MICHAEL BECKER

Michael Becker comes from a family of musicians. After graduating from secondary school in Hannover (he sang in the boys’ choir and played football in the Hannover 96 club), he studied music under Jürgen Kussmaul, was a viola player with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, the European Community Youth Orchestra and other ensembles. After completing his postgraduate studies of journalism, he worked for newspapers and radio stations for more than 15 years. From 1994 to 2006, he was the artistic director of Niedersächsische Musiktage. Since 2007, Michael Becker has been the director of Tonhalle Düsseldorf and the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra.