Valerie Capers facts for kids

Valerie Capers (born May 24, 1935) is an amazing American musician. She is a talented pianist and composer, most famous for her work in jazz music.

Early Life and Music

Valerie Capers was born in New York City. She grew up in a family that loved music. Her family introduced her to both classical and jazz styles. Her father was a professional jazz pianist. He was even friends with the famous musician Fats Waller. Valerie's brother, Bobby, also played music. He played the tenor sax and flute with Mongo Santamaria's Afro-Cuban band.

Valerie became blind at the age of six due to an illness. She went to the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind for her early schooling. There, she studied classical piano with a teacher named Elizabeth Thode. Ms. Thode taught Valerie how to read Braille music notation. Valerie had to learn all her music by memorizing it in Braille before she could play it.

With her teacher's encouragement, Valerie continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music. This is a very famous music school. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees there. Valerie Capers was the first blind student to graduate from the Juilliard School. This was a huge achievement!

Valerie's Music Career

After graduating from Juilliard in 1960, Valerie's brother Bobby encouraged her to explore jazz music. Bobby also inspired her to start composing her own songs. He even asked her to write pieces for his band. Valerie took a break from playing classical music in the early 1960s to focus on learning jazz.

Soon, Valerie Capers formed her own music group, called a trio. In 1966, she recorded her very first jazz album, which was called Portrait in Soul.

It was sometimes hard for Valerie to find teaching jobs in the 1960s. Many places were not sure about hiring a blind person. But she eventually found work at the Bronx Neighborhood Music School and the Brooklyn School of Music. From 1968 to 1975, she worked at the Manhattan School of Music. There, she helped blind students and created a jazz music program. Valerie Capers was also the head of the music department at Bronx Community College from 1987 to 1995.

After her brother Bobby passed away in 1974, Valerie composed a special two-hour Christmas cantata. A cantata is a type of musical story. This one was called Sing About Love. It mixed different music styles like jazz, gospel, blues, and classical music.

Valerie has written other important works too. Song of the Seasons is a collection of songs mostly in the classical style. Sojourner is a special "operatorio" she created. This word combines "opera" and "oratorio." It tells the life story of Sojourner Truth, a famous abolitionist.

In 2000, a book of Valerie's jazz piano compositions was published by Oxford University Press. It was called Portraits in Jazz. Valerie wrote these pieces to help piano students who usually played classical music learn about jazz.

Albums and Recordings

Valerie Capers has recorded several albums throughout her career. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Valerie Capers para niños