Valerie Thomforde is an educator, a pianist, and an advocate for adaptive approaches to instrumental music making.  She has a Master of Music in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names University and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire.  Valerie completed her Orff-Schulwerk Certification from George Mason University in 2014.

Piano is Valerie’s primary instrument and she studied piano with Arlene Kies at the University of New Hampshire.  Valerie played brass and string instruments through high school and into college.  Most recently, she has learned to play soprano and alto recorders.  Valerie studies recorder with Héloïse Degrugillier.  She plays on Moeck recorders with keys added by Peter Worrell.  Valerie is extremely grateful to the Play Foundation and the American Recorder Society for their assistance in acquiring these instruments.

In addition to music and movement education, Valerie is passionate about helping people with limb differences develop adaptive instrument techniques.  She has published articles on adaptive instrument playing in AOSA’s online publication Reverberations, the piano journal, Clavier Companion, and the American Recorder magazine.  Valerie is a mentor for the Helping Hands Foundation and has been on the Board of Directors since 2008.