Sam Pilnick is a Chicago based Saxophonist, Multi-Instrumentalist and Music Educator. Sam Pilnick received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Jazz Studies at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam and his Masters Degree in Jazz Performance from Western Michigan University. His teachers were at the Crane School were Christopher Creviston, Robert Young, Bret Zvacek, and Marsha Baxter and studied with Andrew Rathbun, Jeremy Siskind, Scott Cowan, Keith Hall and Edward Simon at Western Michigan University. 

At the Crane School of Music, Sam could be seen performing with many different ensembles including the Crane Jazz Ensemble, Crane Latin Ensemble, Crane Concert Band and Crane New Music Ensemble, as well as various small university & community jazz groups.  At Western Michigan University, Sam’s graduate studies were focused on Jazz Improvisation, Composition, and History. He was a member of the Western Jazz Orchestra and WMU Advanced Jazz Ensemble. Sam was an active composer for the Advanced Jazz Ensemble, writing and arranging music for their 2016 Environment Project, in addition to arranging music for their 2015 concert with Randy Brecker.  At Western Michigan University, Sam also shared the stage with Edward Simon, Miguel Zenon, Lucas Pino, Terell Stafford, Debrah Brown and WMU's Mas Que Nada and Gold Company.

As a Music Educator, Sam is a New York and Illinois State K – 12 Certified music teacher. Sam has worked in various academic settings throughout the Chicagoland area. He is currently the band director at Thornridge High School, winning many accolades during his tenure within this prestigious south suburban program.  

As a performer and composer, Sam explores and performs in a variety of styles including jazz, contemporary, electronic, and creative music for a variety of ensembles and solo works. He leads The Sam Pilnick Project, who released three EP’s Skylark (2019), Pure Imagination (2018) and East Coast Transplant (2017). He also leads and composes for his new ensemble Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project, which is heavily influenced by Sam’s love of big band music, small group improvisations and the desire to explore different timbral experiences, while utilizing traditional jazz instruments. The Nonet Project released their first album The Adler Suite in the spring of 2021 to national and international acclaim. In 2025 the Nonet is set to release their sophomore album The Project. Sam is also a freelance musician in Chicago who performs monthly with John Dorhauer’s Heisenberg Uncertainty Players and Devin Fanslow’s Bathawk.