about

Scottish accordionist Valerie Barr has been playing accordion since she was four and studied with world renowned accordionist, Djordje Gajic, at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she graduated with a Masters in Music Performance in 2020.

She enjoys the versatility of her freelance work as a soloist and chamber musician, and has performed with notable ensembles such as the BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé, Scottish Opera, London Concertante, Szene12 and The Glasgow Barons. She has played in productions of Cabaret, a chamber reduction of Puccini's La Bohème and Scottish Opera Young Company's production of Rubble with music composed by Gareth Williams. Her performances have been featured on BBC Radio 3, RTÉ Lyric FM and Celtic Music Radio, and she recently appeared on CBeebies in Musical Storyland. Additionally, Valerie is a regular player with the Pogue Traders, a Pogues tribute band.

Most recently, she has formed a clarinet, saxophone & accordion trio, Triskelion, with Cathal Killeen & Richard Scholfield. More information regarding this ensemble can be found here.

Valerie attended the Italian Accordion Academy 2019/20 with Claudio Jacomucci, and received classes in performance, transcription, composition and improvisation. She has also attended masterclasses in performance with Miloš Milivojević, James Crabb, Bjarke Mogensen, Raimondas Sviackevičius and Varavin Lyudmila Vasilievna. 

At seventeen, Valerie made her concerto debut playing the Piazzolla Aconcagua concerto with the West of Scotland Schools Symphony Orchestra, and has since performed the concerto with her own chamber arrangement. She has performed in national and international festivals such as the Leeds International Organ Festival, Festival Internazionale Fisarmonica in Castelfidardo, Italy, the International Accordion Competition in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In addition to her performance skills, Valerie's dedication extends to pedagogy and nurturing young musicians. She currently works as an instrumental tutor within the Diocese of Leeds Music Programme, teaching in Leeds Cathedral and various local schools. Before relocating to Leeds, Valerie held varied positions in the RCS Juniors and Early Years programmes, where she continues to serve as a deputy tutor. She has also been actively involved as a tutor in the annual RCS Accordion Summer School, alongside Djordje Gajic. Furthermore, Valerie greatly appreciates her time spent with Live Music Now Scotland from 2019 to 2021, where she had the privilege of sharing music with communities all across Scotland.

Valerie is keen to promote the accordion as a classical instrument and raise awareness of it in the classical music world, while celebrating its versatility in many other genres. 

The accordion that Valerie plays on is a Bugari Prime.