DIRECTOR

​     Valerie founded The Suzuki Violin School of Santa Barbara out of her love of teaching violin and viola. She began Suzuki violin at age 5 in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. She has attained the highest level of training in all aspects of musical performance, from Suzuki to chamber music to the orchestral repertoire. Valerie is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Viola at University of Missouri, Columbia where she also serves as Executive Director of the Missouri String Project. She has taught violin, viola and chamber music at many schools and colleges including Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. 

     She is a former member of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra (Principal Viola) as well as the Santa Barbara Symphony. Valerie also served in the viola section for the  Los Angeles Philharmonic both at Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, performing under the direction of both Esa-Peka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. She served as Principal Viola of the Haddonfield Symphony under the direction of Alan Gilbert, former music director of the New York Philharmonic and principal conductor of NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. 

     She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance, from The Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Karen Tuttle, Joseph de Pasquale and Felix Galimir. After Curtis, Valerie became a member of the Young Artist String Quartet and studied with Heiichiro Ohyama at UC Santa Barbara, where she holds her MM. As a DMA student at UC Los Angeles, Valerie worked with Evan N. Wilson, Ralph Fielding and Paul Coletti.

     A passionate chamber musician, she was mentored by Isaac Stern, Guarneri Quartet, Emerson Quartet, Juilliard Quartet, Takács Quartet, American Quartet, and Robert McDonald among others. She is currently the violist in the Esterházy String Quartet in residence at Missouri, which has been in existence for over 50 years.​ Valerie was founding member of the Rose String Quartet, performing with this group at Carnegie Hall and Music at Mt. Gretna.  

     She also taught at the inaugural summer of the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Termoli and Bonefro, Italy. 

     As an adjudicator, Valerie has judged numerous string players and has served as coach for the American String Teachers Association. She is a member of Suzuki Association of the Americas, ASTA, The American Viola Society


Music Teacher National Association (MTNA),Missouri Teacher Association (MTA)

MidMissouri Teacher Association (MMTA).Valerie is proud member of the American Federation of Musician's Local 308.