Short Bio

International soloist Daniel Becker is principal clarinet of the Sierra Vista Symphony Orchestra, and the owner and operator of the Becker Woodwind Studio. Dr. Becker has served as principal clarinet of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, and as second clarinet of the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed extensively with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and Tucson Pops Orchestra. As an educator, Dr. Becker has taught at Valley City State University (ND), the University of Jamestown (ND), and the University of Arizona. He has performed and given clinics and master classes throughout the United States and abroad in Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, and Canada.  Also a music theorist and public speaker, Dr. Becker has presented his research and given talks multiple times at the University of Arizona, abroad at the 2^nd Annual Conference for the Study of Progressive Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the International Clarinet Association Research Competition, and at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression at Central Washington University. Originally from Henderson, Nevada, Dr. Becker holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees, both in Clarinet Performance, from the University of Arizona and Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Wind Performance from Central Washington University.  His teachers have included Jerry Kirkbride, Florie Rothenberg, Joseph Brooks, and Felix Viscuglia.

Long Bio

Daniel Becker has made an impact as a clarinetist, educator, music theorist, and public speaker around the world. He is currently principal clarinet with the Sierra Vista Symphony Orchestra, and has spent the better part of the past decade performing regularly with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. He has also spent five years performing with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, including two years as principal clarinet of the group, and has also performed several times with the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and Tucson Pops Orchestra. Abroad, he has performed as both a soloist and orchestral performer in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada. Dr. Becker has performed alongside artists such as Michael Cavanaugh, Kyle MacLachlan, Sue Raney, Don Menza, and many others. An avid chamber musician, Dr. Becker has performed with a variety of small ensembles, including the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet, the Yakima Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet, and the Arizona Wind Quintet.

Education is one of Dr. Becker’s greatest passions. In addition to teaching clarinet and saxophone privately for the past decade and a half, he has taught at Valley City State University (ND), the University of Jamestown (ND), and the University of Arizona. He has given clinics to clarinet studios at colleges and universities across the country, including the University of New Mexico, Southern Illinois University, North Dakota State University, Oklahoma City University, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and the University of North Georgia. Abroad, he has given clinics and master classes in Kobe, Japan and at the University of Costa Rica. An ardent believer in the importance of K-12 education, Dr. Becker has taught full-time in the middle school and elementary school classrooms, and has given clinics and master classes to middle school and high school students in Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.

Dr. Becker has been honored to perform, present research, and speak at a number of venues. He has presented multiple times at the International Clarinet Association’s Clarinetfest, as a solo performer at Clarinetfest 2022 in Reno, Nevada, Clarinetfest 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and as a finalist in the research competition at Clarinetfest 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. In 2019, Dr. Becker was invited to the the alumni keynote speaker at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression at Central Washington University. His research in the music theory field has been presented at the Second International Conference of The Progect Network for the study of progressive rock in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2016, as well as multiple times at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Becker is currently the owner and operator of the Becker Woodwind Studio. He holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees, both in clarinet performance, from the University of Arizona, and Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Wind Performance from Central Washington University. His primary instructors are Jerry Kirkbride, Florie Rothenberg, Joseph Brooks, and Felix Viscuglia. He lives in Tucson with his wife and child and their dog and cats.