Pianist Kris Becker to Perform Benefit

Concert for Family Shield Ministries

Family Shield Ministries, Inc. will hold a benefit classical music concert on Sunday, September 21, 2003 at Concordia Seminary in the Clara and Spencer Werner Auditorium of Wyneken Hall in Clayton, Missouri. Pianist Kris Becker of Altamont, Illinois will present a program of solo works ranging from Baroque to the late Russian Romantics, featuring Rachmaninoff’s monumental Sonata No.2. Included as well will be a number of original works by the pianist himself. The concert begins at 3 p.m. A reception will follow the performance.

Kris Becker, of Altamont, Illinois, began playing piano by ear and composing at the age of three. He won several competitions in his youth playing ragtime piano, including the Illinois State Talent Competition at age ten. A year after starting classical studies, he was a finalist in the 1995 Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition. For most of his high school career, Kris studied with Dorothy Munger of Indianapolis, at which time he began giving solo recitals. Now a twenty-year-old senior in the University of Illinois School of Music, he is one of its most outstanding undergraduate pianists. He currently studies with Ian Hobson, who has stated that Kris has a “command of the piano both musically and technically.” In addition to his solo performing, Kris serves as pianist for the University of Illinois Symphony and is in demand as an accompanist and chamber musician.

His diverse repertoire is formidable and his performing experience is extensive. He has competed, performed, and studied internationally in venues in the U.S., Poland, France, and the Czech Republic, and has appeared in master classes with Tzimon Barto, Stanislav Ioudenitch, and Philippe Entremont. During his time at the University of Illinois, Kris has won the school’s prestigious undergraduate piano competition and earned runner-up in the national Yamaha Young Performing Artists competition. He was recently named the School of Music’s Presser Scholar, an honor granted for his musical and academic excellence. Kris plans to pursue further studies in music at the graduate level.

Family Shield Ministries, Inc. shares the Gospel with families and equips Christians to serve and witness in the home, church, and community. The benefit concert will raise support for the Family Shield radio program heard each Saturday at 11:05 a.m. on AM 850 KFUO. This includes the family outreach and referral services that assists over 5,000 individuals each year. For additional information call (314) 352-2253 or visit www.familyshieldministries.com.

The cost per person is $10. A limited supply of complimentary tickets for students are available upon request. Send checks to: Family Shield Ministries, P.O. Box 230015, St. Louis, MO 63l23.