Carrera Stamile, mandolin
Meet Carrera
Carrera will appear on Show 429.
Carrera Stamile (mandolin), 16, hails from Roebuck, South Carolina. After receiving a 1/16th-size violin for her third birthday, Carrera began lessons with Char Boehm and continued studying the violin for eight years. Carrera loved the violin and was advancing quickly, but at the age of eleven, she was no longer able to continue due to a bone disorder that affected her collarbone. As Carrera and her family searched for another instrument, they discovered the mandolin, which began a new and exciting chapter in Carrera’s musical journey.
Carrera has studied the mandolin with several teachers including Michael Miller, Wayne Benson, Caterina Lichtenberg, and Ted Lucktenberg. She has also worked with Kathryn Lucktenberg Pologe, Dr. Courtney LeBauer, Annabelle Gardner, and Theresa Russ. Carrera has performed two solo concerts and participated in multiple ensemble groups in the pre-college music program of Converse University and at her church. This past spring, Carrera was one of the first-place winners in the online 2022 Charleston Baroque Music Competition. She was also an Honors Recital soloist in the 2022 Masterworks Festival where she performed Bach’s Ciaccona from Partita No. 2 in D minor. Most recently, Carrera performed Domenico Gaudioso’s Mandolin Concerto with the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra.
In the future, Carrera would like to play classical mandolin professionally. Presently, she shares her music online through her YouTube channel, Mandolin Princess. When Carrera is not practicing, she loves to sing, draw, crochet, read, and play with her cat. She also works for a local veterinarian.
Receiving the Award will support Carrera’s studies by helping to cover the cost of private lessons and making it possible for her to attend a summer music program. The scholarship funds will also support the purchase of a high-quality mandolin that will carry Carrera through college and into the professional field.
