Dr. Valerie Capers is a pianist, educator, composer and performer of superior acumen. Despite the fact that throughout her career she has been recognized for her innovative approach to education, received critical acclaim from peers about her composing and arranging skills, Capers has not received the kind of notoriety that her talent truly deserves. Capers was born in The Bronx, New York City. Her father has musical ties to the great east coast stride jazz pianist Thomas “Fats” Waller. Her brother Bobby Capers played flute, tenor and alto saxophones most notably with the great Latino conguero Mongo Santamaria.

Capers lost her sight at the age of six and attended the New York Institute for the Education of The Blind as a youngster. She went on to study classical music at the Juilliard School of Music and became the first blind person to graduate (B.S., M.S.).

After years of professorial work at Bronx Community College of the City University Of New York, she was elected Chairman of the Department of Music and Art. During her tenure at BCC, Capers introduced the jazz program into the music curriculum. Over the years Capers has worked with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Marian McPartland, Tito Puente, Max Roach, James Moody among others. Capers was the first recipient of Essence magazine’s Women of Essence Award in Music (1987).

Valerie today holds the title of professor emeritus from BCC. She also has a doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Susquehannah in Pennsylvania. She conducts workshops and clinics around the country for students, teachers and aspiring musicians. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.