Valerie Blair, pianist, holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education and a Master’s in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northern Illinois University, where she studied piano with William Koehler and Don Walker and accompanying with William Goldenberg.  She has accompanied in voice studios, and played for small opera and musical theater productions in Chicago and suburbs, in Buffalo, NY, and most recently at Rockford College.  Currently she is collaborative pianist for the Rock Valley College Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir, and the professional choir, ElysianVoices, under the direction of Paul Laprade.  She accompanies voice students in recitals and juries at Rock Valley College, Rockford College, and Northern Illinois University, where she relies on a good working knowledge of German to assist singers.  Valerie has been selected to be a collaborative pianist for the American Choral Directors' Association (ACDA) National Convention in March 2011.  She attended Voices of the Millenium 2010.  She is a licensed teacher of Musikgarten, an early childhood music curriculum, and has taken training with The Center for Music and the Young Child, of Princeton, NJ. She has taught Suzuki and traditional piano, and teaches early childhood music at the Music Academy of Rockford College.