Samuel Gapp is a German pianist, composer and interdisciplinary artist based in Lisbon, Portugal.
Gapp is active as a pianist in improvised and contemporary music. As a composer, he works in the field of classical contemporary music as well as improvised and jazz music.

Since 2019, he has received various awards for his work as a pianist and composer:
Prémio de Composição Bernardo Sassetti (2019, for Trio & String Quartet)
Prémio Jovens Músicos (2019)
Prémio de Composição Francisco de Lacerda (2022, for Orchestra)
Prémio MUSA (2022, for Ensemble).

Gapp has realised various interdisciplinary projects, working with visual artists and video, often exploring an improvisational approach to artistic creation.

As a founding member of the cultural association “Co.Ac”, the record label ”Habitable Records” and being part of “CI Community Project”, he is collaborating with artists all over the world and creating an international platform that aims for exchange, equality and musical research.

Gapp is also active in an educational and social context: In 2014, he spent six months in Ecuador, where he taught music to socially disadvantaged children in the city of Guayaquil. In 2021 and 2022, he performed at the Big Bang Festival in Lisbon, an European music festival for young audiences.

Gapp studied jazz piano and composition at the “Hochschule für Musik und Tanz” in Cologne, Germany and the ”Escola Superior de Música” in Lisbon, Portugal.

So far, he has worked with musicians and institutions like Peter Evans, Nicholas McNair, John O’Gallagher, Michael Schiefel, João Lencastre, Rodrigo Amado, Hot Clube de Portugal, Universidade Lusíada, Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, Centro Cultural de Belém, Orquestra Metropolitana, Ensemble MPMP, among others.

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Photo by Vera Marmelo