Introducing Dr. Kris Rizzotto
Director of Music
After four months of weaving together organists and choir director, we are delighted to announce that the Church Council has hired and appointed a Director of Music for Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, Dr. Kris Rizzotto. Kris played on both the organ and piano for the Council, and rehearsed with the choir. Dr. Rizzotto has demonstrated their ability to lead from both the piano and organ, and bring to the church a unique blend of music, history and heritage.
Latvian Brazilian organist Dr. Kris Rizzotto received a doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Music from East Carolina University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Dr. Rizzotto graduated with a degree in piano performance in 2010, Magna cum Laude and performed as a concert pianist in Brazil. Kris attended East Carolina University in North Carolina, as an exchange student sponsored by the Brazilian Ministry of Education. Once back in Rio to graduate, Kris was nominated as the organist of the city’s Benedictine Abbey, which houses one of the oldest organs in South America. Dr. Rizzotto returned to East Carolina University in 2011 for the Masters degree program in organ performance and sacred music, which is also where Kris met their Brazilian born wife, Dr. Clara Rizzotto. After completing the master’s degree in North Carolina, Kris pursued the Doctor of Musical Arts degree (DMA) at The American Organ Institute at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, where they studied under Dr. John Schwandt. Interestingly, our former organist, Kenny Vigne, studied with John Schwandt, as well.
For the past 3 ½ years, Dr. Rizzotto has served as the organist and choirmaster at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Golden Valley. Dr. Kris and Dr. Clara Rizzotto married in Alaska in 2015 and are now the proud parents of Kristian Walter, born in June 2017.
