Students attend concerts at Symphony Hall this past weekend!
What a great weekend it was indeed! A group of our students and friends were privileged to attend a solo organ concert given by virtuoso organist, Cameron Carpenter at Atlanta’s Symphony Hall on Friday night and again on Sunday afternoon with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for the Poulenc Concerto and the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. Mr. Carpenter is touring with a magnificent digital organ built by Marshall & Ogletree. We heard lots of selections including Bach, Scriabin, an original composition by Carpenter, a silent movie with the organ accompaniment (a real treat for everyone!) and his acclaimed transcription of Bernstein’s Candide Overture. It was exciting to hear this organ pitted against the full orchestra and holding it’s own. The immense power of the instrument enhanced the orchestra’s depth of color and volume, and the sensation of the vibrations is something you cannot get from a cd or You Tube listening experience.
We got to meet Mr. Carpenter, have him sign programs, cd’s, Oak’s organ scores and organ shoes! Mr. Carpenter was incredibly gracious to personally invite our students to see the organ and have a chance to try it out. Oak and Samantha also study the organ and this was a chance of a lifetime! Oak had a glorious time on the instrument and is more motivated than ever to study his music! The message from Mr. Carpenter to the “little ones” as he called them was to “keep practicing”! The other young pianists who attended were David, Sage and Rory and our adult students, Kim and David.