Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Valerie Coleman began music studies at 11 and made a hobby of composing. By 14, she had already written three full-length symphonies and had won local and state flute competitions. Coleman is the founder of Grammy-nominated wind quintet Imani Winds, an ensemble widely recognized for their significant contributions to the chamber music repertoire.
With a Carnegie Hall debut in 2004, she began to focus on chamber music and writing for Imani Winds. Coleman’s wind quintet works have taken their place in standard wind quintet repertoire and received honors such as her UMOJA being listed as one of the “Top 100 American Chamber Works” by Chamber Music America. Her music has been heard on internationally syndicated radio shows including NPR’s Performance Today and All Things Considered, and Minnesota Public Radio’s St. Paul Sunday. She has been featured composer for Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a composer fellow for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and composer teaching artist for Young Audiences of New York. Commissions have come from the Hartford Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Symphony, Flute and Clarinet Duo Consortium, the CBDNA, the historic Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in NYC, The National Flute Association Collegiate Flute Choir, and Blackledge Music, Inc. Coleman holds degrees from Boston University and Mannes College of Music.
As a flutist, Coleman has given masterclasses at conservatories, festivals, and schools throughout North America. She studied flute with Julius Baker, Alan Weiss, Judith Mendenhall, and Mark Sparks; composition with Martin Amlin and Randall Woolf; and has served on the faculty of The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, Interschool Orchestras of New York, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Teaching Artist Program.
(Photo: Jeffrey Hornstein)
Featured Piece in Wind Band Select Series
Roma
Concert Band
Dur.: 7'
115-40207F - Score - $50.00
115-40207M - Set of Parts - $95.00 Score PDF
Recording - Coming soon
Founder of the Grammy Award-winning wind quintet Imani Winds, the revered Valerie Coleman gives us a sophisticated, beguiling work for wind band, meant to depict the language of the Romani people. Their traditions, their language (Roma), legends, and music stretch all over the globe, from the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, and the Iberian peninsula, across the ocean to the Americas. Roma is a tribute to that culture, in five descriptive themes, as told through the eyes and hearts of Romani women everywhere: “Romani Woman,” “Mystic,” “Youth,” “Trickster,” and “History.” The melodies and rhythms are a fusion of styles and cultures: Malagueña of Spain, Argentine Tango, Arabic music, Turkish folk songs, 3/2 Latin claves, and Jazz. For advanced players.
