Rheda Becker

Rheda Becker is recognized as one of the outstanding professionals in the specialized art of the musical narrator. She made her debut in 1974 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sergiu Comissiona. Since then she has appeared with them frequently as the narrator in works by Prokofiev, Britten, Tchaikovsky, Schuller, Mendelssohn, and Schoenberg. She has to her credit many diverse roles and critically acclaimed performances includng Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake, Honegger’s King David, Walton’s Façade, and Debussy’s Chansons de Bilitis.

In addition to guest performances with symphony orchestras, Ms. Becker has performed with chamber ensembles and recitalists at Carnegie Recital Hall, the Library of Congress, the Krenek Festival in Santa Barbara, California, the Group for Contemporary Music Series at the Manhattan School of Music , and the Baltimore Chamber Music Society Series. Her repertoire includes works ranging from the 14th century Le Roman de Fauvel, which she performed this season with the Folger Consort in Washington, D.C., to narratives by 20th century composers. She was the narrator in two world premieres, Ernst Krenek’s They Knew What They Wanted and Combinazioni III for Narrator, Oboe, and Percussion by Robert Hall Lewis.

Concerts

Sunday, May 6, 1984