Maggie Hasspacher is a bassist, vocalist and songwriter based in Vancouver, BC. Originally from the Detroit area, she recently joined the VSO School of Music faculty and St James Music Academy as a bass teacher and has performed as an extra musician with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. While earning her doctorate from the University of Michigan in double bass performance, she belonged to the Flint Symphony Orchestra and served as principal bassist of the Midland Symphony Orchestra. From 2015-2021, she traveled to Switzerland for five summers to perform in the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra and, subsequently, the Composer’s Project and the Alumni Orchestra. She is a member of Grammy-nominated new music ensemble Wild Up based in Los Angeles and has premiered nine new works for vocalist/bassist as a single performer from various composers such as Timo Andres and Sarah Gibson. As a songwriter, her original tunes are released through labels Purple Mollusk Music and R-Team Duo Recordings. She is thrilled to join the Kamloops Symphony as a core member and bring her husband and two small girls to enjoy concerts there.

Currently residing in the Okanagan valley, Sam McNally is an active member of the musical community. As a performer, Sam is passionate about storytelling and showcasing the horn’s technicolor range. He can routinely be found performing with the Kamloops and Okanagan Symphonies and in various chamber settings throughout the valley. Sam is currently on faculty at the Penticton Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, where he teaches horn, trumpet, and alphorn.

Originally from Calgary, Sam began his studies with Laurie Matiation before departing for the University of Victoria (B.Mus. 2017) in 2013. In Victoria, and while studying with Kurt Kellan, Sam was often performing with the Victoria Symphony and Palm Court Light Orchestra in addition to the university orchestra, wind symphony, and brass quintet. In 2015, Sam was appointed principal horn of the Kamloops Symphony, a position he held for the remaining two seasons of his degree. Notably, Sam won the UVic concerto competition twice performing R.Strauss’ 1st horn concerto (2016) and R.Schumann’s Konzertstück (2017). After graduating in 2017, Sam travelled to London where he attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (M.Mus. 2018) on the Orchestral Artistry course. There he studied with David Pyatt, Sue Dent, Nico Fleury, and Alec Frank-Gemmill. Guildhall offered many opportunities such as working with the LSO in both performance and education capacities, collaboration across disciplines throughout the school, and world-class instruction though guest conductors, masterclasses, and lectures.

When not playing horn, Sam enjoys cooking and consuming good food, reading, and hanging out with his cat, Spooky.