Alexx Carnathan was 18 years old and a freshman at Portland State Universit… Read Full Bio ↴Alexx Carnathan was 18 years old and a freshman at Portland State University when this bio was written (March 2010). She began playing the piano at age 2-1/2 years and was taking lessons by age 5.

Alexx performs at many local events and concerts, including the annual “Ten Grands” concerts at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. She was one of the main performers in the first three “Ten Grands” in 2001, 2002, 2003, and performed in 2007 as a 'special guest' for which she wrote a 10-piano composition entitled "Ten Grands Rag", and again in 2008 & 2009 in the “Ten Grands For Kids” concerts. She again performed in the 2010 concerts. In these "Ten Grands" concerts she has performed on stage with other professional Northwest pianists, including: Michael Allen Harrison, David Lanz, Tom Grant, John Nilsen and others. Alexx has also been fortunate to perform in many of Portland pianist Michael Allen Harrison’s concerts and events, including the past 9 years in Michael's annual Christmas Concert Series at ‘The Old Church' in Portland, Oregon. She studied under Michael for five years, received classical instruction with Arletta O’Hearn from Beaverton, OR for four years, and has taken piano lessons along with her pre-nursing studies at Portland State University.

Born with ‘perfect pitch,' Alexx is able to accurately identify the pitch of any given tone and individual notes played simultaneously in any chord. About composing Alexx says, “I hear music in my head and I can just sit down and play whatever I hear. What I hear is what I am. Everything I think of fits my personality somehow - jazzy, mellow, soft, etc.”

Alexx composed her first song when she was 6 years old and recorded her first full-length CD with thirteen of her own compositions in December 2003, called “Daydreams & Waterfalls." She has an extensive and diverse repertoire portfolio, including her own original compositions.

Alexx's musical interests cover a wide spectrum from jazz, new age, pop, classical, her own original works, and recently orchestra at PSU. In addition to being in her high school’s symphonic and jazz choirs for four years, she was also a member of the vocal a’capella group “Soul’d Out”.

Alexx enjoys school, friends, family, performing, knitting, art, drawing, pets, computers, TV and video games. Having been part of a student delegation from Wilsonville High School to Japan in summer of 2008, and hosting 2 Japanese students during high school, she also enjoys everything about Japan.