Valerie A. Higgs
ProfessionalMembership
A classically trained musician, Valerie has musically directed/conducted/accompanied various theater productions in Philadelphia, New York, South Jersey and Chicago. Her favorites shows include Spring Awakening, Celebration, The Pajama Game, The Last 5 Years and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. 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 Jackson, in collaboration with multimedia performance artist/poet, Homer Jenkins, and choreographer/dancer, Rennie Harris.
She currently plays with the Tango Mercurio Community Orchestra in Washington, DC, and is the principal pianist for the Argentine tango quintet, Da Capo.
Accompanying credits include: Musical Theatre Singing Class (dir. Forrest McClendon) Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA; Vocal Mechanics Studio (dir. Bob Burgess) Chicago, IL; DePaul University Choir, Chicago, IL (dir. Dr. Clayton Parr); VanderCook College Choir, Chicago, IL (dir. Dr. Clayton Parr); Haddonfield Sanctuary and Oratorio Choirs, Haddonfield, NJ (dir. John Wilson), Auditions, Juries, Competitions, Recitals.
Skills include: excellent sight reading, capable in a variety of styles (classical, jazz, rock, musical theater); lead or background vocals (alto), Finale.
Church credits include: The Church in Bethesda, Bethesda, MD; First Baptist Church Georgetown Gospel Choir (dir. Nathanael Brown), Washington, DC; Metropolitan Baptist (dir. Mattie Robertson), Chicago, IL; Jefferson Congregational, Chicago, IL; Haddonfield UMC (dir. John L. Wilson), Haddonfield, NJ and St. John’s Methodist, Berlin, NJ.
In pursuit of her bachelor’s degree in Music Performance, she has studied at Temple University and DePaul University.
She currently plays with the Tango Mercurio Community Orchestra in Washington, DC, and is the principal pianist for the Argentine tango quintet, Da Capo.
Accompanying credits include: Musical Theatre Singing Class (dir. Forrest McClendon) Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA; Vocal Mechanics Studio (dir. Bob Burgess) Chicago, IL; DePaul University Choir, Chicago, IL (dir. Dr. Clayton Parr); VanderCook College Choir, Chicago, IL (dir. Dr. Clayton Parr); Haddonfield Sanctuary and Oratorio Choirs, Haddonfield, NJ (dir. John Wilson), Auditions, Juries, Competitions, Recitals.
Skills include: excellent sight reading, capable in a variety of styles (classical, jazz, rock, musical theater); lead or background vocals (alto), Finale.
Church credits include: The Church in Bethesda, Bethesda, MD; First Baptist Church Georgetown Gospel Choir (dir. Nathanael Brown), Washington, DC; Metropolitan Baptist (dir. Mattie Robertson), Chicago, IL; Jefferson Congregational, Chicago, IL; Haddonfield UMC (dir. John L. Wilson), Haddonfield, NJ and St. John’s Methodist, Berlin, NJ.
In pursuit of her bachelor’s degree in Music Performance, she has studied at Temple University and DePaul University.