Socializing and Serenading: Sam Hurwitz & 30 Minutes Late in The Vassar Music Scene 

The “College Experience;” a universally understood idea. A phrase encapsulating every reason to go away to college other than the classes. College is not merely a set of buildings to hide away in for the pursuit of academic achievement. It is a haven for young people to grow socially, while exploring their creativity and refining their self expression. Nowhere does this hold more true than at Vassar College, a small liberal arts school in Poughkeepsie, New York. Nestled in the mid-region hills of the Hudson River Valley, you’ll find the broadest variety of student disciplines, backgrounds, and interests. Ask any one of the 2,400 students which extracurricular org they belong to and they’ll most likely give you two, and ask if they can add you to their email list. I spoke with two different Vassar musical artists: one a longtime songwriter molded and inspired by Vassar’s community of artists. The other, a group of eight musicians (give or take) whose band defines what it means to be a “student musician.” While they are quite different from one another, their love for performing for their community brings them together for a “Welcome Back” show on March 29th. 

Meet Samuel Jack Hurwitz, a Westcher born singer-songwriter who began his already lengthy career at age two. 

“My parents had this old plastic toy guitar that ever since I can remember I’d strum and make up words with. I wrote this song called Bopadoo. It didn’t mean anything but I had enough understanding of what a song was: this is the song, it’s called Bopadoo, and in it I say Bopadoo several times.” 

Sam quickly developed his craft, turning once nonsense lyrics into full fledged songs that impressed many who became early fans. He wrote his first song, “In english,” at age six called Let’s Get Wet, a song simply about rain. 

“Lots of people would laugh at the title and I wouldn’t get why.” 

The title is where the laughter stopped. After starting guitar lessons at 6, Sam played his first open mic at 9, and by 10 years old he knew, “It was time to get serious.” He started taking jazz piano and guitar lessons at Lagond Music school,which he describes as a rigorous yet extremely rewarding experience. He played with the school until he was fifteen. In that time, Sam became known as the local kid musician, playing (and winning) competitions, booking local gigs and interviews, and exploring the practice of recording his songs. 

“People knew me as the kid with the guitar. I could count my friends in highschool on one hand, but I’d play talent shows and concerts and people would hum my songs in class. It felt good to be known as really good at this one thing, and for people to recognize me for that.” 

Sam uploaded his first music video to Youtube nine years ago, with no prior experience and little oversight. He sings and plays guitar and harmonica on the track, Without A Rhyme. Recording independently gave Sam full creative control, but also introduced its own challenges. 

“It was freeing but also terrifying. Every decision—every sound, every take—was completely up to me. There was no producer telling me what worked and what didn’t.” 

Still, he describes the experience as invaluable to his growth, not just as a musician, but a well rounded artist. 

“It made me trust myself more. I had to learn when to step away and say, ‘Okay, this song is done.’ Otherwise, I’d keep tweaking forever.” 

“I wanted the visuals to feel as personal as the songs. Sometimes that meant running around with a camera by myself, trying to get the right shot at sunset.” 

Despite the challenges, the process of creating both his first two albums, accompanying visuals, and performing throughout the process, reinforced his love for storytelling through music. Plus, the feeling Sam gets when his projects are well received is like no other. 

“Once I began releasing, it was super affirming that people were watching. I got to know that this wasn’t all in my head.” 

Sam now has both his albums and four singles streaming on all platforms. Plus performances of some of his first originals on Youtube, some dating as far back as 2013. Today, Without A Rhyme, has over ten thousand views. 

Music is not only Sam’s calling, it’s also played a vital role in helping him navigate a lifelong personal challenge: his stutter. While speaking could sometimes be difficult, music became an outlet where he felt completely free. 

“Music from a very early age was something beautiful for me because people don’t stutter when they sing. When I spoke, I’d get stuck, but when I sang, the words just came out. No pauses, no blocks—just the song.” 

Sam’s journey as a musician is deeply intertwined with his experience of having a stutter. While he faced difficulties in everyday speech, singing never slowed him down. Everytime he played he felt uninhibited. Singing became a space of fluency and confidence, allowing him to communicate in ways that speaking sometimes could not. 

“Music gave me a way to say what I wanted to say without feeling trapped by my own voice…It wasn’t just about performing—it was about proving to myself that I could be heard.” 

Sam’s goal is to give back to those who helped him love this part of himself, while helping those in similar situations do the same. He’s collaborated with the American Stutter Association on concerts and workshops for others who have struggled with their stutter. 

“I’d feel so powerful because I’d be expressing my art and there was nothing lost in translation. When you’re stuttering it’s like there’s an instant power dynamic, which I think people with lots of disabilities might resonate with, you’re kind of infantilized inherently because it looks like you are struggling, even though I’m not struggling. When I stutter I know exactly what I want to say, it’s just how my body and my brain works…When I would sing at that young age there was none of that [confusion] but the the minute I’d get off the stage I felt so afraid because people would say ‘Sam that was such a great performance,’ and by the time I can say thank you they’re already gone. 

Through his music and his advocacy, Sam challenges these perceptions, using both his voice and his songs to redefine how people see stuttering—not as a weakness, but his own unique voice. 

“I wish we lived in a world where stuttering was seen as beautiful, because I think stuttering is beautiful. It forces the world to slow down a bit and listen, but for a kid who was often not slowed down, who was forced to kind of live with a knowing world, singing was beautiful for me…singing is liberating because no one can interrupt me I can take as long as I want on stage and you almost artify your stutter.” 

Now, the senior psychology major and music composition minor at Vassar is feeling the melancholic weight of senioritis. Sam knows his time as a student musician is nearing its end, and the sentiment is bittersweet. He’s ready to shed the novelty of performing as a “Child Act” or “Student Musician,” but still cherishes the arts community of Vassar. Now, he faces a decision many in his situation must make. 

“Of course, as a dreamer, I always…I want to chase my dream now rather than later…experience has shown me people like listening to my music.” 

It’s this sentiment that inspired much of his upcoming album, Horizons. Same calls his album, “An ode to the Hudson Valley,” which is reflected not only in the songs themselves, but in the recording progress. 

“All last summer I’d drive my recording equipment up to the [Vassar] farm, set up, and work on these songs…” 

Rough, gritty, and no electrics are the technical themes Sam focuses on. It’s the note he ends his Vassar chapter on:

“Album one [I Drowned & I Woke Up] was Covid, then album two, The Optimist, was kind of the first part of Vassar. Coming to Vassar, experiencing this heartbreak in my first semester, and trying to understand myself. This one I remember very explicitly: I was in Cushing [Vassar dorm] which is beautiful, almost castle-esque. They have this piano in the building I would always find myself playing on and it was this very calming ritual that I had. I remember it was January 2022 and outside it was this sunny winter day and the snow was beginning to melt and I began playing, and this song called Horizon just came out. That felt very much informed by what I was seeing. The changing of seasons, the snow melting, it was this plea to the universe, ‘I’m ready to move, I’m ready to change,’ and that informed the rest of the album.” 

Writing the majority of the album in 2022, Sam recorded over the summer entirely outdoors. Horizons will release this upcoming year.