welcome!
Pianist and composer Kris Becker enjoys a fruitful career in classical, jazz, rock, and spiritual music. Kris found early success as a ragtime pianist in his youth, but his more recent awards have established him as a respected classical and concert musician: He is a winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Lee International, St. Louis Artist Presentation Society, and Shepherd School of Music Concerto competitions; and he has gained top prizes in the Wideman International, Corpus Christi International, Hellam Young Artists, Mid-Texas Symphony, and Tuesday Musical Clubs competitions. A recipient of the Kate Neal Kinley Fellowship, he has also appeared as a semi-finalist in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and as a finalist in the Kosciuszko Chopin competition.
Kris has been heard as a soloist and collaborator in venues throughout the world, including the Kennedy Center (Washington), the Blossom Center (Cleveland), the Cultural Centre (Hong Kong), Villa Bertramka (Prague), and even Houston’s House of Blues. Radio performances include appearances on WQXR New York (David Dubal’s Reflections from the Keyboard) and KUHF Houston (The Front Row). He is a popular guest artist of the Houston Symphony League and has also performed for the American Liszt Society. Most recently, Kris seeks private homes and community venues as a favored outlet for sharing the joy of music with audiences. A Carnegie Hall debut is scheduled for March 2009.
Kris’ creative powers as a composer, arranger, songwriter, and improviser in many styles have also gained the attention of audiences. His original works have been featured on National Public Radio affiliates throughout the United States, in the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and as a regular feature of his solo piano concerts. Kris also plays keyboards for the rock band The Literary Greats and serves as a pianist for Second Baptist Church of Houston, the United States' largest denominational Christian congregation.
In his student years, Kris studied with Ian Hobson at the University of Illinois, where he served as principal keyboard of both the University of Illinois Symphony and Mr. Hobson’s Sinfonia da Camera. His Master's degree at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music was completed as a full-scholarship student of Robert Roux. In his first year at Rice, he won the school’s concerto competition and performed Beethoven IV with the Shepherd School Symphony. Additional study has taken him across the map: to Paris, Prague, and the Amalfi Coast, and to the MasterWorks Festival, the Gilmore Festival, Kent/Blossom Music, the Adamant Festival, and the TCU/Van Cliburn Institute.