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Valerie J. Becker is a multi-faceted musician who is active as a pianist, conductor, and music educator in the Boston area. A native of Boston, Ms. Becker received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Boston University, where she was a student of Anthony di Bonaventura. Her post-graduate studies led her to the University of Illinois, where she worked on a collaborative artist degree; to Austria, where she studied German Lied; and to Italy, where she performed with the Rome Festival Orchestra. She has been soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra and has appeared in recital with many major artists throughout the world. As a former rehearsal pianist for the Boston Pops, Ms. Becker had the occasion to play for world-renowned artists such as Midori, YoYo Ma, James Galway, and Kathleen Battle. She served on the faculty of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and was Artistic Director for The Treble Chorus of New England for many years. Ms. Becker has adjudicated Northeast District Auditions, conducted the Northeast District Treble Chorus in concert, and was a choral clinician for The Choristers Guild Southeastern Childrenā€™s Festival. Currently she is on the Performing Arts Faculty at Commonwealth School and Needham High School, a faculty accompanist at The Rivers School and New England Conservatory, Music Director for the Congregational Church of Needham, pianist for both the Andover Choral Society and the Kodaly Institute of Bostonā€™s summer program, and coaches and teaches privately.