Early on, he worked as a freelance pianist and coach, giving frequent recitals and tours and doing stints as a repetiteur at opera houses in Brussels and Ankara.
His directing credits also include Jason Carr and Gary Yershon's musical of The Water Babies at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2003.
Sams' many translations include plays by Botho Strauß; Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Puccini's La Boheme, and Wagner's The Ring Cycle for ENO; The Merry Widow for Covent Garden; Les Parents terribles, The Miser and Mary Stuart for the Royal National Theatre; The Threepenny Opera for the Donmar Warehouse; and What's in a Name?
Sams' composing credits include the BBC film of Jane Austen's Persuasion, for which he won a BAFTA award for Best Music.
Sams has written, arranged, and directed music for some 50 theatre productions, including The Wind in the Willows and Arcadia (RNT) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (RSC).