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    Notes on the Staff

    Unapologetic energy: Houston musician wins a major international award

    Joel Luks
    Dec 18, 2013 | 12:19 pm

    A few minutes in, the virile whirlwind that's Kris Becker's Piano Sonata No. 1 leaves one breathless, the incessant surge of cascading riffs capturing the dexterity of the Houston-based performer/composer who can't easily be categorized as belonging to only one genre of music.

    The 50-page score reveals writing that resembles the arpeggiated passages found in the Well-Tempered Clavier preludes of J.S. Bach. The first movement, titled What you thought, and what is, opens with a syncopated groove that blossoms with tense sustained melodies floating atop an unsettling rumble — as if the love child of Chopin and Liszt erupted in a spastic, bipolar tempter tantrum. Allusions to heavy metal, experimental jazz and 1970s hard rock abound, but, according to Becker, that wasn't on purpose.

    He just happened to be listening to music by Black Sabbath, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and McCoy Tyner while working on the sonata.

    Listen to What you thought, and what is to below:

    The other three movements — titled Not to keep you waiting, Against all better judgment and Reconciliator — form a subconscious story arc.

    Becker coined his mishmash of classical structures and popular inclinations "nu-classical," but not in the traditional sense of executing one style in another one's framework. Becker's nu-classical is a genuine blend that results in a sound that seems not to be associated exclusively to conventions of the past. Rather, it reinvents what it means to fuse these elements synergistically.

    "Compositionally speaking, I aimed to be intellectually rigorous while viscerally enjoyable and relatable," he says. "Lots of muscularity is required in technique and mind to render a fitting interpretation, and an unapologetic energy."

    "From him, I learned everything that galvanized my musicianship, they way I produce my sound, the way I approach performance, the way I work on my artistry."

    The composition recently earned accolades from the IBLA Foundation, an organization that hosts an annual competition for pianists, singers, instrumentalists and composers in Italy. The 2013 IBLA Grand Prize results ranked Becker as the highest scoring composer. The foundation also awarded Becker with a Most Distinguished Musician title and a special mention for his sonata. The honor comes with a national concert tour, which includes a stop in Carnegie Hall in New York.

    "The recognition is a fantastic boost to my burgeoning career," Becker tells CultureMap. "I've been fortunate to receive national attention for my work, but to receive an international endorsement is a huge confidence booster. It's an indication of how my work comes across, especially when it was evaluated in the company of compositions that are scored for larger musical forces.

    "It validates what I am doing."

    Prior to crafting his four-movement work, which had previously won the 2012 National Federation of Music Clubs Emil and Ruth Beyer Composition Award, Becker had collected hundreds of musical ideas. Voice memo recordings of little snippets and improvisations filled his iTunes library. In 2011, he resolved to make sense of all these concepts in a large-scale piece that was designed to be big and extremely difficult to play. Becker sketched most of the first movement over the course of a couple of weeks in his apartment, but without an acoustic piano. Due to space restrictions and noise concerns from his neighbors, the Piano Sonata No. 1 was conceived on a Yamaha keyboard.

    The rest of the sonata was scored relatively quickly the following year. In 10 days, Becker, influenced by adrenaline and endorphins from a strict exercise regiment combined with some health setbacks — a period he describes as an elevated state with highs and lows — finished his sonata in time to submit it to the National Federation of Music Clubs for consideration. Becker dedicated the piece to his piano teacher Robert Roux, who's a professor at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music.

    "To say that Robert was my piano teacher sounds so dry and childlike," Becker says. "He taught me how to make music. From him, I learned everything that galvanized my musicianship, they way I produce my sound, the way I approach performance, the way I work on my artistry.

    "I don't dedicate any of my works unless the occasion arises. It was fitting to dedicate this early work in my catalogue to the man who brought me to Houston."

    Becker's Piano Sonata No. 1 was commercially released as part of his Expansions album. The score is available online and the music can be purchased on iTunes and CD Baby. In January, Becker plans to release the sonata as a music video.

    Kris Becker's Piano Sonata No. 1 was commercially released as part of his Expansions album.

    Kris Becker CD
      
    Courtesy Photo
    Kris Becker's Piano Sonata No. 1 was commercially released as part of his Expansions album.
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    news/arts

    be part of the art

    Local artist invites Houstonians to participate in new Discovery Green project

    Brianna Griff
    May 23, 2025 | 4:00 pm
    A portrait of artist Karen Navarro for Discovery Green
    Photo courtesy of Karen Navarro
    Artist Karen Navarro is creating a large-scale, public art installation for Discovery Green.

    Discovery Green will debut a new interactive artwork this September, and Houstonians can be part of its creation. Locally-based artist Karen Navarro is inviting residents to sit for portraits for Chroma Collective, her large-scale installation planned for the park’s Sarofim Picnic Lawn.

    The Argentine native centers her practice on identity, representation, race, and belonging. Her own journey as an immigrant woman informs the Discovery Green project, which celebrates Houston’s diversity while examining the intersection of history and personal narratives. Although Navarro began as a photographer, her work now includes immersive, three-dimensional sculpture.

    “I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue evolving my practice and working on a project of this scale as an introduction to the realm of public art,” Navarro said.

    Navarro is a former fellow of Discovery Green Conservancy’s Art Lab, a mentorship program that pairs underrepresented local artists with a lead artist and mentors to learn the nuts and bolts of public art installations.

    “Seeing Karen Navarro, one of our inaugural Art Lab fellows, selected for the park’s fall pop-up installation is a testament to the program’s mission in action,” Kathryn Lott, president of Discovery Green Conservancy, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to see her bring her vision to life and to continue fostering opportunities for Houston’s creative community.”

    A local art advisory firm, The Weingarten Art Group, co-curates and co-administers Art Lab, which is funded by an anonymous national foundation.

    "Karen Navarro’s fall pop-up proposal brilliantly captures the essence of Discovery Green – its vibrant community, lush green spaces, interactive landscape, and spirit of exploration,” said Weingarten Art Group principal Lea Weingarten.

    Houstonians interested in participating in Navarro’s piece must complete this form, which includes a photo submission, to be considered for a portrait session.

    discovery greenparksvisual-art
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