Bio

A native of South Jersey, Valerie started taking piano lessons when she was five years old at the Medford School of Music in Medford, New Jersey (now the NJ School of Music).

She has musically directed, conducted, and accompanied various theater productions in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, South Jersey, and the DC Metro area. In 1996, Valerie music directed the world premiere of The Three Willies, a musical theater work conceived by the late jazz violinist and composer, Leroy Jenkins.  This production (featuring Tony nominee Forrest McClendon) was in collaboration with multimedia performance artist/poet, Homer Jackson, and choreographer/dancer, Rennie Harris, and funded through Temple University in Philadelphia. 

She was nominated for a Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) award for “Outstanding Musical Direction” for Kensington Arts Theatre's production of Jekyll & Hyde in 2011, and chosen by DC Metro Theater Arts as “Best of 2012 Musical Director” for Quotidian Theatre’s production of James Joyce’s The Dead.  She is currently Music Director for Ovations Theater in Rockville, MD.

Valerie plays piano for the DC Tango Orchestra, Tango Reo Ensemble, and the Da Capo Quintet.  She has studied with pianist and composer Julian Peralta, Winnie Wingyee Cheung of Cuarteto Tangueros, and pianist Pablo Estigarribia.

Valerie also substitutes for church services in the DC Metro area, accompanies for local competitions, such as the Young Artists of Gaithersburg annual event, and is hired for wedding ceremonies, receptions, and private parties.