Sempe grew up in New Orleans, studied music, musicology, organology and the history of art in the United States at the Oberlin Conservatory and completed his training in Europe with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. His distinctive harpsichord playing, musicianship and interpretive flair were quickly noticed by Reinhard Gobel and William Christie, who encouraged him to remain in Europe and embark on his own pioneering reconsideration of well and lesser-known repertoire ranging from 1500 - 1750.
Capriccio Stravagante now incorporates the chamber ensemble, the Capriccio Stravagante Orchestra, the Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra and Capriccio Stravagante Opera. The diverse vocal and instrumental formations of Capriccio Stravagante feature the finest European, American and Canadian musicians. The combination of nonchalance and power which are the trademarks of Skip Sempe and Capriccio Stravagante’s performances have been rewarded with outstanding critical praise worldwide.
As a solo performer, Sempé has focused on developing a superb sense of idiomatic harpsichord touch and a finely tuned ear for achieving variation in the instrument's sonority. Performing and recording on the world’s most prestigious harpsichords, made by Ruckers, Skowroneck, Kennedy and Sidey, Skip Sempe is particularly known for his interpretations of the French classical harpsichord literature including Chambonnieres, d’Anglebert, Forqueray, Louis and Francois Couperin and Rameau, for his adventurous and ground-breaking Bach and Scarlatti, and for the earlier virginalist repertoire of Byrd and his contemporaries.
Solo performances from Seattle to Tokyo - including dedication concerts for the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Chateau de Versailles - as well as harpsichord masterclasses for the Leipzig Bach Festival and the Berkeley Early Music Festival have attracted a particularly enthusiastic following. Recent prizewinning recordings include "Pavana - The Virgin Harpsichord", featuring Elizabethan music for one, two and three harpsichords with his colleagues Olivier Fortin and Pierre Hantai.
Skip Sempé combines the rare synthesis of uncompromising musical moderator and admired virtuoso performer. He is in constant demand as a recording artist, having succeded Gustav Leonhardt for the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label and Jordi Savall for Astree. As a solo harpsichordist or as a basso continuo player of infinite finesse with Capriccio Stravagante, Skip Sempe has assured the ongoing traditions of those pioneers and vast repertoires with more than two dozen prizewinning recordings.
They document Skip Sempe’s dedication to strategic planning of repertoire, artist and programming, as well as featuring new and important collaborators such as Guillemette Laurens, Maria Bayo, Jay Bernfeld, Mike Fentross, Manfredo Kraemer, Olivier Fortin, Julien Martin, Chanticleer and the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal. With special regard for his recording techniques, in production as well as post-production, The New Grove has written that Sempe strives "to transfer the spontaneity of a live performance to the recorded medium".
Among the distinctions Skip Sempe has received for his recordings are the Diapason d' Or, Grand Prix du Disque de l' Academie du Disque Francais, Gramophone Critic's Choice, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Goldberg 5 Stars, Telerama ffff, Opera International 4 croches, Stereo Review Best of the Month, Penguin Guide Yearbook Award, Top 10 Classics USA, Gramophone Editor's Choice, 10 de Repertoire, 10 de Classica, CD Classica Scelte d' Editore, and a Grammy Award Nomination for the debut recording of the Capriccio Stravagante Orchestra.