Carlo Curley

Classical Organ Virtuoso

American classical concert organist (August 24, 1952 – August 11, 2012). He was dubbed “The Pavarotti of the Organ” by The San Jose Mercury News and was one of the only performing organists worldwide who support(ed) themselves exclusively by giving recitals, concerts and master classes, without a teaching or church position. He was born in North Carolina and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. He subsequently studied with Virgil Fox, Robert Elmore, George Thalben-Ball and coached privately with Arthur Poister. Curley’s basic approach to performing, while very much his own, paid homage primarily to that of Virgil Fox, aiming to make classical organ music popular to a wider audience, often including pieces from other classical genres arranged and transcribed by himself.