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Revision as of 01:29, 18 December 2016

Val Vigoda
GenresClassical, pop, rock 'n' roll, musical theater
Occupation(s)Singer, lyricist, electric violinist
InstrumentElectric violin
Years active2002 - present
LabelsIndependent
Websitehttp://www.valvigoda.com

Val Vigoda is an award-winning American electric violinist and singer/songwriter.[1] She is best known for her one-woman concert Just Getting Good which has toured nationally to critical praise[2], for writing and starring in the acclaimed musical Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, and touring internationally with Cyndi Lauper, Joe Jackson, and the Tran-Siberian Orchestra.[3] She also teaches with the Electrify Your Strings program.

Early life and influences

Vigoda is an accelerated honors graduate of Princeton University in classical music, and was originally admitted to the Ivy League school at the age of 14. She withdrew after a year to complete her classical violin training in a conservatory program before returning several years later and graduating. She also earned a degree in sociology.[4]

Career

Vigoda founded the musical trio GrooveLily in 2002, which released 8 albums, wrote and performed numbers for Disney Wonder cruise ships, Off-Broadway, and original musicals. The trio disbanded in 2012.[5]

Vigoda has a one-woman show Just Getting Good in which she both sings and plays the six-string electric violin while utilizing live-looping. It has received positive feedback, with The New York Times calling it "exhilarating", The Boston Globe describing it as "a thrilling trip", The Washington Post praising Vigoda for "unleashing a diva-worthy torrent of passion", and Palo Alto Weekly crediting her as "truly amazing, an awesome vision of embodied musicality, moving as one with her violin, making it sing and singing along with it in a voice both smoky and angelic."[6]

She is the lyricist and star of the musical Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, which has been produced at Emerson[7][8], George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick[9], and Seattle Repertory[10]. The show will open Off-Broadway in February 2017[11]. She has also written numerous musicals including Beautiful Poison[12], Sleeping Beauty Wakes[13][14], Striking 12[15], Long Story Short[16][17], Midsummer[18], Toy Story: The Musical[19], and Wheelhouse[20]. Vigoda has also written and contributed the music for tracks in Disney films and television show including Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Pixie Hollow Games, and Secret of the Wings.[21]

In addition to her solo career, Vigoda has toured with Cyndi Lauper, Joe Jackson, and the Tran-Siberian Orchestra.[22]

Vigoda also teaches with the Electrify Your Strings program, a musical education experience created to introduce and encourage young string musicians and choral singers to perform rock 'n' roll.[23] She has taught at Stanford University, Emerson College, and the Berklee College of Music.[24]

Discography

Albums

Title Year Label Other Artist(s)
Inhabit My Heart[25] 1994 QMR Records GrooveLily
Striking 12[26] 2005 PS Classics GrooveLily
Just Getting Good[27] 2016 Independent

Singles[28]

Title Year Label Album
"Summer's Just Begun" (lyrics, music) 2010 Disney Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue (Soundtrack)
"Summer's Just Begun" - reprise (lyrics, music)
"Come Flying With Me" (lyrics)
"Dig Down Deeper" 2011 Disney Pixie Hollow Games (Soundtrack)
"We'll Be There" 2012 Disney Secret of the Wings (Soundtrack)
"The Great Divide"
"The Great Divide" - end credits

Awards and nominations

Vigoda has won the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, the LA Ovation Award for Best Musical, and the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Award for her work.[29] She was nominated for an Annie Award in 2012 for Music in a Television Production (Pixie Hollow Games) and in 2013 for Music in an Animated Feature Production (Secret of the Wings).[30]

References

  1. ^ "Valerie Vigoda Official Website". Valerie Vigoda Official Website. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  2. ^ "Sounds of a Summer Night with Val Vigoda & NJDTE". Upcoming Events in NJ - NJ Local Events Calendar. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  3. ^ "Embracing Improvisation: A Conversation with Val Vigoda". Violinist.com. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  4. ^ "Valerie Vigoda: (1967 – ) :: Young Exceptionally Gifted Students". yegs.org. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  5. ^ "GrooveLily". Wikipedia. 2015-07-04.
  6. ^ "Cadence Arts Network, Inc. - Valerie Vigoda". www.cadencearts.com. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  7. ^ "A Season of Strong Women". ArtsEmerson Blog. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  8. ^ "ArtsEmerson: Media Kit - Ernest Shackleton". Emerson College (ArtsEmerson). Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  9. ^ Sommers, Michael (2015-05-02). "Review: A Zany Version of the Romance 'Ernest Shackleton Loves Me' in New Brunswick". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  10. ^ "'Ernest Shackleton Loves Me': a modern expedition to romance". The Seattle Times. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  11. ^ Desk, BWW News. "Prospect Theater to Continue 2016 IGNITE Series with 35MM and STRIKING 12 in Concert". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2016-12-18. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "26th Annual Festival of New Musicals | NAMT". NAMT. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  13. ^ "Rockers move into live theater". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  14. ^ "McCarter Theatre: Sleeping Beauty Wakes". www.mccarter.org. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  15. ^ Isherwood, Charles (2006-11-13). "Striking 12 - Theater - Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  16. ^ "Theater Listings for March 27-April 2 - NYTimes.com". Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  17. ^ Soloski, Alexis. "Review: 'Long Story Short,' Till Death Do Us Part - NYTimes.com". Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  18. ^ "Valerie Vigoda Official Website". Valerie Vigoda Official Website. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  19. ^ "Valerie Vigoda Official Website". Valerie Vigoda Official Website. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  20. ^ "Valerie Vigoda Official Website". Valerie Vigoda Official Website. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  21. ^ "Valerie Vigoda Official Website". Valerie Vigoda Official Website. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  22. ^ "Valerie Vigoda". Wood Violins. 2013-12-23. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  23. ^ Neubaum, Tierra. "Look Around Lubbock: LISD Orchestra". Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  24. ^ "Val VigodaORCHESTRA/CHOIR « Electrify Your Strings". www.electrifyyourstrings.com. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  25. ^ "Inhabit My Heart (back issue series), by GrooveLily". GrooveLily. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  26. ^ "GrooveLily Musical, Striking 12, Will Play NYC Dec. 26-31; Film Project Planned | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  27. ^ "Just Getting Good (music & film download), by Val Vigoda". Val Vigoda. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  28. ^ "Valerie Vigoda". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  29. ^ "Valerie Vigoda Official Website". Valerie Vigoda Official Website. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  30. ^ "Valerie Vigoda". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
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