Hi! My name is Valerie Vampola.
No it is not a stage name.
Outside of performing, Valerie is a voice and piano instructor at Loveland Academy of Music, where she has taught since 2019. She is also an arranger, specializing in vocal & choral music. Her style incorporates applying jazz traditions and harmony with popular contemporary music. She has written for professional groups such as The Silver Lake Chorus and The Gavin Worland Big Band. From 2018 - 2023 She was a monthly contributor to BandWagon Magazine, Northern Colorado’s local music magazine. She loves to dissect and discuss new music from the Colorado music scene, sometimes covering larger touring acts that come through the Northern Colorado area. She has interviewed artists such as Michael McDonald, Cory Wong, and Kyle Morris of The Unlikely Candidates.
In her spare time, she enjoys running with her dog Sgt Pepper, playing video games, and making comicalTikToks that show of her love for jazz harmony and about her experiences as a musician.
Valerie Vampola is an emerging vocalist, pianist & arranger based out of Colorado. She is an in-demand solo artist and freelance musician in the Northern Colorado and greater Denver scene.
As a solo artist, Valerie is known for her lounge and pop piano-ballad style inspired by artists like Billy Joel, Norah Jones, and Laufey. She loves to play standards and piano classics, but her most notable song selections incorporate unconventional covers, like a ballad version of ACDC’s ‘Shook Me All Night Long’ or a bossa nova inspired ‘Watermelon Sugar’ by Harry Styles, which makes her a favorite act at lounges from Aspen ski resorts to the local martini bar.
Valerie is involved in many musical acts across the front range, including her own band Val Chillmer— a funk & fusion quintet. She is also a member of the Wendy Woo Band and Wendy Woo’s Girl Crush. Other acts Valerie has collaborated with over the past few years either as a full time member or frequently requested substitute includes The Comedy Brewers, Katie Quick, and The Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, whom she recorded back-up vocals for on their album Compared to What, featuring Larry Braggs of Tower of Power.
Valerie’s performance background started at the age of 6, before ever touching an instrument, when she was a flamenco dancer in her hometown of Santa Barbara, CA. She danced into her late teen years until she discovered jazz in her high school choir, which eventually lead her to obtain a her degree in 2018 in Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO, where she studied under Kerry Marsh and Julia Dollison and was a member of the Downbeat award-winning ensemble Northern Colorado Voices.