Violinist Samuel "Savoirfaire" Williams plays for travelers passing through O'Hare Airport

If you've traveled through O'Hare, you've likely heard the music of Samuel Williams.

Every day, the virtuoso violinist plays for an audience of travelers, with his stage in the pedestrian tunnel that links the CTA and parking garages to the terminals.

As sure as the sun will rise, Williams arrives before it does. 

He rolls into O'Hare like a frequent flyer, but samuel's bags are not packed for long — the airport is his destination. 

Though the pedestrian tunnel serves as an underground stage for Williams, the violinist is anything but a pedestrian.

"It just makes everybody feel great when you come through here. You hear that music and it makes my day," one traveler said.

"It was really the sound and the acoustics. It was wonderful to pass by," another traveler said.

"This place has amazing acoustics because it's mostly tile," Williams said. "The sound bounces off and there's kind of an echo or reverb in the room. It's almost like performing in a church."

Williams says outside of other events, he's usually performing in the pedestrian tunnel seven days a week, even working on his birthday. But for him, it's busk or bust.

The classically trained jazz violinist started playing at O'Hare in his 20s as a way to pay the bills.

"I have a family. I have a wife. I have wonderful, beautiful kids," Williams said.

Busking now runs in the family. 

Every day, he is surrounded by travelers who have no idea of the places his talents have taken him.

"I own 17 albums. The recordings that I've created," he said. "One of the albums is a live recording from a tour in Italy — I found out last year that I was a contributor to a Grammy Award-winning project — so, technically, I'm a Grammy Award-winning artist and I'm trying to get the official paperwork to back it up."

He performs under Samuel "Savoirfaire" Williams.

"Savoir means 'to know,' 'faire' means 'to do.' So, someone that knows what they're doing."

At O'Hare, the concert lasts as long as it takes to walk past, but some choose to linger. Between every departure and arrival, there's soaring music in between.

"I want it to be peaceful. I want there to be a sense of peace walking through this area," Williams said.

If you want to lend an ear, you can typically catch Samuel "Savoirfaire" Williams as early as 4 a.m. and as late as 4 p.m.

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