Cameron Carpenter Performance Nov. 7 - Orpheum Theater, Omaha

For those who don't know this about me, I love theatre. I love live shows--musicals, plays, concerts, choirs...anything that is live performance. I love it so much it is my degree field. Yes, I have a Bachelor's in Acting. My family now volunteers at a local children's theatre. We believe in "The Arts" and what they offer to people of all ages. My love of theatre started as a young child creating shows in my grandma's basement. 

Fast forward to my life now, when I got the email that I was selected to help promote an upcoming show at the Orpheum. Wow! Pinch me--I never thought I would have that kind of 'reach' in the blogosphere. With great excitement and anticipation, I want to tell you about Cameron Carpenter's show coming on Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha.

Cameron Carpenter is coming to play the Orpheum Wurlitzer Organ. If you think pipe organ music is stuffy or highbrow, you're in for an amazing night that will knock your socks off. Cameron doesn't play your great-grandma's organ...he is known for 'genre smashing' concerts. He dresses in a style akin to Lady Gaga, and yet is one of the only performers known for meeting and greeting the crowd before his shows, generally out on the floor in the theater.

Here is a little of the press release about Cameron:

Omaha Performing Arts presents organ virtuoso Cameron Carpenter at the Orpheum Theater on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. The performance is part of Omaha Performing Arts’ 13/14 Season. Tickets start at $25 and are available at TicketOmaha.com, 402.345.0606 or at the Ticket Omaha Office inside the Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St.

A virtuoso composer-performer unique among keyboardists, Carpenter’s approach to the organ is smashing the stereotypes of organists and organ music while generating a level of acclaim, exposure, and controversy unprecedented for an organist. A reviewer for The Los Angeles Times described him as “one of the rare musicians who changes the game of his instrument… He is a smasher of cultural and classical music taboos. He is technically the most accomplished organist I have ever witnessed… And most important of all, the most musical.”

His repertoire – from the complete works of J. S. Bach and Cesar Franck, to his hundreds of transcriptions of non-organ works, his original compositions, and his collaborations with jazz and pop artists – is perhaps the largest and most diverse of any organist.

I love pipe organ music. (Now that's a sentence you wouldn't normally plan to say.) But, when you can feel the music coming from the pipes and be surrounded on all sides from a true theater organ that was built into the walls--and the very fabric--of a theater, you will come away with a huge appreciation for pipe organs. Everyone I've ever talked to who 'tried' a concert theater organ show has come out thrilled that they went. Not one of these people (including my own family) has ever regretted purchasing their tickets and going.  

I've been all over You Tube watching Cameron Carpenter's performances. He is more talented than any of us can imagine and everyone is in for a big treat at this show. He will be playing the Orpheum Theater Wurlitzer Style 240 pipe organ which was installed when the theater was built in 1927. The Orpheum's Wurlitzer is one of only 15 still existing and playable. Extensive restoration work was completed over the summer to make the organ concert-ready. 

Do yourself a favor--don't miss this show. Get your tickets now so you can enjoy the benefits of a live concert in an amazing theater. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity--don't miss it. And now, I leave you with my favorite song on the pipe organ, it's Cameron Carpenter performing John Phillip Sousa's Stars & Stripes Forever. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I will be given tickets to this show in exchange for promoting it. No other compensation was given and all thoughts are my own.