The Carpenter Musical Trio: Their

Passions and Musical Talents

David, Lauren and Sean Carpenter of Carpenter Fine Violins LLC at The Plaza Hotel in New York

Growing Up
The Carpenter siblings grew up in Long Islands Great Neck area where they took Suzuki Method
violin lessons when they were aged five. Neither of their parents had a musical career. Their dad,
Dennis Carpenter, was a history teacher at Long Island University. As an immigrant from Iraq, their
mum, Grace, taught new immigrants the English language. The parents later divorced and the
Carpenters are indebted to their mother for raising them single-handedly. The Carpenters went to
public schools. Grace used extracurricular activities such as competitive sports, English classes
over weekends and Kumon math to augment their education. Her approach to sibling rivalry was
to unify her childrens interests rather than diversify them. According to Sean, the Carpenters did
everything just like triplets. They practiced in different rooms but at similar times, a habit that
resulted in the cacophonous evenings.

Enhancing Musical Abilities

David Carpenter, who is the youngest of the Carpenter trio, benefited most from his older siblings.
Sean, who is the eldest in the trio, would shout to him from downstairs to help David learn how to
play his instrument correctly, and Lauren, the second born, would counter the suggestion. Musical
instruments that were bought for Sean would be passed on to Lauren and finally to David. During
his early teenage years, David switched to playing the viola as they already had the instruments in
place. The Carpenters enrolled for lessons at the Queensborough Community College. They later
moved to Manhattan School of Music and held performances at a local synagogue. According to

Joseph Rutkowski, the teacher who taught them music from mid-school through high school, the
Carpenters played like artists by the time they got to 6th grade.

The Carpenter musical trio in their Manhattan residence

The Siblings work at the Carpenter Fine Violins Company

The Carpenter siblings established their company, Carpenter Fine Violins, LLC in 2010. This
company is largely a result of Sean Carpenters goal to provide rare and exceptional stringed
instruments to collectors, professional musicians and music enthusiasts. Sean, who is the oldest in
the Carpenter trio, is the Chief Executive Officer of this company. He is also the Co-founder and
Director of Salom Chamber Orchestra, a not-for-profit outfit that the Carpenters run. His sister,
Lauren is the Chief Operating Officer of the company. Lauren previously worked for Google for five
years as a Senior Account Manager. She brings the skills and passion developed by the top internet
company to Carpenter Fine Violins. David, who is the youngest among the Carpenter trio serves as
its Chief Financial Officer. The Carpenters do not only sell Stradivarius violins through their
company, they also lend them out with permission from owners. They offer to keep their clients
fine stringed instruments under high security after closing deals.

With the Carpenter siblings

Carpenters Passions
Each of the Carpenter siblings brings a set of unique passion to the trio that enhance their
performances both in business and orchestra. Sean uses his expertise that spans over two decades
to evaluate new acquisitions, consignments and sales on the basis of condition, provenance and
sound. Lauren is an expert violinist while David brings in his business acumen and careful
evaluation of instrumental dimension to the trio. From a young age, Sean developed a passion for
fine instruments and adores the Stradivari violins. During his pre-college years, he had his
bedroom plastered with posters of Stradivari violins. He has a passion for antique violins which he
collects. Sean is also passionate about knowledge of fine stringed instrument markets. An article
about his fundamental knowledge and philosophy about the market for fine stringed instruments
was published on The Juilliard Journal. His sister Lauren is passionate about violins while David is
passionate about stringed instruments and solo playing. As a trio, the Carpenters are passionate
about community work and together they run the not-for-profit Salom Chamber Orchestra.
Through this outfit, they specialize in providing accessible classical music like Brahms and Vivaldi
and stage performances for charities.

On 21st March, I met with this musical trio at The Plaza Hotel and we discussed the violin
business.

Note: This article originally appeared on with HedgeCo.net with this link
http://thesoholoft.com/the-carpenter-musical-trio-their-passions-and-musical-talents/ on May 17,
2015.

David Drake is the Chairman of LDJ Capital, private equity advisory;Victoria Partners, a 110 family
office network; Drake Hospitality Group; and The Soho Loft Media Group with divisionsVictoria
Global Communications, Times Impact Publications, and The Soho Loft Conferences. Reach him
directly at David@LDJCapital.com.