Valerie Stipcak holds a Bachelor of Music in Sacred Music degree from Seton Hill University (2009) in Greensburg, PA, and a Master of Sacred Music degree from Emory University in Atlanta, GA (2013). She studied piano, organ, and voice at both universities.
Miss Stipcak has formerly served at several churches in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Texas. She has a private music studio at Asbury United Methodist Church (Uniontown, PA) and she also teaches students in Indiana and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania, as well as in other states. She also accompanied the private voice studio of a local opera singer. She regularly plays for weddings, funerals, cocktail piano hours, offers substitute organist coverage for church services, and other events. Miss Val has been a high school voice coach and adjudicator for solo and ensemble. Her work in music has been featured in the Tribune Review twice, and she wrote an article published by TAO (“The American Organist” – the national periodical for the American Guild of Organists).
While living in Atlanta, Miss Stipcak had the opportunity to play for a televised memorial service in City Hall and she also played for chapel services for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She worked as a Music Administrator for Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, one of the largest Methodist churches in the country with a robust and developed music ministry.
She was formerly the music director for “Carousel,” the musical, at Saint Vincent College, the pianist for the pit in “Crazy for You,” at Belle Vernon High School, and vocal director and pianist for “Sister Act” at Jeannette High School.
Her students have named her “Miss Val” and she uses the name for her sole proprietorship and music school. She offers two recitals per year – one in the fall and one in the spring – for her students. Her piano and voice students have won awards, gotten solos in concerts, been accepted into auditioned choirs, and earned lead parts in musicals.
Miss Val resides in the Pittsburgh area. She has two Shih Tzus named after composers, Arvo (Pärt) and Franz (Schubert) Stipcak. Everyone who knows her is aware of her love for cooking and giving food creations away to friends. She strongly believes that you can change the world, one interaction at a time, and consistently models kindness to all of her students.