Musician and composer Sam VanderWoude, 27, was working as a film score writer in Los Angeles for the better part of 2025. But when his visa expired, he found himself back in Calgary, where it all started. 

Before becoming an award-winning and well-travelled composer, VanderWoude was first a high school band student and the son of Rick, the organist at Highwood Lutheran Church. Located in the city’s northwest, he said that the church not only has phenomenal acoustics but also a serious sense of nostalgia.

VanderWoude said that coming home between work meant revisiting this in more ways than one, including trying something that he first got the idea to do years ago: Singlehandedly playing all of the parts in a score. 

“I found it really interesting all the way back in high school…being in a band, playing my part, but then looking over my shoulder, and someone else is playing a different part,” said VanderWoude. 

“I was learning more and more instruments at the time, and then it got to the point where I could play enough of them, and I was like, ‘maybe I should just try recording it all myself.’”

In a video posted to YouTube — where he unironically goes by the handle “OneSamBand” — on Feb. 22, VanderWoude did just that. With the church as a backdrop, he singehandedly played every part in his personally written score, titled “King Arthur’s Ride,” which won the Canadian Band Association’s Howard Cable Prize in 2022.

The seven-minute-long video features VanderWoude playing some of the 13 instruments that he had learned. He said the editing process takes only a couple of days, but before audiences could press play, he said that he spent roughly 18 months practicing the piece.

Pastor at Highwood Lutheran Church, Michael Wellman, said in an email to LWC that the church has had the pleasure of watching his talent grow over the years, even amid the turbulence he’s faced in trying to get his work back on track. 

“He’s at the cutting edge of a very exciting career, and Highwood is probably half as proud as his father,” wrote Wellman.

Visa challenges come with the territory, says VanderWoude

After obtaining a bachelor’s in saxophone performance from The King’s University in Edmonton, VanderWoude completed a master’s in film scoring in 2024, which paved the way for him to later find work in L.A.

He said that staying in Hollywood has proved more complicated than getting there in the first place. As a freelancer, VanderWoude said that the ability to provide proof of employment is not as cut-and-dry for musicians as it is in other industries. 

“It’s kind of difficult,” he said. 

“I’m in a special category for athletes and artists, and it’s kind of a grey area.”

Even though VanderWoude is facing hurdles that come with pursuing foreign work, he said the process is part of the job.

“I think it’s a bit of a sign of the times where it’s just harder to get foreign work visas, regardless of the country,” he said. 

Despite Calgary being ranked the fifth-best place for filmmakers to live in North America, VanderWoude said that L.A. remains the hotspot for score recording, and that unless this changes, he will eventually have to return to the U.S. to further his career. 

“It’s totally possible it’s going to change, because L.A. is very rapidly becoming unaffordable, especially for artists who are just trying to make it,” said VanderWoude. 

Until then, he said that finding part-time work at home is enough to fill his cup. 

“It keeps me busy, but we’ll see where it goes,” said VanderWoude.