Vicksburg native John C. Carpenter, a virtuoso pianist living in the Cincinnati suburb of Colerain, has won first prize in the Artist/Pro Division of the BMTG Intercontinental Piano Competition 2018. He will perform in a winners’ concert at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Auditorium in New York.
He will perform on his 65th birthday.
Carpenter grew up on Barton Lake and graduated from Vicksburg High. He was deeply involved in the music program while growing up and also wrote for the Vicksburg Commercial.
The winners were selected in two video rounds from among 140 competitors living in 15 countries and six continents. Carpenter recorded his videos at Mother of God Church in Covington, KY where he is an organist.
Music in the first round was from the standard piano repertoire. The second round included pieces by living composers. Carpenter teaches privately in his home studio, the True Virtuoso Piano Studio, and also at Arts Connect, and an arts center in Springfield along with his wife, Suzanne. He has a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music.
In the past three years he has played with the Dayton Philharmonic, in concerts in Los Angeles and on WAIF Radio, where he discusses empowerment and community development.
Carpenter returned to competitive playing after a long hiatus in which he worked in retail.