From the Colorado San Luis Valley to West Africa, Valerie Naranjo keeps the rhythm of percussion beating through her successful professional career and shares her talent and skills with students. Returning to her native Alamosa home, Naranjo is the guest artist for the Adams State University Percussion Festival from April 13 through April 17.
Naranjo, percussionist, vocalist, composer, clinician, graduated from Alamosa High School, and took music courses at Adams State. This early exposure propelled her forward to becoming a very accomplished musician. “Adams State is my original alma mater.”
In the mid 2010s, she donated a West African percussion instrument, a gyil, to the Adams State music program. Through demonstrations and hands-on workshops, Naranjo will focus her teachings on the instrument. “The gyil is the grandparent of the modern-day marimba. It, like the marimba, is a series of wooden bars that is suspended over a frame from which are hung resonators.” Naranjo and kuor player Barry Olsen garnered a first-place award for their playing of the gyil’s traditional repertoire in Ghana’s Kobine Festival of Traditional Music, in 1996.
Along with mastering the gyril, Naranjo will share many other lessons garnered during her 25 visits to West Africa over the last 36 years. “I have learned so much from the West African philosophy of art.” For the community in Ghana and surrounding countries, art is present in all aspects of being and creating, from cooking to music. “Everyone has tremendous gifts just by living life. In Ghana, artists are not judged by their accomplishments, they are revered if they can touch the soul.”
Students will also learn the rewards of tenacity and dedication from Naranjo. She moved to New York City after completing studies in vocal and instrumental music education at the University of Oklahoma and Percussion Performance from Ithaca College.
When first moving to the city, she often played on the streets, known as busking, and performed in restaurants. “My parents always supported my decision to become a musician, they looked on it as a gift. My dad’s advice stayed with me, ‘if you desire something, don’t sit at home and ask, you need to put what you do out there.’”
As Naranjo became known the gigs became more fruitful, but she also faced disappointment. “When times were tough, I listened to my friends who told me you are not tested when all goes well, you are tested when they don’t.”
In the summer of 1995, Naranjo faced severe disappointment after losing a very important role with a nationally known band. A practicing Buddhist, Naranjo came to understand her own heart through prayer. “I came to the realization that there is nobody like me. I began to believe in my contribution to the world.”
That belief became substance for Naranjo. In 1996, she was approached to accept the role as the percussionist for NBC’s Saturday Night Live Band, one that continues to this day. She has recorded and performed with Broadway’s The Lion King, The Philip Glass Ensemble, David Byrne, The Paul Winter Consort, Tori Amos, Airto Moreira, and the international percussion ensemble, MEGADRUMS, which includes Milton Cardona, Zakir Hussein, and Glen Velez. Naranjo is also a professor at New York University.
“I reflect daily on all of the cool experiences that, together, have made for a very happy life,” Naranjo said.
Participants of the Percussion Festival will learn through hands-on workshops and public concerts, featuring Valerie Naranjo and Melinda Leoce, Adams State assistant professor of music and festival organizer. The ASU Percussion Concert begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15. The Percussion Festival Showcase Concert begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, both concerts willl be held in Richardson Hall Auditorium.
The cost for admission, cash only, to the concerts is $5 for adults, $1 for students and seniors, and free to AS&F and Friends of Music. Students attending the festival will receive free admission. For more information contact the Music Department at 719-587-7621 or email Melinda Leoce at mleoce@adams.edu.