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The Full Story
Pittsburgh-based Musician Victor Valle connects the world of stories around him with the music he composes, performs, and teaches.
Music has always been a part of Victor's life since his abuelo would serenade the rural South Texas scenery with mariachi music. Upon moving to downtown Dallas, the significance of music transformed into a storytelling catalyst - a tool to empower unheard voices. With his Mexican heritage and identity as a gay man, Victor's passion for sharing stories was fueled even more. At the onset of this journey, he arranged traditional mariachi pieces for saxophone performances in local libraries on Día de los Niños, a celebration of children. He also produced a charity cabaret to raise funds for the Marsha P. Johnson Institute for Black Trans Women.
After receiving a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition and minor in musical theater from the University of Texas at Arlington, Valle pursued a Master Degree in Music Composition at Carnegie Mellon University while studying under prolific composer Nancy Galbraith. He currently teaches Piano at Carnegie Mellon University's Prepatory Music School.
Composer
Victor’s music is intertwined with a post-minimalist story-telling aesthetic and has best been described as “vivaciously exploratory.” Most recently, Victor’s piece “the first brushstroke on a blank canvas” was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Composer’s Project and premiered this past spring. A few other awards include the Lloyd-Carr Talioferra Award for “isolated joy” and the Harry G. Archer Orchestra Competition award for “and the fool leaped.” His most recent premieres include: “and the fool leaped” (orchestra, CMU Philharmonic), “crezco” (saxophone with piano acc., Will Meckley), and “sad bird suite” (solo piano, himself). He is currently working on works for saxophone choir to be premiered at the Texas Music Educators Convention as well as a Saxophone Octet to be premiered at the University of North Texas.
Composer
Victor’s music is intertwined with a post-minimalist story-telling aesthetic and has best been described as “vivaciously exploratory.” Most recently, Victor’s piece “then comes change” was premiered at the Texas Music Educators Convention by the UTA Saxophone Choir.
His awards include the Lloyd-Carr Talioferra Award for “isolated joy," the Harry G. Archer Orchestra Competition award for “and the fool leaped,” and the Pittsburgh Composer Project for "the first brushstroke on a blank canvas."
His most recent premieres include: “and the fool leaped” (orchestra, CMU Philharmonic), “crezco” (saxophone with piano acc., Will Meckley), and “sad bird suite” (solo piano, himself).
He is currently working on works for wind ensemble and solo piano.
Composer
Victor’s music is intertwined with a post-minimalist story-telling aesthetic and has best been described as “vivaciously exploratory.” Most recently, Victor’s piece “the first brushstroke on a blank canvas” was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Composer’s Project and premiered this past spring. A few other awards include the Lloyd-Carr Talioferra Award for “isolated joy” and the Harry G. Archer Orchestra Competition award for “and the fool leaped.” His most recent premieres include: “and the fool leaped” (orchestra, CMU Philharmonic), “crezco” (saxophone with piano acc., Will Meckley), and “sad bird suite” (solo piano, himself). He is currently working on works for saxophone choir to be premiered at the Texas Music Educators Convention as well as a Saxophone Octet to be premiered at the University of North Texas.
Collaborative Pianist
Victor’s passion for accompanying shines through when given the opportunity to collaborate with any musician. During his education he constantly honed his collaborative piano skills under Gabriel Sanchez, Zaheng Zhu, and Carla LaRocca.
Most recently, Victor was seen accompanying a variety of singers for the Steel City Cabaret: PRIDE Event. Other recent performances include: premiering Emma Berkowitz's "Language of the Flowers", a musical theatre recording for Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Austin, church accompaniment at Liberty Chapel in Washington, PA, and playing Keys for a production of Newsies at Nolan Catholic High School.
Composer
Victor’s music is intertwined with a post-minimalist story-telling aesthetic and has best been described as “vivaciously exploratory.” Most recently, Victor’s piece “the first brushstroke on a blank canvas” was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Composer’s Project and premiered this past spring. A few other awards include the Lloyd-Carr Talioferra Award for “isolated joy” and the Harry G. Archer Orchestra Competition award for “and the fool leaped.” His most recent premieres include: “and the fool leaped” (orchestra, CMU Philharmonic), “crezco” (saxophone with piano acc., Will Meckley), and “sad bird suite” (solo piano, himself). He is currently working on works for saxophone choir to be premiered at the Texas Music Educators Convention as well as a Saxophone Octet to be premiered at the University of North Texas.
Educator
In 2023, Victor started teaching Beginning Piano Classes for the renowned Carnegie Mellon Prepatory School of Music. Since starting at CMU, he has taught and lead numerous group classes of beginning students ranging 5-7, as well as providing those students with individual private lessons.
Outside of teaching with the Prep School, Victor also manages his own private studio for piano, music theory, and composition lessons.
Starting in the Summer of 2025, Victor will begin teaching "Two at One Piano" for the Carnegie Mellon Prepatory School of Music. He is currently working on obtaining his "Piano Pedagogy Certificate" from Carnegie Mellon University.
