve done 🤷🏻‍♂️ gotta keep practicing for ease and smoothness, and filming this clip is reminding me that I need to work on my contact point 😅😅😅 Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 (mm. 81-86) #cello #cellopractice #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #music

Was super lucky earlier this year to get to perform @graemesteelejohnson ‘s beautiful new arrangement of Debussy Afternoon of a Faun with these rockstars!! In the mean time have been doing A LOT of wonderful reading about all of the things influencing the piece and the music of the time so thought it would be fun to share our performance @themorganlibrary with Mallarmé’s poetry of an afternoon delight…. 🦌 💭 Don’t sleep on these legends @stellafaychen @siwooviolin @melodiousmatt1 @samdecap @s3suggs @bridgetkibbey @graemesteelejohnson

We are delighted to welcome cellist Samuel DeCaprio @samdecap to the American Young Artists Association. A dynamic soloist, chamber musician, and educator, Samuel has appeared across the U.S. and abroad, earning top honors including the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant from The Juilliard School, the Aldo Parisot Prize at Yale, and Eastman’s Performer’s Certificate. His New York debut featured the North American premiere of Grażyna Bacewicz’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall. An active collaborator and advocate for contemporary music, Samuel has performed with ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, and the Princeton Symphony, with recordings on Delos, ECM, MSR Classics, and Nonesuch. He is also the founder of the Arazzo Music Festival and creator of Project Mx2, commissioning and championing new works for the cello. We look forward to Samuel’s artistry, vision, and continued contributions to the AYA community. #AYA #americanyoungartists #cellist #juilliard #dma

Shostakovich X Milkshake 🔥 the collab you didn’t know you needed to hear today 😝 taught this piece earlier and thought to try it with 🥛🫨 — sorry for the dark atmosphere (daylight savings is the worst!) — #cello #celloplayer #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #milkshake #shostakovich

another day, another phrase 🥳 I struggle with procrastination sometimes when I get super busy, but I want to get through this piece before moving on to something else 😅 Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 (mm. 76-81) #cello #cellopractice #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #music

it’s a rainy day in NY/CT and this phrase feels quite fitting for the weather 🥹 this project has been super delayed because I’ve been so busy and distracted with other things, but I’m hoping to finish getting through this piece on here soon 😇 Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 (mm. 67-75) #cello #cellopractice #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #music

happy 1st birthday to my Gnocchi Acorn 🥹 actually feeling a bit emotional today that it’s already been one year since this best boy was born—he really is the sweetest boy one could ever hope for and every minute with him has been very special since his gotcha day 🥰 there are far too many photos to share, but swipe through to see his first headshot that captured my heart a year ago 🩵 — #dachshund #minidachshund #minidoxiesofinstagram #dog #dogsofinstagram #birthdayboy

finally starting to feel like fall this week 🍂 thank you @den_sweeney for capturing these photos for the new season 💁🏻‍♂️ and a HUGE thank you to @coregami for the fits for this photo shoot! I’m wearing “The Coltrane” in this shot 🤩 — #cello #celloplayer #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #musician #headshot #photoshoot #coregami

coming out of my posting hiatus so that I can finish getting through the rest of this Bruch—it’s been a while 🤪 Looking forward to my upcoming season of performing and teaching! 🎶 Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 (mm. 52-59) #cello #cellopractice #cellist #cellistsofinstagram #music