By Megan Fitzgerald, PhD & Steven O. Evans, PhD

When Cameron Cody was three years old, he wandered over to a piano at a neighbor’s garage sale and began playing melodies he had heard in church—despite never having taken a lesson. His family watched, stunned, as the child instinctively found his way across the keyboard.

 “It was an instant bond,” he recalls. “I don’t remember a time where I didn’t play.”

That bond would become a lifelong calling. Now 34, Cody is an internationally recognized pianist, organist, and conductor with endorsements from both Shigeru Kawai and the Allen Organ Company—an almost unheard-of dual distinction. He serves as Director of Music and Principal Organist at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston, where an 80-voice choir and a 7,000-member congregation anchor his week. The rest of the time, he’s on the road.

“I travel about 35 to 40 percent of the year,” Cody says, noting that his social media presence has surged, booking him nearly through 2028. “People thought this style of music was dead, but when you combine Broadway, sacred music, and inspirational pieces, the world is receiving it really well.”

South Florida audiences will get a taste of that blend on January 30, 2026 when Cody brings a specially curated performance to the Gray Box Theater in Wilton Manors. The evening will open with Broadway classics—“Be Our Guest,” Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Carousel—before transitioning into the story of Cody’s own life, including his work as a faith-driven performer navigating social media fame. The second half will feature the great hymns of the church, arranged with Cody’s signature exuberance.

His concerts, he says, are designed to feel deeply personal. 

“People come up to me with tears in their eyes saying, ‘I know you planned this for me,’” Cody says. “Somehow I’ve been able to meet people where they are—atheist, Christian, straight, gay. Everyone is welcome.”

Though he often performs in massive venues, including a recent appearance at Carnegie Hall, Cody says he’s thrilled about the intimacy of the Gray Box and being a part of its historic first year.

“If we could all pull our chairs up and sing around the piano, I would do it,” he says. “This is the sweetest little venue. I want people to feel like I’m looking right at them.”

Cody describes the upcoming South Florida concert in three words: grandioso, tender, and faith. But more than anything, he hopes people leave changed.

 “Everything I do has to have a purpose,” he says. “I feel the music from head to toe, and I want people to walk out feeling something they didn’t expect.”