Having recently emerged as one of the world's most promising young violists, David Aaron Carpenter was born in New York in 1986 into a musical family. He began his musical studies on the violin at six and later on the viola at the age of 11. He continued to pursue both instruments at the pre-college divisions of the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools of Music in New York. In addition, he studied with world-renowned viola pedagogues Yuri Bashmet, Roberto Díaz, Nobuko Imai, Robert Mann, and Pinchas Zukerman. In 2005, Mr. Carpenter was the First Prize winner of the Greenfield Young Artists Competition, and in 2006 he won the highly coveted First Prize at the Walter E. Naumburg Viola Competition. David Aaron Carpenter was presented with the Presidential Gold Medal at a performance in Washington's Kennedy Center subsequent to his winning the first ever Gold Award from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA). In June 2007, he became the first American and the youngest protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In June 2008, David Aaron Carpenter recorded the Elgar Cello Concerto in his own transcription for viola based on the arrangement completed by Lionel Tertis in 1930 and the Schnittke Viola Concerto with London's Philharmonia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach. In addition to having become an accomplished musician, David Aaron Carpenter has obtained his A.B. degree in Political Science from Princeton University.

David Aaron Carpenter has been acclaimed by The New York Times as producing, "a seductively rich sound and demonstrating both a forceful interpretive personality and remarkable control of his instrument," and by The Strad magazine as a violist, "whose beautiful modulated tone makes a striking impression." Since making his orchestral debut in 2005 with The Philadelphia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, David Aaron Carpenter has been performing with leading musicians and orchestras in the United States and Europe. In 2008, he stepped in at the last minute to replace Maxim Vengerov for performances of Benjamin Yusupov's Viola, Tango, Rock Concerto with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland. He has performed in the United States at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Chicago's Krannert Center, San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, among others. As a chamber musician, Mr. Carpenter has performed together with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Sarah Chang, Leonidas Kavakos, and Johannes Moser. He also performs regularly at the prestigious Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. Mr. Carpenter plays on a Camillo Camilli 1739, loaned by Roberto Díaz.

On working with David Aaron Carpenter, Christoph Eschenbach said, "It has been many years since I heard such a phenomenal talent as David Aaron Carpenter. He combines an endless imagination with a staggering technique, and making music together with him is a true joy."


More information:
Official website
Profile at The Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative
Portrait video
Video showing David Aaron Carpenter work with his mentor Pinchas Zukerman
Interview
Profile article in Strings Magazine (June 2009)
Recital review in The New York Times (November 28, 2007)
Profile on YouTube