Valerie Malvinni, an avid performer and teacher on the violin and viola, is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Viola at University of Missouri, Columbia where she also serves as Executive Director of the Missouri String Project. She has taught violin, viola and chamber music at many schools and colleges including Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, and the Suzuki Violin School of Santa Barbara. 

As an orchestral player, Valerie held principal positions with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, SB Symphony and was principal viola of the Haddonfield Symphony (now called Symphony in C) under Alan Gilbert. She was a regular substitute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for many years, performing under the direction of both Esa-Peka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. A passionate chamber musician, she was mentored by Isaac Stern, Guarneri Quartet, Emerson Quartet, Juilliard Quartet,Takács Quartet, American Quartet, and Robert McDonald. She is currently the violist in the Esterházy string quartet in residence at Missouri, which has been in existence for over 50 years. 

Valerie has performed in some notable halls such as Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Library of Congress, and with members of the NY Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic and internationally at Réncontres Musicales d’Evian. She is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music where her teachers included Karen Tuttle, Felix Galimir, and Joseph dePasquale, and with Heiichiro Ohyama for her Master of Music degree from University of California Santa Barbara, and finally did doctoral studies at UCLA with Ralph Fielding and Paul Coletti. 

This summer, Valerie is looking forward to teaching and performing at the Chigiana Global Academy Program in Siena, Italy.