(le) poisson rouge

When I recently introduced a friend of mine to Cameron Carpenter, I received a reaction to which I've become accustomed. "He is," my friend said in an impressed tone, "in very good shape." In July 2007, Cameron gave his first performance of Chopin's Revolutionary Etude in a live webcast concert from New York City. Immediately a sensation on YouTube and the blogosphere, Cameron's unorthodox arrangement transposed Chopin's flying left-hand runs to his feet, a stunning marriage of physical prowess and rousing showmanship. The performance won Cameron a multi-album recording contract with Telarc® International. His debut album, Revolutionary, named for its eponymous opening track, made Cameron the first organist ever nominated for a GRAMMY® for a solo album.

In an interview on KUSC-FM Los Angeles, interviewer Jim Svejda asked Cameron if he remembered the reaction he received at that first performance. "You can see the reaction," Cameron replied, "on YouTube." Svejda had addressed this issue of reaction, both in its macro- and micro-cosmic manifestations, in his introduction to the interview: "In a lot of both dramatic and subtle ways, he's forcing people to think differently about the organ, largely because he's able to do things on it that virtually no one has done before, or thought of doing before."

Cameron, who designs organs, as well as performs on them, knows better than most what the organ requires – both physically and intellectually. The musical virtuosity, sophistication, and showmanship for which Cameron has been critically acclaimed (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, MUSO, FanFare, The Advocate, National Public Radio, Dallas Morning News) require athleticism not ordinarily associated with the organ.

Preconceptions of the organ as religious and esoteric are crumbling under Cameron as he revitalizes it with his unorthodox arrangements that range from Bob Dylan to John Williams. His openness to musical influences outside of the classical world does not assign him to the refusal of previous methods commonly associated with revolutionary artists. A strong advocate of the virtual pipe organ, Cameron has also chosen to play one of his major 2009-2010 season concerts on the traditional pipe organ at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York’s Times Square. He considers the 1932 Aeolian-Skinner organ there to be a “model of excellence,” a scientific phrase used to indicate setting a high standard.

A home-schooled prodigy, Cameron performed J. S. Bach’s complete Well-Tempered Clavier at age eleven. He was a boy soprano soloist at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall, and transcribed over two hundred musical works for organ - including Gustav Mahler’s complete Fifth Symphony - before he graduated from The Juilliard School, where he received both his degrees (a Bachelor of Music in 2004 and a Master of Music in 2006.) Breaking another cliché – that of the vapid glam-rock star – Cameron is deeply committed to musical outreach to high school students, direct mentoring to talented younger organists, and UNAIDS events worldwide.

Cameron’s second album for Telarc International is scheduled for a spring 2010 release. He will combine his first all-Bach CD with “Cameron on Camera,” a full-length DVD that features a wide range of music plus his opinions about the organ, graphic design, popular culture, improvisation, literature, and fashion.

The same qualities that impressed my friend have brought about plenty of conscientious objections to Cameron's unorthodox style and approach. His pioneer navigation through the music of the “sacred” terrain of J.S. Bach will certainly bring about several more. ”The flamboyance and the showmanship are natural for me,” he says. “Not only do they open the door for a lot of new listeners, but they’re genuinely part of who I am. But whether one objects or enjoys, it’s really all about one thing, and music is it.”

-Rami Silamir