Cellist Samsun van Loon has been critically praised as a "promising talent" with "the rhetorical polish of a skilled storyteller." He studied as a quartet cellist at seminars with the Alexander, Miro and Takacs quartets, and his passion for chamber music has led him to recently participate in the Academie Musical at Morges, Switzerland, Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark, as well as New York's Arcos Orchestra's Germany tour and recording of the music of Swedish composer Anders Eliasson for the Neos label. 

While studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Jean-Michel Fonteneau, he received the conservatory's chamber music honors award, as well as the M. Alan Neys Award for first prize at the Pacific Musical Society's annual competition. Recent concert appearances include the series at Old Saint Mary's, Old First Presbyterian Church, Legion of Honor, as well as a duet with Cambodian dancer Chary Burt at San Francisco's annual Ethnic Dance Festival. 

Samsun currently resides in San Francisco and in addition to maintaining a private teaching studio he is a regular faculty member at Lake Tahoe's Zephyr Music Camp, Cazadero Music Camp, and San Francisco's Community Music Center. In addition to the Chamber Music Society of SF he is a member of the conductorless chamber orchestra One Found Sound.