the educator

Val Flamini has been a music educator for over 25 years. The scope of her teaching experience includes ten years in Georgia public schools, fifteen years of private voice instruction, as well as teaching appointments at Penn State since 2017. She has served students from kindergarten to adults with music goals that include technique, skills, expression, creativity, composition, performance, conducting, and teaching methods. 

Awards and distinctions include Demonstration Teacher for Georgia Southern University (1999), appointed Fine Arts Chair and honored as teacher of the year (2007) in Burke County Georgia, as well as numerous leadership positions in the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA). Students under her direction annually received superior ratings in sight-reading music at adjudicated state events as well as gold and silver awards in national festivals for performance.

More recently, Dr. Flamini served as the content expert for an interdisciplinary online course for Penn State's World Campus. This course explores the cultural connections found in international art, architecture, and music. In addition, she designed a special topic course for music education majors on music for social justice. You may view a project from this course, When Marian Sang: A book reading and performance about the challenging journey of the opera singer Marian Anderson in the early 20th century.

the conductor

Dr. Flamini has conducted a variety of genre and ensembles through the years. She has experience conducting award winning choirs, choral orchestral works, and musicals. In addition to directing choral activities at multiple high schools in Georgia, Dr. Flamini was the community choral director for the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale (SVYC) from 2008-2016 in Pennsylvania. Val conducted the SVYC in many performances such as Britten’s Saint Nicholas (2010) & Opera Gala I and II (2011 & 2013), and the Coro e Ragazzi of both the Susquehanna University and Susquehanna Valley Chorale performances of Carmina Burana (2011). Special projects with the SVYC ensembles include a Veteran’s Day Benefit (2011), Camp Expresso (2013-2017), and the Sandy Hook Memorial Project (2013). Val was recognized by the American Red Cross as a Community Impact Hero (2014) for the composition and SVYC Sandy Hook Memorial Video: Where All Is Possible, I AM.

Val Flamini has been the vocal coach and music director for musicals such as West Side Story, Sound of Music, Into the Woods, Anything Goes, and South Pacific. Most recently Val initiated a new kind of ensemble: Little Flame, a choir without borders. This is a multigenerational group of singers from over a dozen states dedicated to performing and supporting purposeful music endeavors. In the spring of 2021, Little Flame collaborated with Dr. Flamini’s Penn State students on music projects associated with social justice. This collaborative video is an example of one such project intended to bring awareness to environmental social justice: Earth Song Project.  

the scholar

Val Flamini received her bachelors in music education at Georgia Southern University and completed additional music study at the Bayerische Musikakademie in Germany. Graduate studies were completed at The Pennsylvania State University where she received a masters and Ph.D. in music education. Val completed an internship with Dr. Tony Leach of Essence of Joy, a choral ensemble at Penn State dedicated to performing music by African American composers. Research interests include engaging children with emotional and behavioral challenges, creative instructional approaches, the flow experience phenomenon, music for social justice, and mindfulness approaches to music.

the performer

Val enjoys exploring multiple approaches to singing. Throughout the years she has performed multiple genres including opera, art songs, musicals, popular music, bluegrass, reggae, gospel, flamenco, and Hindustani vocals. This multifaceted approach to singing can be attributed to voice coaches and research throughout Dr. Flamini’s vocal studies. A method of singing involving formant tuning as well as a mind-body connection has allowed her freedom of expression in multiple genres. Helping singers achieve freedom and flexibility in their vocal production is a passion of hers. 

As I was updating my biography, I found myself concerned you might not see through the customary list to the person. It is true, I have had an active career. I am proud of what I have accomplished alongside my students, colleagues, and mentors. However, there was something "not quite in alignment" in my earlier, music making years. I would like to share with you my personal transformation as a musician.

Music has been a consistent passenger throughout my life. I did not start from cozy beginnings but was fortunate to receive an introduction to the power of music as a source of joy, empathy, and food for thought. In some ways, music was a like an imaginary friend who always knew the right things to say. Music narrated my life but also had a way of transforming my reality into something much richer.

The first evidence of my musicianship was through dance. My heart longed to be a dancer in the most painful way. Like many little girls, my mother put me in ballet at a young age. My first performance experience ended up with an untimely urination on the wooden stage floor as I stood fixated at the spotlight. My yellow tutu trimmed with green sequins (yes, the irony!) disappeared suspiciously and the subject of dance class was forever avoided. I never stopped dancing at home, in the yard,.. all the time! I have a fond memory of dancing while my mother tried to rekindle her piano skills. She would play “America” from West Side Story while I danced in the living room. I tried to communicate my desire to give dance classes another try for years but was met with unfortunate body comparisons. By 9 years old, it was clear I would not have the typical petite frame of a dancer. I remember being as old as fifteen pining to dance on stage while watching expert moves of girls younger and more delicate than me dance the Nutcracker. I knew I had missed any opportunity of living my dream for reasons I accepted then but question now. If you initially "fail" at something you love, do you give up and pretend it never happened? Why do we accept social structures that prevent people from expressing themselves artistically? 

Although giving up the dance dream was a long-lasting wound, I had other ways to engage with music and did so as if there was nothing else sweeter! Music accompanied most of my free time. I listened and often sang along with authentic tears, anger, and joy as if I had experienced lyrics that pertained to a life I had not yet lived. It wasn’t just music on the outside, music occurred within me as well. I could narrate a different spin on my life by simply humming or singing freely in a private world uninhibited by reality. Throughout these early years, becoming a musician was far beyond the realm of possibilities in my mind.

At fifteen I sang a solo in front of an audience for the first time in the annual high school Vaudeville show. Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You” tentatively trickled out of me. Fortunately, it was not accompanied with a urination episode! However, I do remember fixating again on the spotlight. The feeling of being removed from reality returned, but this time I paused and took in the sensation. I found I couldn't see faces in the audience resulting from the bright light. It was a relief and allowed me to block out anxiety associated with the audience. You see, even though I loved to sing, I was terrified at the thought of others hearing me! I chose to focus only on the light and see nothing else. This worked so well during the performance, I remember being surprised when I heard applause. I totally forgot where I was and that others were listening. 

This love/hate relationship with performing continued into young adulthood. The allure of performing was so strong, but the imaginary barriers were almost too much to battle. I longed to enjoy performing effortlessly as others seemed to do. Why was I so pulled to perform while simultaneously terrified of performing?!!! I know now I had performance anxiety.

Music teachers continued to invest in me by giving me solo opportunities, but my condition continued to deteriorate. This was especially the case while majoring in music at the collegiate level. The kind of when hyper-focus on vocal technique was a recipe for failure for me. I had many music moments performing under my potential, ending in embarrassment and occasionally tears. Then, I started taking conducting- a whole different experience!

Conducting felt like all my performance challenges led to the ability to express musically through this one skill. It combined dance-like moves with music phrasing. Music emanated from my hands as others followed my gesture with their voices. I could be daringly expressive and emotionally vulnerable while leading groups of people in music. The supportive role that accompanied conducting ensembles felt purposeful, as if I was meant to help others realize their musicianship because I knew first-hand of the inner conflicts. I actively searched ways to connect those students with challenging circumstances to their natural musicianship: students with behavior or emotional challenges, low self-esteem, and the child that felt like they didn’t belong. I strongly believed somehow this journey to find their way through music would help them be happier, confident, and more aware of others. It is difficult to measure such outcomes, but I am continuously met with gratitude from former students and their parents.

What is so special about an authentic connection to music? It allows unparalleled personal growth evidenced by confidence and contentment. I have also witnessed hundreds of students experience the same. I have found myself in recent years trying to uncover this phenomenon. My graduate research sought to explain these transformative experiences. I authored research studies that included engaging children with emotional and behavioral challenges, utilizing creative instructional approaches, diverse music cultures, the flow phenomenon, and mindfulness pedagogy. I found the body of research pertaining to flow experiences and mindfulness particularly illuminating and reliable. Obtaining my Mindfulness Based Wellness and Pedagogy certification refined my ability to teach mindful music making skills. In addition, I have transitioned into a performer who savors expressing music freely and in front of others! It is through a mindful lens I aim to approach all music endeavors while leading others to do the same. Sohum Studios is a way I can share the joys of authentic music making during one-on-one sessions. I share methods that have served me, my students, and many documented artists. Similar to my pull to dance in my early years, my heart yearns to share these skills with others who aim to express freely.