Francine Di, Keyboardist

Francine Di began formal piano studies at age 12 and within just two years was accepted to Houston’s prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She went on to receive a BM in piano performance and a BA in English from Rice University before moving briefly to Florida. Between teaching, part-time writing, and performing with jazz bands and Jacaré Brazil, she earned her master's in piano performance from the University of Florida under the tutelege of Boaz Sharon. A once unprofessed singer, Di also placed within the top three finalists at the Hua Xia Cup Karaoke Contest, the Chinese International New Singing Talent Championship and the Houston Amateur Singing Competition and has sung at various engagements in Texas and Florida.

Today, this native Houstonian is back in her hometown. When she’s not pulling shifts as a technical writer and piano teacher, she’s on stage with the Rice University Jazz Band, the Cory Wilson Jazz Collective and others. A board member of the Rice University Community of Asian Alumni, Di also participates actively in Voices Breaking Boundaries, Asian American Ambassadors, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance and the Organization of Chinese Americans. In 2007, her biography was published in Who's Who of America. A former Miss Chinatown Houston, Di has also authored an essay published in Asian American X by the University of Michigan Press.