Twenty year-old Carson Wagner performs throughout the southern U.S sharing his gift for playing the piano. Carson plays a wide variety of musical styles. He began his career playing gospel music by ear, mimicking the sounds and styles of gospel piano artists such as Anthony Burger and Roger Bennett. But, he is also classically trained by University of Tulsa music professor Anna Norberg and can deliver moving renditions of classical favorites. Carson has also studied under nationally-known jazz pianist and Oral Roberts University professor Donald Ryan.
Carson’s first prominent exposure to the music world came from gospel virtuoso Anthony Burger. At the age of 8, Carson approached Burger after a concert one evening and asked if he would listen to him play a song. Burger agreed, listened to the tune, and immediately invited Carson to perform at Pianorama, Burger’s annual piano concert held during the National Quartet Convention. Carson stole the show. Another turning point in Carson’s career occurred in early 2000 when world-renowned musician and composer, Marvin Hamlisch, picked Carson out of the crowd during one of his concerts and invited him on-stage where he surprised and dazzled both Hamlisch and the audience with his talents by performing a great southern gospel rave-up.
Carson has also appeared at the OK Mozart International Music Festival; Tulsa’s International Mayfest; the Spartanburg Choral Festival; the First Baptist Churches of Jacksonville, Fl, and Columbia, SC; Thomas Road Baptist Church, and the Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church Concert Series of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In the spring of 2004, Carson reached another milestone by being featured with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic orchestra. Carson and the orchestra played two of his own medley arrangements.
In August of 2007, Carson began attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia to study worship and to play keyboard for the prestigious "Sounds of Liberty" worship team.
