Valerie Nicholson
Director of Music and Chairperson for Administrative Round Table
Meet Valerie...
Although you see Valerie's loving hand everywhere throughout the church, there is so much more you might not know about her!
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Valerie is a professor and coordinator of music at Prairie State College and the director of music at and member of Grace UP Church. A graduate of Rich East High School in Park Forest, she earned a bachelor’s in Music Education at Murray State University and master’s degrees in music theory and composition at Governors State University and the University of Chicago. She currently is a doctoral candidate in music theory also at the U of C. Her research looks at the sonic, visual, and physical intersections of rhythm in dance and music.
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Valerie has performed with many ensembles including the Southland Jazz Ensemble, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Burgess Gardner Well-Oiled Jazz Machine at Symphony Center and the Chicago Jazz and Blues Festivals. She is active in Southland Arts, a coalition of arts organizations, municipalities, and small businesses in the South Suburbs. In 2019, Valerie received the inaugural Chicago Jazz Philharmonic’s “Jazz Alive” Educator’s Award and more recently was invited to serve as an honorary board member for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in 2021. Her work with IPO has focused on the orchestra’s efforts to foster inclusion and diversity among the musicians, in programming, and the audience.
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In addition to her musical endeavors, Valerie is a member of the League of Women Voters, serves on the executive council of the PSC Faculty Federation Local 3816, and is involved in several regional arts organizations, including Arts Alliance Illinois. Valerie has been recognized for her contributions to the arts by the Village of Park Forest Historical Society, Tall Grass Arts Association, and Star Newspapers. Valerie is the founder and coordinator of the PSC Jazz Festival.