Panegyrized for her steely brilliance with balanced richness, soprano Valerie Beck thrills audiences around North America. She found her passion for singing at Grand Valley State University where she earned her BM in Vocal Performance. Valerie was a crucial part of the Opera Theater department at GVSU with highlight roles of Dido (Purcell) and Third Lady (Mozart). Valerie worked with Opera Grand Rapids as an Emerging Artist and Opera Chorus member. Now in Chicago, Valerie graduated with her Masters in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts (2018). Recent roles for Valerie include Jo in Little Women (Adamo), the Mother in Mendelssohn's Homecoming for CCPA, and Mrs. Páskova/ Lapák in The Cunning Little Vixen. Valerie attended the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival in 2018 where she covered the role of Jo and coached with the composer, Mark Adamo. Valerie is currently a member of the Nightingale Ensemble in Chicago, consisting of voice, harp, flute, and two guitars. The ensemble is a new music ensemble that commissions new works from a diverse group that represents the breadth and depth of classical composers who have a unique voice that reflects our world today. Valerie frequently performs around the Chicago area including being featured on “Comedian Cabaret” and concerts with harpist, LeAnne Bennion that incorporate music from a plethora of genres: jazz, pop, Disney, and art song and aria.
Nightingale Ensemble
Nightingale Ensemble uses music as a tool for social change by commissioning new works from a diverse group that represent the breadth and depth of classical composers in the modern world. In addition, its eclectic instrumentation allows composers to explore new musical landscapes that are seldom heard in the world today.
The ensemble partners with composers and other musicians to develop works for trios, duets, and even for soloists to broaden the repertoire for these instruments and push the pairing of instruments to find new music colors. It also uses its unusual instrumentation to its advantage in order to perform lesser known works by major composers, such as those by Stravinsky, Takemitsu, and many others.
Nightingale Ensemble emphasizes finding contemporary composers who will bring a unique voice to their compositions through a range of backgrounds that are as diverse as our world is today, and welcome hearing from composers who have an idea for an exciting new composition that involves an instrumental ensemble not often seen on stages!Upcoming Concerts
No concerts are planned at this time. Please check back later.
Learn more about Nightingale Ensemble at https://www.nightingaleensemble.org/