Karen Becker & Friends Piano Recital at SUNY Plattsburgh

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Karen Becker

• Sonja Thompson

PLATTSBURGH, NY (10/23/2007)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Plattsburgh Music Department presents "Karen Becker & Friends," a piano recital featuring faculty member Karen Becker and guest artist Sonja Thompson on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium in Hawkins Hall.

In addition to serving as a showcase for local and regional artists, "Karen Becker & Friends," has expanded to include visiting guest performers. In this case, Becker and Thompson will be performing music written or adapted for two pianos/four hands. The pieces include "Scaramouche," by Milhaud, "American in Paris," by Gershwin, and "Rite of Spring," by Stravinsky.

Pianist Thompson is delighted to return to Plattsburgh for performances with Becker, her longtime friend and collaborator. The two last performed together in Plattsburgh in December 2005. The upcoming concert is free and open to the public. For additional information, please call (518) 564-2180.

About Karen Becker Now in her third year as assistant professor of piano at SUNY Plattsburgh, Karen Becker continues to shine as one of the region’s most popular performing artists. Some highlights of her recent local performances include appearing as a guest artist on the Hill and Hollow Music concert series, acting as music director for SUNY Plattsburgh's Lyric Scenes Workshop, collaborating with several artists and students from the Meadowmount Conservatory, and appearing as soloist with the Champlain Valley Oratorio Society.

In addition, Becker has given recitals in New York City and Denver. In November of this year, she will travel to Cairo, Egypt, where she will be a featured artist on the Ewart Hall Concert series. Additionally, she will conduct two days of master classes with students at the American University in Cairo. In the spring of 2008, Becker will serve as music director for the SUNY Plattsburgh Music and Theatre Departments' production of "Guys and Dolls."

Becker holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School, and a D.M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, where she was a student of Christopher Taylor, a Van Cliburn medal-winner. While at the University of Wisconsin, she was featured as a soloist with the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (an organization she helped found) in the "Concerto for Piano and Winds," by Igor Stravinsky. She also served as a pianist with the UW-Symphony and Chamber Orchestra.

After receiving her Master of Music from Juilliard, Becker worked as a pianist for the American Opera Project at New York City Opera, as a piano soloist for the Summer Garden Series at the Museum of Modern Art, and as a keyboard player in the Philip Glass Ensemble. She was featured in the "Music from Japan" series at Columbia University and was a champion of contemporary music, playing premieres by John Cage and rarely heard music by Charles Koechlin and Erik Satie.

About Sonja Thompson Like Becker, Thompson received her Master of Music from the Juilliard School, studying with Margo Garrett, Samuel Sanders, Alberta Masiello, Thomas Grubb and others. Thompson's multi-faceted career includes performing, teaching, coaching and conducting activities. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota's School of Music and at Augsburg College. She is also the assistant music director at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.

As a coach, clinician, adjudicator and conductor, Thompson has worked with organizations such as the Minnesota Opera, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Nautilus Music Theater, Théâtre de la Jeune Lune, New Dramatists in New York City, Aaron Copland Music and Arts Program in Westchester, NY, Lincoln Center Student Program in New York City, Florida Grand Opera, and Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Thompson's memorable 2007 activities include performances of Grieg songs with soprano Maria Jette on a cruise ship for the "Prairie Home Companion" cruise to Norway and several recitals of Grieg songs with Norwegian soprano Marianne Hirsti, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the composer's death; a poetry reading and recital with poet, writer and National Public Radio commentator Andrei Codrescu, in Victoria, Texas, commemorating the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina; and co-production of "Illuminating Bolcom," a Twin Cities festival exploring the work of composer Bill Bolcom and poet William Blake.

Other recent favorites of Thompson include performances of Schubert's great song cycle "Die Schöne Müllerin" in Minneapolis, Chicago, and San Francisco with tenor Dennis Petersen; appearances with Garrison Keillor in Georgia, Virginia, and Ohio; chamber music recitals for the Oregon Festival of American Music and the Oregon Bach Festival; a Twin Cities tour of Messian's "Quartet for the End of Time"; performances as pianist/conductor for productions of "Maria des Buenos Aires" and "Faust" with Théâtre de la Jeune Lune; and many other memorable events in the Twin Cities. Thompson lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children.

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