Chris Sampson has enjoyed a diverse career in music as an educator, songwriter, performer, producer, arts administrator and author. In 2009, Sampson founded the Popular Music program at the USC Thornton School of Music, which is considered to be the first of its kind at a major university. And, in the Fall of 2023, Sampson will launch a new Masters degree in Popular Music Teaching & Learning - another first in American music education. As an associate professor of songwriting, Sampson’s students have penned #1 hit songs, won GRAMMY awards, won national songwriting competitions, signed major recording and publishing contracts, toured nationally and internationally and have placed numerous songs in television and film. He serves as the songwriting instructor for the GRAMMY Foundation education programs and the National YoungArts Foundation. Sampson is a lifetime voting member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.