Biography

Just as Obelix fell into the magic potion when he was a child, I "landed" in music when I was a child. It's as if every event, every crossroads in my life has been punctuated by music, in one way or another. The Latin dance music we danced to at birthday parties, the piano/guitar duets with my father and the 4-hand piano duets with my cousin, the songs we made up with friends and cousins, the band we tried to put together in elementary school, etc. 

I will always remember my first instrument: a mini marimba, which is the national instrument of Guatemala, my mother's country.
 
Very early on I was fascinated by sounds, by music. The wind in the trees, which reminded me of voices, as if nature was speaking, the water in the streams, the singing of the birds, etc. 
I have always given more importance to sounds and intonations than to words and lyrics as such. As much in conversations, as in songs. That's why, until adulthood, I always had a hard time remembering the words of songs, because I focused almost exclusively on the pitches and melodies! 

My first piano lessons started when I was 7 years old. 
Being very dreamy and reserved by nature, it was difficult for me to concentrate in my lessons at school, and my teacher, a little discouraged, suggested to my parents that they take me to a specialist to be prescribed ritalin. 
My parents refused, and instead enrolled me in piano lessons, so that I could develop my concentration that way. 
Thanks to my parents!  
That was the beginning of a deep and genuine friendship with the piano, which continues to this day! 

Having an atypical and self-taught way of learning, I must admit that even the strict framework of piano lessons did not always please me. I often preferred to copy melodies I heard in movies or on the radio, rather than practice the pieces my piano teachers gave me. I wasn't always an "easy" and disciplined student, I admit it now, but all my music teachers recognized my potential and talent, telling me that if I practiced well and more, I could really do something good with that talent.

I only understood what they were trying to tell me and convey once I started teaching and guiding my own students afterwards! hahaha

Having the strong conviction that my path was intrinsically linked to music, I continued my studies at the Vincent-d'Indy School of Music, at the college level in classical piano.
I then went on to the University of Montreal, for my bachelor's degree. 

It was there that I met a woman and pianist with a heart of gold and hands of fairies: Ekaterina Mikhailova, a great lady, with a magnificent soul, an obvious gift for the piano, and a great generosity. In Russia, she was recognized as a child prodigy at the age of 5, when she was already winning competitions, and she was even named: Ambassador of St. Petersburg.
With her as my mentor and piano teacher, I can say without reservation, that my piano level has made a considerable leap forward. 
More than a teacher, she was like an angel that was put in my path, and she was like a second mother. 
She often gave me three-hour classes instead of one hour, wanting to see me progress. We often had dinner together, I would sometimes go to her house for our classes, and we would sometimes travel with one car, etc.
She transmitted to me, through her way of seeing and hearing sounds, an almost mystical approach and attention in my way of approaching the piano.
She often told me to "stop and listen" before playing the very first note of a piece. She would say, "Wait! You're starting too fast. Listen! Hear the note, the sound you want to play, hear it first in your mind, and then play it, once you know how you want it to sound! She made me realize that music already exists in the air, before we make it! Thanks to her, I developed presence, consciousness, meditation of the piano. 
This is what I now try to transmit to my own students.

I even followed her when she moved to Val-d'or to teach at the conservatory there. I spent 2 years there, during which I took classical percussion classes as well as piano lessons.
In addition to my university studies, I went two summers in a row to Switzerland to follow a training with Tama-Do Academy, where one learns to develop and give care through sounds, colors and movements (Qi-Gong).
It was in Switzerland that I really started to feel the real healing potential and benefits of sounds and music. 
In the Swiss Alps, surrounded by a rich and majestic nature, doing daily qi-gong practices and meditations, playing the piano there as well, I was really able to develop an even deeper connection with my own inner music, and thus begin to grasp more and more how to transmit this to the outside world. 

So I have always felt guided, supported by mentors that life has placed in my path, always at the right time.

It has not always been easy. There have been challenges and obstacles.  On many occasions. I can think of one particular period, which I could call my dark night of the soul. Probably related to my Saturn return, from age 27 to 29. 

The Winter of 2019, while I was in Val-d'Or, for my piano studies there, my father left us, in a rather tragic way... 
There are no miracle cures for these things...
And I did what I knew best at that time, as I had always done: More Piano! Often, and still today, for me to speak about my emotions is not always easy, but I transmute my emotions through music, and what I don't know how to name, I name it through music. 

This is the reason why, having personally experienced the magic and benefits of sound healing and the power of musical composition and interpretation, I have made it my "secret weapon", which I wish to transmit to as many people as possible! In many different ways, but always connected to sounds: Teaching, composing musical astrological charts, sound treatments and massages on massage tables: with tuning forks on acupuncture points, colored silk scarves and shamanic sounds, etc. 

That's it for my journey so far, where I am today! 

Don't hesitate to contact me, it will be a pleasure to discuss together, share our knowledge, exchange, answer your questions, etc. 

May the magic of sounds awaken and nourish your soul with its multiple benefits! 

Valérie