About

I started playing violin at age four, before I learned to read. I have spent my life studying how artists engage in their process and practice.

I believe music is a common language, and as artists, our responsibility is to how our work makes people feel. As Maya Angelou wrote, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Do you want your audience to feel something the first moment they hear your work?

Whether you’re creating a film, song, podcast, or live event, emotional truth is what lingers. Too often, digital or MIDI strings sound polished but feel lifeless—technically correct, yet disconnected from the people and stories they’re meant to represent.

What if your strings carried the same emotional weight as your narrative?

My work—both as an artist and a producer—is rooted in using strings to translate human stories into music that feels raw, present, and emotionally true. Strings have the power to amplify vulnerability, tension, intimacy, and release—but only when shaped by a human hand. Every expressive performance and arrangement depends on thousands of subtle decisions: phrasing, articulation, bow speed, vibrato, dynamics. These are the choices that turn sound into story and deepen its emotional impact

Do you need a musician with classical training and virtuosity, but who understands vulnerability, not rigidity?

As a classically trained violinist gone rogue, I’m flexible, improvisational, and deeply artist-centered. I work across genres, adapt to your creative process, and don’t require traditional notation if that’s not how you create. Trust and connection are central to how I work, because creative work is personal.

What sets these strings apart?

To capture the depth of a real ensemble, I layer multiple takes using several different instruments and bows, intentionally varying articulation, bow speed, and vibrato. This approach recreates the organic complexity of multiple players shaping the same musical line—resulting in a sound that feels dimensional, alive, and human.

How much flexibility do you have in the mix?

Each project includes multiple microphone perspectives, giving you tonal options at the mixing stage. I regularly record with an AEA R84 ribbon mic, Telefunken FT-11 condenser, and AKG 451 condenser to balance warmth, clarity, and presence.

Hear work samples below.

solo tracks

BRENDA LANE - “When I Follow You”


Credits:

Samantha Bounkeua (Violin/Engineer)

Brenda Lane (Composer)

Tom W - “Vampire” (olivia Rodrigo)


Credits:

Samantha Bounkeua (Violin/Engineer)

Tom W (Arranger)

Olivia Rodrigo (Original Artist)

string quartet

JAY D'AMICO - "Nocturne"​


Credits: 

Samantha Bounkeua (Violin/Engineer)

Leah Asher (Viola)

Kristin Garbeff (Cello)

Jay D'Amico (Composer)

the REVEREND’S ALL STARS - “DANCING INTO CHRISTMAS”


Credits: 

Samantha Bounkeua (Arranger, Violin/Viola/Engineer)

Kristin Garbeff (Cello)

Rev Joe (Artist)

string sectionS

omar Alejandro - “Lo QUE NO PUEDE EL AMOR”


Credits: 

Samantha Bounkeua (Arranger/Violin/Engineer)

Omar Nare (Songwriter)

Omar Alejandro (Artist)

Kevin P - “Trench Run”


Credits: 

Samantha Bounkeua (Violin/Engineer)

Kevin P. (Composer)

Here are some of my core values and qualifications:

    • 30+ years performing internationally

    • Graduate of the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory

    • Technical skills to hear and execute extremely detailed intonation, phrasing, and articulation decisions

    • Music theory knowledge to compose meaningful arrangements in multiple genres

    • Passion for new music and extended techniques to create non-traditional textural and atmospheric gestures

    • Listen to samples of past work

    • 10+ years project management contracting

    • Previous clients include Susan Stryker (Emmy-award film director and trans historian) and Tim Collins (former manager of the rock band Aerosmith)

    • Clean and efficient file organization, naming and exporting practices

    • Seamless and compassionate communication and organization from start to finish

    • Ability to quickly contract and schedule additional talent for different ensemble arrangements

    • Access to many of the principal and solo performers of the Bay Area

    • Prioritize working with femme, minority and ally artists

    • Offer all contracted artists fair industry recording rates

    • All talent is familiar with multi-genre performing and studio recording and multi-layer tracking

    • Read their bios below

  • As a queer POC producer, I’m aware that less than 2% of the audio industry identifies as non-male. That statistic doesn’t reflect the richness of our creative community, and it drives my commitment to building inclusive, safe, artist-first collaboration spaces.

    I’m dedicated to supporting minority artists with flexibility around budget, complimentary project feedback (regardless of whether we are currently working together), and access to resources that help your work thrive.

BIO

SAMANTHA BOUNKEUA | ARTIST/PRODUCER (she/they)

Samantha Bounkeua (RogueViolin) is a queer artist/producer whose work blurs perceptions of acoustic performance. Specializing in cross-media collaborations that amplify queer/femme voices and explore themes of vulnerability and identity, she is a recipient of the 2023 California Arts Council Emerging Artist Fellow and former artist at Stanford’s Re-Presence Residency. Samantha is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, and recorded the award-winning score for the 2025 Sundance film, Sunfish. She has been commissioned by Binational Encuentro, ChamberLab, LuftBassoon, Hawkins Dance Company and her work has featured in the International Meg Quigley Vivaldi Bassoon Symposium, Kerala Short Film Festival, and Breaking Ground Contemporary Dance Festival. Her string recordings and arrangements appear on songs from artists internationally that have garnered multi-millions of streams.