Popmusicplus is the place you will find exciting original music and arrangements by composer Chrissy Ricker. Have a question? Feel free to contact us
here.
Chrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher, and composer from North Carolina.
She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano performance and pedagogy from
Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), Chrissy is an
active member of the Music Teachers National Association, North Carolina Music Teachers Association, and
Raleigh Piano Teachers Association. Chrissy maintains a private piano studio where she focuses on
sharing her love of all types of music with her students.
Chrissy specializes in creating
engaging original music and arrangements for musicians of all ages and skill levels. Chrissy's original
piano works are published by Neil
A. Kjos Music Company, Piano Pronto Publishing, and SMP Press. To date, she has published over thirty collections of piano solo and
duet music for students. Her piano music is featured regularly on the contest lists of teaching
associations across the United States and Canada, including the National Federation of Music
Clubs.
A prolific arranger, Chrissy has also arranged hundreds of pop, classical, video game, and
anime titles for pianists at all levels. She is a Signature Artist for Musicnotes,
the world's leading digital sheet music retailer.
Chrissy has also written a variety of chamber music for voice, brass, woodwinds, and strings.
Her chamber works have been commissioned by the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute
and premiered by the Triangle Chamber Music Collective and the Vida Strings quartet. She is a founding
member of the Carolina Contemporary Composers (c3), a group dedicated to creating and performing new
music in North Carolina.
In addition to teaching and composing, Chrissy enjoys writing about topics related to piano
pedagogy. Her articles on teaching have appeared in American Music Teacher magazine,
and she has been a frequent clinician for teacher groups in the North Carolina area, presenting on
topics ranging from practice skills and motivational techniques to incorporating improvisation and
composition into piano lessons. Chrissy also blogs regularly on these topics here.
What people are saying...
"[Chrissy's preludes] are delightful pieces that expose students to a variety
of techniques and devices found in modern works, including changing meters, odd meters,
syncopated rhythms, and jazz influences....Any of the preludes would work quite well as recital
pieces and would prepare students for the works of the great composers." -- Suzanne
Schons, Clavier Companion magazine
"Chrissy Ricker has tapped into the sounds young people want to play and has made
them accessible to progressing pianists...They're in love with this music!" --
Sarah Robertson, piano teacher
"Life gets so busy I don't often stop to write reviews but I just played through this
book and couldn't not stop to write a review! The jazz harmonies are incredible for how
accessible this book is for early intermediate pianists! I can't remember the last time I had so
much fun playing simple jazz music." --
Nicole Douglas, piano teacher (review of Cool Cats)
"Chrissy Ricker did it again! These are engaging and exciting solos for beginners
that are a big hit with my students. I love teaching pattern based pieces that make sense to
students while challenging them to reach a little higher. Want your students to practice more?
Here's your answer." --
Heidi Scott, piano teacher (review of Easy Perfect Patterns)
"I love this book because the music is fun to play. The pieces are memorable, with
cool patterns. I can imagine going through an adventure when I play the piece. My favorites are
"Into Forever," "Epic," and "Dragon March."" --
Logan, age 13 (review of Let's Quest!)