If GRAMMY-nominated organist Cameron Carpenter had made his mark merely by ruffling the feathers of the pipe organ’s stodgy establishment, he’d merit only passing interest. But the 42-year-old virtuoso has taken a sledgehammer to conventions while forcing the cloistered classical world to acknowledge his iconoclastic vision. He returns to the hallowed space at Grace Cathedral and its historic 1934 Æolian-Skinner pipe organ for two nights — the first devoted to the work of J.S. Bach (February 16), and the second providing the musical lifeblood to Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction landmark Metropolis (February 17). 

Winner of the prestigious Bernstein Award (Schleswig-Holstein), Carpenter has devoted his career to expanding the organ’s frontiers. Through his numerous transcriptions of non-organ works, collaborations with jazz and pop musicians, his ambitious original compositions, and the revolutionary development of his digital International Touring Organ, he ventures into uncharted territory when it comes to technique, repertoire, and presentation. He tops it off with bravura showmanship, presiding over the instrument with all four limbs in furious motion.

Carpenter’s night devoted to the work of Bach is in keeping with the organist’s brilliant recent recordings of the Baroque giant’s rich canon of organ music, presented in fresh new interpretations.

A recent addition to Carpenter’s expansive repertoire is his original music to accompany screenings of Lang’s German Expressionist masterpiece Metropolis — a Weimar-era plea for unity across perceived lines of class and status. 

Tickets: $45 – $65

Listen

J S Bach Toccata in F major Cameron Carpenter Sydney Opera House 

Event Details 

The entrance to the cathedral is at the top of the Great Steps. The accessible entrance is via the glass doors on Taylor Street or from the cathedral garage. Masks are strongly encouraged inside the cathedral. 

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