Seán Carpio

Recipient of Best Soundscape award at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards, 2022

5 Star review of Bog Bodies – “an exhilarating, soul-nourishing album” – The Irish Times

Background

Born 1979 in Arequipa, Peru, and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Seán Carpio is a multi-instrumentalist whose diverse practice incorporates song, sound and improvisation.

Since 2005 he has been active as a soloist on drum-set in Europe and the USA, and to this date has featured on over thirty recordings.

Seán graduated with honours from the Newpark Music Centre, Dublin in 2002, receiving a diploma in performance and arranging from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. He subsequently lectured for three years on the Bachelors course there.

In 2004 Seán was a student of Sri T.A.S Mani in Bangalore, India, where he studied Carnatic percussion and theory.

In 2017 he completed his Postgraduate studies in performance at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has recorded, collaborated and shared the stage with artists such as Louis Stewart, Sam Amidon, Henri Texier, Mark Turner, Martin Hayes, Ethan Iverson, Aoife Nessa Frances, Dave Douglas, Erik Friedlander, Ronan Guilfoyle, Kit Downes, Rhiannon Giddins, Henri Texier, Soak, Nina Hynes, Mark Garry and Jan Jan Van Essche. 

Seán is a member of collaborative bands Bog Bodies, Drift, Two Sleepers, and Beauty. He is also a member of the Mikkel Ploug trio, The Cian Nugent Band, and Carate Urio Orchestra. Seán has collaborated with visual artists and practices in a number of contemporary art contexts and has performed, exhibited and undertaken residencies in a number of prestigious art venues including the Mattress Factory Art Museum in Pittsburgh, the Serpentine Gallery London, the Banff Centre Alberta, the Model Arts Centre Sligo, and IMMA, Dublin.

Since 2006 he has been a member of the Project Arts Centre’s Project Catalyst, and through this initiative has premiered three newly commissioned suites of music.

Seán has been a visiting lecturer at the Visual Arts Department at T.U.D, NCAD, and The Newpark Music Centre for Jazz Studies. For the past three years he has worked with Helium, the national children’s arts and health charity, directing music workshops and recording projects for children with illness.