A Juilliard School alumni, 2012 Leonard Bernstein Award winner, and the first solo organist to be Grammy nominated, Cameron Carpenter is an articulate, Mohawk-sporting classical music god. His self-designed International Touring Organ is his modus operandi and features, among other things, extended pedal range and, more importantly, state-of the-art digital sampling technology that re-creates the sounds of traditional pipe and classic electric organs. A sophisticated arranger and composer, Carpenter has a musical repertoire that runs the genre gamut from classical to pop to film scores. By breaking classical music and philosophical barriers, he is a music icon in the making. We dissected his prolific intellect in a rapid-fire Q&A session.
What’s it like living in Berlin? Why did you decide to move there? Berlin is a city-state with a large, widely mixed group of people. I came in 2010 during a Leipzig tour and met a lot of people with common interests. I was originally in New York, but I moved to Berlin because I felt it was an artistic hub with more like-minded people that could benefit my career.
What’s the classical music audience like in Berlin versus the States? What’s the demographic of your audience? There’s a wide group of people, and [they] are not in one particular demographic. I think there is a general agreement that classical music is on the tail end and evolving. The people that come to my concerts are interested in my music and performance.