Valerie Vonpechy Whitcup (born 11 December 1947) is an American composer, harpist, and educator.
Vonpechy was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from
Baldwin-Wallace College
Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio. It was founded in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin. The school merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace Co ...
and the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
, and studied harp with Edward Vito, the principal harpist with Arturo Toscanini's NBC Orchestra.
She married Peter Whitcup. Most of her work is published under the name "Vonpechy."
Vonpechy was a visiting professor at the University of Illinois before moving to Florida. She was the principal harpist of the
Florida Philharmonic Orchestra
The Florida Philharmonic Orchestra (or FPO, founded in 1985 as the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida) was a symphony orchestra based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and serving the South Florida metropolitan area (including Miami-Dade, Broward, and ...
for 35 years, played for the
Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...
,
and toured with the
Moscow Chamber Orchestra
The Moscow Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra run under the auspices of the Moscow Philharmonia, a state-run enterprise, formerly under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture (Soviet Union) and now, Ministry of Culture of Russian Fed ...
. She was the harp instructor at the University of Miami for 30 years.
Vonpechy arranged
John Corigliano
John Paul Corigliano Jr. (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His scores, now numbering over one hundred, have won him the Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, an ...
's choral composition ''L'Invitation au Voyage'' for flute and harp in 1988. In 2001, Vonpechy and double bassist Lucas Drew founded St. Francis Music Publications to publish repertoire for double bass, cello, harp, and string ensembles. They have released seven volumes of original harp solos, transcriptions, and arrangements by Vonpechy's late teacher Edward Vito, which Vonpechy edited and prepared for publication. The series is entitled ''From the Library of Edward Vito''.
A versatile musician, Vonpechy has toured or appeared live with
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
,
Tom Jones, the
Moody Blues
Moody may refer to:
Places
* Moody, Alabama, U.S.
* Moody, Indiana, U.S.
* Moody, Missouri, U.S.
* Moody, Texas, U.S.
* Moody County, South Dakota, U.S.
* Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
* Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South A ...
,
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
,
KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...
,
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...
,
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
,
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
, and the Reggae Band.
Recordings in which Vonpechy participated include:
*Acugenics- Stress Relief In Five Minutes (Gateway Records GSLP 7613)
*
Billion Dollar Band (Good Sounds GS102)
*
Do You Wanna Go Party
''Do You Wanna Go Party'' is the sixth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in June 1979 on the TK label.
History
''Do You Wanna Go Par ...
*Passion (Prelude Records – PRL 12176)
*Voyage (Albany Records TR1185)
Vonpechy's music is published by Elkin Music International,
G. Schirmer Inc., and St. Francis Music Publications. Her compositions include:
Works
Chamber
*''Dream and Csardas'' (string quartet, flute, clarinet and harp)
*''Duet'' (flute and harp)
*''Flight of Fancy'' (oboe, bassoon, and harp)
*''Sunrise at Rocky Knob'' (oboe and harp)
*''Sweet Is My Ladye Love'' (unaccompanied harp)
*''Two Pieces for Diatonic Harp''
Musical Theater
*''Armadillo’s Pillow''
*''Webster the Musical Spider''
Vocal
*"Cloudy" (text by Mary Ann Vonpechy; music by Valerie Vonpechy)
*''Five Lullabies'' (flute, harp, and soprano)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vonpechy, Valerie
American women composers
1947 births
Living people
21st-century American women