New ICAMus Publication: "At the Origins of Art Music for the Flute in North America", by Viola Shaula Valerio.
New ICAMus Scholarly Article in In Depth.
In her article At the Origins of Art Music for the Flute in North America, flutist, music scholar and teacher Viola Shaula Valerio explores the production of flute music in Colonial America and the first original pieces for this instrument in Early American Music, focusing on compositions by Stephen C. Foster and Anthony Ph. Heinrich.
She also performs a rare, early American flute piece by Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864): Anadolia, from Foster's collection The Social Orchestra for Flute or Violin: A Collection of Popular Melodies Arranged as Solos, Duets, Trios, and Quartets, Published in New York by Firth, Pond & Co. in 1854 (Anadolia, p. 22).
Viola S. Valerio's performance of Foster's Anadolia was recorded live on the occasion of the ICAMus Doctoral Seminar Com'era nuovo il Nuovo Mondo, University of Florence, April 23, 2010.
Please find Article (PDF), Recording (MP3) and Bio (PDF) in In Depth Previews.
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VIOLA SHAULA VALERIO is a flutist, a music scholar and a teacher.
In 2006 she obtained her B.A. in flute (10/10) from the Conservatory of Florence, Italy. After that, she studied with several prominent professors such as James Walker (USC), Maxence Larrieu (Académie de musique de Nice), Fabio Fabbrizzi (“Estate in Musica,” Barberino Val d’Elsa, Italy), Nicola Mazzanti (Piccolo Masterclass “Esperienze Musicali,” Florence, Italy), Alda Dalle Lucche (Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, Italy), and Lorenzo Bettini (Scuola di Musica di Fiesole).
During her studies at the Music Conservatory she played in several orchestras, such as Orchestra del Conservatorio Cherubini, Orquesta Internacional del Encuentro de Conservatorios de Música Europeos, Elche (2006/ 2009), performing as a soloist both in Spain and in Italy.
She has also performed in various chamber music ensembles, such as Trio Mistral and Duo Lonardelli-Valerio, and Florence Ensemble. As part of these ensembles, she performed in concerts at the Orsanmichele Museum for Toscana Classica 2013, at Teatro “il Bobolino”, at Teatro di Castello, at Le Murate “Caffè letterario,” and at the Regione Toscana “Palazzo aperto.”
In 2008, Viola S. Valerio enrolled for a Master in Musicology at the University of Florence. In 2011 she graduated, with a 110/110 cum laude score, under Aloma Bardi’s supervision, with a thesis on American music: “Music’s Airy Voice”: The Flute in the Music of Anthony Philip Heinrich’s (1781-1861), Romantic Composer in America. This research relied on the ICAMus and The Library of Congress Music Division’s staff advice and expertise.
While completing her Master studies, she contributed to the ICAMus Doctoral Seminar Com’era nuovo il Nuovo Mondo. Gli Stati Uniti d’America, la musica, la musicologia, il senso di una scoperta permanente, held at the Ph.D. Program and the Scuola Dottorale in Storia dello Spettacolo of the University of Florence in April 2010, under the direction of Fiamma Nicolodi and Aloma Bardi. On this occasion, she offered the European première of original flute music from 19th-century American composers like Stephen C. Foster and Anthony Philip Heinrich.
In 2012, she became an ICAMus member, and has collaborated in the Organization’s scholarly projects and events on American music.
Since 2007, Viola S. Valerio has been a passionate teacher of flute and of music theory in numerous elementary schools and private music schools of Florence, such as Scuola Primaria e dell’Infanzia “Madre Mazzarello,” Centro Studi Musica e Arte, Scuola Primaria “Nadia Nencioni,” Scuola Primaria “Giacomo Matteotti,” and Associazione Musicale Fiorentina.
In addition, she has worked for several years as an interpreter and translator (English/Italian) at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exams held in Florence, Italy.
