Porgy and Bess Reviews:

 

Gershwin’s impressive choral writing was beautifully served by Samuel Bill’s small but accomplished vocal ensemble.

-South Florida Classical Review

Between stage director Charles Randolph-Wright and conductor Samuel Bill, the opening-night performance really crackled and sported turbocharged voices.

-The Dallas Morning News

I hope Samuel Bill reveled in the standing ovation, as his ensemble indeed earned some of it. He conducted a precise, colorful ensemble.

-KCMetropolis.org

The orchestra, conducted by Samuel Bill, was well integrated into the production, the instrumental underpinnings beautifully balanced with the chorus and soloists.

-Classical Voice of New England

Emmeline Reviews:

 

That so much of what Mr. Picker intended came through here despite uneven, sometimes scrappy orchestral playing was both a sign of his sure craftsmanship and a testament to Mr. Bill’s capacity for keeping things on track. The vocal ensemble provided creditable work and in some cases considerably more.

-The New York Times

Conductor Samuel Bill deftly accomplished the reduction from full orchestra. Bill's orchestration never overpowered the singers, yet it managed to convey the timbral essence of Picker's original score. In the context of Dicapo's small theater, one did not miss the larger orchestral forces.

-Opera News (Jan, 2011 - Vol 75, No. 7)

Samuel Bill led his orchestra in a very fine performance, whether the texture of the music was thick or thin. When sweep was needed it was there, as was a lovely almost transparent delicacy.

-ConcertoNet.com

Conductor Samuel Bill, who also arranged the chamber-orchestra version, paced the evening skillfully, and there was some impressive playing…

-The Wall Street Journal

Samuel Bill, conductor and arranger of the reduction, led the 25 piece orchestra with purpose, effectively conveying the dark ambience of Picker’s intense, inexorable score, the lightened texture notwithstanding. There were times I wished for more reprieve from the loud, sustained, linear lines required of the singers and strings, but it certainly served the heaviness of this drama. The atmospheric winds in the first act, as well as the sudden thinning of the musical texture at Matthew’s entrance were welcome respite, and Emmeline’s attraction to this lighter spirit was clear, but he seemed to join the heaviness all too soon. Still, the unified instrumental texture created a through-line to the opera, rendered particularly necessary by inconsistent staging.

-Operaticus

'La Bohème'Excellent singing by the cast, in addition to the orchestra's unflagging energy under Samuel Bill's baton, made it possible for the audience to concentrate on intriguing production details and nuanced performances. A wealth of subtle interpretive moves unfolded throughout the production, and singers enlivened familiar roles with fresh insight.

-Opera News

...Samuel Bill, and the orchestra, gave a clear rendition of the score, especially in the overture, and drove the singers in the delightful and quick tutti scene ending Act I. (L'Italiana in Algeri).

-Worcester Telegram.

Mozart's Sublime Comic Confection...The ensemble singing was often ravishing in its blend of vocal colors in just the right balance. The comic and dramatic interplay were also first rate, particularly in the trio in act one, the sextet in act three and the finale. I have never heard the ensembles in Figaro performed better.
The orchestra, ably conducted by Samuel Bill, was first rate, achieving just the right balance of effervescence and poignancy. The sound of the woodwinds was particularly lovely.

-ConcertoNet.com (Le Nozze di Figaro)

...Conductor Samuel Bill led a well-paced performance. ...Mozart's magic was well conveyed by this dedicated company.

-Joseph Dalton, Times Union.

...A septet of strings, woodwinds and percussion accompanied the opera precisely under conductor Samuel Bill, who kept it all together throughout the shifting meters.

- Grace Jean, The Washington Post.

At Weill Hall that evening a mixed programme featured violinist Dimitri Hadjipetkov, cellist Kalin Ivanov, the Forte String Quartet and the Manhattan Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra conducted by Samuel Bill. The highlight was a rough-and-ready yet immensely appealing account of Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, a work most often encountered in large halls. Weill's intimate accoustics may have exposed every one of the string players but it also allowed them to offer an ensemble sonority which underlined the work's concertino/ripieno contrast.

- The Strad Magazine.

Conducted by Samuel Bill, the event marked the third season of the Bethesda Summer Music Festival, a two-week grass-roots project featuring young professionals, backed up by students ranging from college to elementary school age.
...Bill carefully paced the singers and tiny orchestra (strings, percussion and piano) at an easy gait, finely attuned to the needs of individual soloists ...

- Cecelia Porter, The Washington Post