Clarinet with Valerie N.

American clarinetist Valerie is an enthusiastic performer and teacher, who has performed throughout the United States and abroad. Most recently, she completed a Masters Degree in clarinet performance from Ithaca College. While in New York, she was directly involved in several premiere performances and recordings for many different composers in that area for solo, chamber, and orchestral writing. She has performed with the Ithaca College Orchestra, Opera Pit Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble, as well as the Ithaca New Music Collective, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and several chamber groups of many different combinations. She was awarded an assistantship from Ithaca College that allowed her to teach clarinet and pedagogy to undergraduate music education majors as well as non-majors. During her undergraduate studies, Valerie lived in Cleveland, Tennessee, where she completed a Bachelors Degree in Music Education at Lee University. While there, she performed with the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Opera Theatre Pit Orchestra, as well as subbed with the Kingsport Symphony Orchestra. In December of 2014, she was fortunate enough to tour Japan as a member of Advent Now!, a student formed group of 10 musicians who performed holiday themed concerts throughout the country. This past summer, Valerie moved to Lansing, Michigan, where she currently studies with Guy Yehuda in pursuit of her Doctorate from Michigan State University. Previous instructors include Richard Faria, Peter Cain, and Mindy Dragovitch. She very much enjoys her studies at MSU so far, and looks forward to seeing where this new journey takes her!