Valerie Capers facts for kids

Valerie Capers, born on 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 grew up in New York City in a family full of musicians. Her family introduced her to both classical and jazz music from a young age. Her father was a professional jazz pianist and was friends with the famous musician Fats Waller. Valerie's brother, Bobby, also played music, performing tenor sax and flute with Mongo Santamaria's Afro-Cuban band.

Valerie became blind at the age of six due to an illness. She attended the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind for her early schooling. There, she studied classical piano with her teacher, Elizabeth Thode. Ms. Thode taught Valerie how to read Braille music notation, which is a special way for blind people to read music. Valerie had to memorize all her music pieces in Braille before she could play them.

With her teacher's support, Valerie continued her music education at the famous Juilliard School of Music. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Juilliard. Valerie Capers made history as the first blind student to graduate from the Juilliard School.

A Career in Music

After graduating from Juilliard in 1960, Valerie's brother Bobby encouraged her to explore jazz music. Bobby also inspired her to start composing, asking her to write songs for his band. Valerie took a break from playing classical music in the early 1960s to focus on learning jazz. She soon formed her own jazz trio and released her first jazz album, Portrait in Soul, in 1966.

In the 1960s, it was hard for Valerie to find teaching jobs because some schools were unsure about hiring a blind person. However, she eventually found positions 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 even created a new jazz music program. Later, from 1987 to 1995, Valerie Capers led the music department at Bronx Community College.

After her brother Bobby passed away in 1974, Valerie composed a two-hour Christmas cantata called Sing About Love. A cantata is a type of musical piece, often for voices and instruments. This work blended different music styles like jazz, gospel, blues, and classical music. Other important works by Valerie include Song of the Seasons, which is a collection of songs mostly in the classical style. She also created Sojourner, which she called an "operatorio." This unique piece combines elements of opera and oratorio and tells the story of Sojourner Truth.

In 2000, Oxford University Press published a book of Valerie Capers's jazz piano compositions called Portraits in Jazz. She wrote these pieces to help piano students who were learning classical music also get to know and enjoy jazz.

Music Albums

Valerie Capers has released several albums throughout her career. Here are some of her notable recordings:

See also

In Spanish: Valerie Capers para niños