Sam Chung is an aspiring jazz artist from San Juan Capistrano, California. Sam attended OCSA and experienced a defining moment while competing at the National Essentially Ellington Competition in New York City with his schoolmates, which has led him on a path to pursue his studies in jazz performance. Sam also attended the Colburn School of Music. Since then, he has garnered the attention of many musicians, including John Clayton, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, and Victor Goines.

In 2025, Sam was selected as the National Grand Prize Winner for the Gerry Mulligan Jazz Challenge. He was also selected for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (NYO Jazz), and he will travel to Latin America for a five-concert tour with Grammy award winner Luciana Souza. He was also the recipient of the “Outstanding Tripler” award at Essentially Ellington in 2023. Sam has performed at many places, including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City, and will perform with NYO Jazz at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Sean Jones.

Sam is passionate about being an ambassador of jazz. He has been extremely fortunate to have received phenomenal mentorship from world-class musicians at a young age. His goal is to bring the joy of jazz to people of all ages and groups, as the music has taken such care of him.