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Becky Archibald

Becky Archibald is an award-winning pianist, composer, recording artist, and educator. Spanning solo piano to chamber music to jazz, Becky’s music has taken her far – from Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall (solo debut, 2006) to a California house concert playing Frank Sinatra’s piano, to the Dordogne Jazz Summer School (DJSS) in Monteton, France (composer-in-residence since 2009.) Known for her innovative programming, she produced “Fresh-Faced Jazz” for the Indianapolis Spirit and Place Festival, featuring jazz artists performing inner city children’s first musical compositions, and a live radio concert on WFYI’s “The Classical Connection,” featuring Archibald performing her compositions with members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, along with a reading by award-winning author and classical music reviewer for the New Yorker Magazine, Alex Ross. With the Ronen Chamber Ensemble, Becky co-produces “The Rite of Swing” – the annual showcase of her work in chamber music and jazz – which raises funds for her educational outreach both locally and abroad.

Becky was recently commissioned by the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) to write a jazz composition for the celebration of the completion of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a world-class urban bike and pedestrian path that connects neighborhoods, Cultural Districts and entertainment amenities. Her “Cultural Trail Theme,” written for 12 instruments, including saxophone quartet, trumpet, piano, Latin percussion and ‘cycla-phone’ (an instrument she invented out of bike parts) was premiered on May 10, 2013, at the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Brian Payne, CICF president and founder/leader of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, stated that commissioning Becky to write the theme “was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my 12 years at the foundation.”

An Anderson native, and a graduate of Anderson University, Becky holds a Master in Piano Performance from California State University at Long Beach. Her life took a new direction when she wrote a piano piece for her mom’s birthday in 1997—her first composition, Searching. Since then, Archibald has written over 200 compositions, and has released 5 piano CDs – Searching, The Long Ride Home, The Light at the End of the Blues, The Christmas One, and Mood Swing. Her music has been placed on cable and network television in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and in countries overseas, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Finland, Poland, Russia and the UK. Becky’s chamber music has been commissioned by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Ronen Chamber Ensemble and Kent Leslie, and has received premieres by The Ronen Chamber Ensemble, The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Fishers Chamber Players, Butler University Composers’ Orchestra, and Alias Chamber Ensemble in Nashville, TN. She has written the score for a musical comedy, The Pied Piper of Hoboken, and music for the films Coming to My Senses and Robert Indiana: American Dreamer. She has been a guest artist at Butler University, Ball State, Depauw, Anderson, I.U.P.U.I and University of Indianapolis, the Indiana History Center, Indiana Landmarks, American Cabaret Theatre and The Jazz Kitchen.

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Album Review

Becky Archibald: Midnight At Monteton

Read "Midnight At Monteton" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Pianist and composer Becky Archibald's sixth release as a leader, Midnight at Monteton is a diverse collection of highly polished originals with catchy harmonic hooks. Recorded over a span of three years, Archibald is heard mostly with a variety of her regular collaborators creating a relaxed amicable mood that permeates the entire album. The tracks range from the intimate and nocturnesque to the Latin flavored to those that sway with a soulful swagger. Her shimmering piano together with ...

2
Album Review

Becky Archibald: Midnight At Monteton

Read "Midnight At Monteton" reviewed by Chris Mosey


Becky Archibald is an extremely talented lady. Relatively new to jazz, her composing and arranging skills at best warrant comparison with those of such great names as Marty Paich and Mary Lou Williams. Though they are all her own and bang up to date. A native of Anderson, Indiana, she sums up her life to date in an attractive blend of panache and self-effacement: “Becky Archibald was born, took piano lessons, grew up, went to college, went ...

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". . .It is obvious from the start of Midnight At Monteton that Ms. Archibald has a real talent for writing memorable melodies that often utilize original chord changes. Her music is straight ahead, fresh, thoughtful, and sometimes utilizes Brazilian rhythms. Several of the songs deserve to become future standards and adopted by musicians who are sick of playing “On Green Dolphin Street” and “Stella by Starlight.”

The interpretations of her songs on this CD are excellent, featuring some of the finest jazz musicians based in Indianapolis. Particularly rewarding is the playing of Jim Farrelly on soprano, alto and alto flute, flugelhornist P.J. Yinger and guitarist Sandy Williams plus the pianist herself.

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

Professor of Composition, Anderson University Private lessons in piano and composition from my home studio in Indianapolis.

Music

Videos

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