Keyboard artist Klaus A. Becker will be performing "A Dance on the Keyboards" May 8th at 7:30 P.M. in Helen Hills Hills Chapel, Smith College, Northampton. An accomplished concert performer on both piano and organ, he will be bringing together these two worlds to present selections by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
In his native Germany, early prizes in the national music competition “Jugend musiziert” provided him scholarships to attend graduate conservatories. Ludwig Hoffmann, Friedrich Gulda and Claudio Arrau were among those with whom he studied piano. For organ he studied with Leo Krämer, Franz Lehrndorfer and Heinz Umlauff. Invitations to perform during the early years of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival brought him in contact with Leonard Bernstein, whose musical ideals he continues to embrace.
However, travelling with his mentor, Dr. John Thomas, to Kenya, Uganda and The Commonwealth of Dominica – to learn and to provide medical care – ignited an interest in the sciences. Klaus began medical studies in Germany. This led him, for the moment, way from the concert stage, and subsequently, with his young family, to the United States, and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Presently, he is active in academic research, all the while moving towards his lifelong goal of combining the advancement of science with music performance.
From his perspective of music as the image of nature, Klaus intends to present new insights into the music by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt and Reger. This event represents a return to the concert stage with the help of Luiz de Moura Castro. Other upcoming concert dates include St. Thomas Church (New York City), and King’s Chapel (Boston, MA). Klaus lives with his wife and three sons in Western Massachusetts, where he has found his true home.
Sponsored by Christ United Methodist, Northampton–Easthampton, this concert will benefit the participation of Dominik Likins as a People to People Student Ambassador.
The mission of the People-to-People Student Ambassador program is to bridge cultural and political borders through education and exchange, making the world a better place for future generations.
People to People International dates back more than half a century to its founding by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. Eisenhower was acting on his firm belief that direct interaction between ordinary citizens around the world can promote cultural understanding and world peace. That proud legacy of hope lives on in People to People Ambassador Programs on seven continents. “I have long believed, as have many before me, that peaceful relations between nations require mutual respect between individuals,” said President Eisenhower. And there is no better way to achieve this than to start when they are young.
Student Ambassador Dominik Likins is 16 and a sophomore at Northampton High School. He came to this area from Cape Cod with his mother when he was in sixth grade in order that she might enroll at the University of Massachusetts to complete her education. The move was not easy, but because he understood from her the importance of education, coming to a new place became an opportunity for his own growth. He has been an active participant in his church and done well in school, both academically and in team sports, especially his two sports of passion, football and basketball – winning a varsity letter in football as a sophomore.
Dominik was invited to participate in the People to People 24–day European Heritage Tour this coming July. He will be travelling throughout Europe, experiencing a variety of special opportunities for learning about others and getting to know them and their world.
All proceeds from this evening’s concert will help support Dominik as a People to People Student Ambassador.Tickets, $10 for adults, $5 for students over 12, and younger children free, will be available at the door, or may be purchased through Christ United Methodist Church by calling 413 584-5935. Additional contributions may be made by check payable to People to People Ambassador Programs, with the memo naming Dominik Likins.
