Faculty

Cellist Karen Becker is Professor of Cello in the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. In addition to teaching cello, she coaches chamber music and teaches cello literature and pedagogy. Becker enjoys serving as a clinician and master teacher for cellists of all ages and has worked with young musicians as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States. An active member of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Becker presents regularly at ASTA National Conferences, is past president of both the Nebraska and Missouri chapters, and a recipient of the ASTA Citation for Leadership & Merit. Her career as a teacher and performer has taken her around the world to places such as Brazil, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, South Korea, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, Vietnam, and throughout the United States. In addition to RLMF, other festival appearances include the Ameropa Music Festival in Prague, Soundwaves Music Festival, and the International Cello Institute. She enjoys learning new music (solo, chamber, and orchestral): in 2015 Dr. Becker gave the world premiere of Laurence Sherr’s Sonata for Cello and Piano: Mir Zaynen Do! at the University of Nebraska, the Montana premiere later that year, and in 2017 the California premiere was given as part of Daniel Pearl World Music Days. Becker has recorded for several PBS documentaries and independent films and can be heard on Bright Eyes’ CD Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. She has been featured numerous times on American Public Media’s Performance Today. As a soloist and chamber musician, she tours regularly as cellist of the Concordia String Trio. Their recordings, Viennese String Trios, American Vistas, and From the Heart of Ra: New Chamber Music for Viola by Andrew List, are available on all streaming platforms, as is the Becker-Bogard Duo’s recording, American Landscapes. An avid cyclist, Becker enjoys trail riding and endurance cycling.