Hailed as a “sensitive partner” by the New York Times, Romanian-American pianist Christina Giuca Krause enjoys a dynamic career as a performer, educator, and arts administrator. Heard on stages throughout the US and Europe, Christina has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, Preston Bradley Hall, and festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England. She has served on the music staff of the Houston Ballet Academy, HGOco, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick W. and Shirley G. Ryan Opera Center. As the pianist winner of the Music Academy of the West’s 2017 Marilyn Horne Song Competition, Christina and soprano Hannah Rose Kidwell gave a recital tour that included sold-out performances in Houston, Santa Barbara, and New York City. Christina was also invited to perform in Carnegie Hall’s 2018 “The Song Continues” masterclass series with Renée Fleming, Graham Johnson, and Marilyn Horne. Christina has performed and premiered many works by living composers and assisted in the premieres of new operas, including Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Opera Theatre of St. Louis) and Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride (Chicago Opera Theater). She is a founding member of contemporary piano duo 4×5 with composer and pianist Benjamin Krause. They were recently featured guest artists of the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium. Christina holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory and Master of Music degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Her teachers include the late Emilio del Rosario, Peter Takács, Monique Duphil, David Breitman, Brian Connelly, and Frank Corliss. Christina was a recipient of the Postgraduate Collaborative Piano Fellowship from the Bard College Conservatory, where she worked with the Graduate Vocal Arts Program under the direction of soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Kayo Iwama. Christina is the Artistic Director of LYNX Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that connects diverse communities to professional art song performances and educational experiences. She was the recipient of a 2021 Alumni Enterprise Award from the Music Academy of the West for LYNX’s Composition of a City program. Passionate about teaching, Christina is currently on faculty at Hope College and Lutheran Summer Music Festival.