Growing up in a musical family, Valerie grew up learning the alto line in every hymn before discovering what melody was, thanks to her mother’s strong alto voice. She performed in musicals throughout her school years, learned piano, guitar and flute, and studied voice with Betty Jeanne Chipman as a teen. After graduating from BYU, she pursued a career in marketing communications while continuing classical vocal training with Mary Ann Dresher in Utah, then with Shigemi Matsumoto in Los Angeles. Minor roles in productions of The Magic Flute and Dialogues of the Carmelites were followed by the lead role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica in a Santa Monica Community Opera production. Shortly thereafter she changed focus to raising a young family and pursuing a growing interest in sacred and choral music. Valerie performs regularly as a soloist and joined the Utah Chamber Artists this year. She continues to work as a writer in marketing and PR part-time and lives with her husband David, and children Ben, Sophie, Lucy and Noah in Bountiful.