Basic Facts
Born: 1970, Louisville, Kentucky
Type of Performer: Flutist, composer
Genre: Classical
About Valerie Coleman
Valerie Coleman was born in 1970 in Louisville, Kentucky. She started lessons on flute at age eleven, and by age fourteen she had written three symphonies and won several competitions. During high school, she studied flute and composition at the Tanglewood Institute, and she went on to earn a double Bachelor's degree in Music Composition/Theory and Flute Performance at Boston University. She also received a Master's Degree in Flute Performance from the Mannes College of Music. In 2003, she was awarded the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fellowship by Meet The Composer. She founded the GRAMMY-nominated woodwind quintet The Imani Winds in 1997, and was their original flutist and composer. In 2011, she created the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, a summer mentorship program for advanced collegiate and post-graduate musicians. The Imani Winds are featured in a display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
As a composer, Coleman has received commissions from numerous organizations, including Carnegie Hall, American Composers Orchestra, the Library of Congress, the National Flute Association, and the Interlochen Arts Academy, among many others. As a flutist, she is an in-demand clinician and soloist. She has been featured as an artist-in-residence at the Tanglewood Institute and the National Women's Music Festival, among others, and she has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Montreal Jazz Festival, and others. She currently teaches at the University of Miami as an Assistant Professor of Performance, Chamber Music, and Entrepreneurship.
Listen
Umoja, performed by the Imani Winds, featuring Valerie Coleman on flute
Red Clay and Mississippi Delta, performed by the Imani Winds, featuring Valerie Coleman on flute
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