Brianna Carpenter loves colour. She seeks it in the clothes she wears, the people she meets, the music she listens to and the music she composes.
Even though Brianna was born completely deaf in one ear she was still fascinated from a young age by music. She began to write her own songs at the age of 13, it became apparent that she had a talent that would not go to waste. Some of her other earlier pursuits also stretched into musical theatre, acting and pantomime, which proved to be a great way to gain invaluable lessons in stage craft.
Brianna is not from an overly musical background but believes her creative flair comes from her mother who is an artist and also worked in the fashion industry as an illustrator. Brianna and her mother work together on many of the outfits that Brianna wears on stage and screen.
Brianna has completed a degree in Popular Music at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music which has given her invaluable knowledge in recording and production to help her become self sufficient in the studio. After completing her degree she has really started to gain momentum. Brianna has been recognised consistently for her production and songwriting abilities with short listings in the Apra Professional Development Award (2009), QSong Awards (2009), Music Oz Awards (2009), NA2R Awards (2009) and the Australian Spirit of Youth Awards (2006 - also featuring Kisschasy, Wolf and Cub and Princess One Point Five). Brianna took some time out from her studies in 2007 to try her hand at something a little different. This resulted in her selection into the Top 12 of Australian Idol which completely took over her life for awhile. This gave her an opportunity to air one of her most popular songs “Jacqueline” which received fantastic feedback from the public and provided a tremendous boost to her public profile.
Brianna has also spread into different territory as she was invited to be the Ambassador for the Statewide Butterfly Appeal charity fundraiser for the Hear and Say Centre in 2008 and 2009. The charity helps profoundly deaf children learn to hear and speak and Brianna wrote a song “Hush” for them and donated all proceeds from downloads to The Hear and Say Centre during this appeal. This was an extremely rewarding experience for her.
Amongst all the excitement of television and music degrees, Brianna also managed to self fund and co-produce her debut album “Harlequin”. This album was her baby which she nurtured with the help of producer Brendan Anthony who has worked with the likes of INXS, Midnight Oil, Wendy Mathews and also George, Wheatus and The Ten Tenors. The album is a result of almost 10 years of Brianna’s musical journey.
In between writing and recording, Brianna was also shortlisted to the top 4 to receive the Arts Qld, Grant McLennan Fellowship Award earlier this year. Although she did not win, to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award has proved to be a great boost to her career and exposure within the music industry. Brianna is now embarking on her first interstate tour before heading off on an international tour and adventure. The future looks bright, but Brianna’s clothes might just be brighter.