Carpenter studied at Harvard University, for a short time with Elgar and later with Ziehn in Chicago. His musical career was pursued in addition to one of business, that of the George B. Carpenter & Co., a mill, railway and shipping supply firm established by his father. Many of Carpenter's works are tone poems, and his first orchestral work, Adventures in a Preambulator (1914), was his first successful example of this style. It is a humerous suite that musically describes the sights and sounds that a baby and nurse experience as they wheel along the sidewalk. His Krazy Kat (1921) was based on the comic strip of the same name, and the music represents the happy personality of its character. The ballet Skyscrapers (1923-4) is more radical and is an impressionistic interpretation of modern city life. Carpenter is best known for his songs, also elegantly written with impressionistic tendencies. A lovely example is "When I Bring You Colored Toys" (1932), part of a set of six songs to poems by Tagore. ~ Lynn Vought, Rovi