ALICIA MARIE VALOTI has held an internationally fruitful music career as a young violist. Beginning as a pianist at Indiana University Bloomington, she eventually came to study the viola and later completed a performance degree at McGill University in Montreal. Following her time in Canada, Mrs. Valoti continued her studies of viola and chamber music in Italy at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale di Saluzzo and the Conservatory of Florence, where she received a Master’s degree in viola performance with the highest honors. Her residency in Europe allowed for much experience as an orchestral player, and Mrs. Valoti consequently served as principal and in section positions, also completing tours in places such as Italy, Egypt, Montecarlo, and Switzerland. As a chamber musician, she participated in competitions and recitals throughout Italy and Europe.
In 2008 Alicia Valoti returned to the United States, and completed further graduate studies at Rice University with James Dunham, where she received the Cheri and Andy Fossler Award. Her participation in masterclasses and festivals includes the Accademia Chigiana of Italy, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival of Finland, International Meisterkurse Bratsche of Germany and Le Domaine Forget in Canada, among others. She has been fortunate to study the viola with incredible artists such as Bruno Giuranna, Nobuko Imai, Hatto Beyerle and Atar Arad.
Alicia Valoti has been an integral part of the performance and exposition of contemporary viola literature. In Florence, she gave the premiere performance of “SorellaViola”, composed in 2005 for viola sola by Gaetano Giani-Luporini, and in 2009-2010 toured with the chamber music group Astraios, also making a premiere recording of a Sally Beamish work. She particularly champions the music of little-known or forgotten composers.
As a committed educator, Mrs. Valoti enjoys teaching viola and chamber music to students of many ages. She served on the faculty of the Sam Houston State University School of Music and was a member of the Kolenneh String Quartet. Currently, Alicia Valoti is an Affiliate Artist at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. Her masterclasses have been held in places such as Italy, Ireland, New York and Texas. In China in 2010, Mrs. Valoti received a distinguished guest professorship at the Wuhan Conservatory, and held a month-long residency at Liaocheng University as a violin and viola professor.