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The American soprano, choral conductor, adjudicator and teacher, Gisèle Becker, earned her Bachelor of Music from The Catholic University of America in 1981.
Gisèle Becker, Music Director of the Cantate Chamber Singers since January 1994, is one of the Washington, DC area's leading choral conductors. Her vision of musical excellence and her commitment to imaginative programming, including commissions and première performances of new choral works, have earned for her the highest admiration and respect from her professional colleagues and audiences alike.
Gisèle Becker's newest appointment is as Director of Choral Activities at The George Washington University, where she conducts the George Washington University Singers, an auditioned 40-voice mixed ensemble. She is also Music Director at Arlington Presbyterian Church and Adjunct Professor of Conducting at The Catholic University of America. For 27 years, she served as singer and Assistant Conductor of the Washington Bach Consort before resigning in August 2005. She has also served as Chorus Master for the Cathedral Choral Society from 1995 to 2004, .Assistant Conductor of the Oratorio Society of Washington (currently The Washington Chorus) and founder of the Early English Ensemble, an a cappella Renaissance ensemble.
Gisèle Becker's extensive experience in choral preparation has included the Folger Consort's 1995 production of Dido and Aeneas, and the Cathedral Choral Society's performances of Hindemith's When Lilacs Last at the Dooryard Bloomed for guest conductor Robert Shaw, and of Haydn's The Creation for National Symphony Orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin. She has prepared the Washington Bach Consort for its performances of George Frideric Handel's Messiah with Paul McCreesh, the Monteverdi Vespers with Harry Christophers, and Charles Ives' Symphony No. 4, with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra. She has also prepared choruses for Mstislav Rostropovich, Robert King and Nicholas McGegan.
In addition to her conducting activities, Gisèle Becker is actively engaged as a singer, teacher, adjudicator and clinician, and enjoys acting as a recording producer. She has produced CD's for the Cathedral Choral Society, Hesperus, The Countertop Quartet, the Washington Symphonic Brass and organist John Weaver of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. She is also a singing member of the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble. Gisèle Becker has served on the faculties of Trinity College in Washington and the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA. |
