Robert Karpay
Baltimore-based composer, cellist, producer, keyboardist, and occasional singer Robert Karpay (1988) is known for wearing many different hats. With a focus on emotionally-charged freneticism, he is heavily influenced by the driving, moto perpetuo found in video game music from the late 80’s through the mid to late 90’s. Light-hearted scores for 90’s-influenced video games like Super Slime Arena, and This World Falls are examples where Karpay combines his love of frenetic motion and passionate expression into something uniquely his own. During peak lockdown, he produced expressive and abyssal soundscapes with his cello, while exploring how modern production techniques can amplify the messages of his work. In film, he has received awards from the Rome Movie Awards and Berlin Indie Film Festival in achievement of his score for Vivid Dreams (directed by Brittney Hollinger). The film The Sunday Sessions, about a man forcing himself through conversion therapy, contains a tormented and stirring score, and is available on several streaming platforms. He has a BM and MM at Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Richard Danielpour, Nils Vigeland, Reiko Füting, Susan Botti, David Noon, and Sam Pluta. He studied piano with Marjean Olson.
