Growing up during SoHo's more artistic days, as a child Valerie would often fall asleep at night listening to neighbor Ornette Coleman rehearsing his band, come home from school to hear her mother's SoHo Ensemble rehearsals bring Val's own compositions to life, or go to performances at the Met, where her mother played viola for American Ballet Theatre. Several times Val went with her father to Bell Labs, where he was composing ground-breaking electronic music. She spent hours in her father's home recording studio, experimenting with tape machines.

It was within this rich and creative environment, that Val's (strikingly) powerful and emotive voice developed alongside her gifts for production and engineering. Although Val preferring to write her own songs rather than take piano lessons, she soon had the piano chops to match her voice and began writing her own "soul-stirring, uplifting songs full of vitality and joy". Today, as one fan declared, "Valerie Ghent is an inspiration, an unsung hero (who sings!!)".

In 2000, continuing a family tradition of supporting other artists, Valerie founded the successful acoustic songwriter's night, The Songwriter's Beat. Since then she has been curator and host of the ever-popular showcase, encouraging over 250 songwriters to perform new songs at The Cornelia Street Cafe. The series culminates in the annual Songwriter's Beat Festival, which features 25 songwriters in 6 nights every July.

After witnessing the events of September 11th first hand, Val volunteered at the World Trade Center site for nine months. She then founded the nonprofit World Foundation for Music and Healing and its Feel the Music! program, which brings music and creative self-expression to children and families affected by trauma and loss, including families directly affected by September 11th. During this time Valerie brought songwriters and poets to the United Nations for the first International Youth Assembly. The recipient of multiple grants and awards, Val was especially honored to receive the Betances Center Award for Service to the Arts in 2005.

Co-composer and music director for two off-off Broadway musicals, Val wrote music for both the critically acclaimed musicals Betty and the Belrays (2007) and The Hamlet Project (2002). Val can also be seen in three films, including The Ballad of Greenwich Village and The Heart of Steel, as well as in the Ashford & Simpson Live DVD, "The Real Thing" (2009, Sony).

As photographer and student of internal martial arts, over 500 Valerie's photographs of martial arts master Gao Ji Wu are included in the 2007 book, Essentials of Ba Gua Zhang. An assistant instructor at New York Internal Arts, Val will return to China to photograph Master Gao for a second book in 2009.

Val loves to travel and has had the honor to visit/perform in China, Russia, South Africa, France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, England, Australia, New Zealand and across the US/Canada.

More About Valerie Ghent

Background: Born in New York City to composer/psychiatrist Emmanuel Ghent and violist /composer/teacher Nathalie Gudkov Ghent, Valerie started her musical studies on the cello at age 5, quickly switched to piano and was composing and singing her own songs by the age of 8. Growing up in SoHo and the West Village, Val began playing/recording in bands such as "Dizzy and the Romilars" in high school, performing at NYC landmarks such as CBGB's, Max's, The Peppermint Lounge and The Ritz. Val graduated from NYU with a BA in Psychology, studied at the University of London, and simultaneously worked in recording studios with record producer Mike Thorne (Soft Cell, 'til Tuesday, Bronski Beat, Laurie Anderson, Wire) as production assistant/Synclavier operator.

Music: A multiple ASCAP Pop award winner and grant recipient, Val embodies the truly rare combination of independent artist, in-demand producer/session musician/engineer and nonprofit executive director with grace and a lot of laughter. With a 3 1/2+ octave vocal range and a bluesy, funky Richard Tee influenced piano style, Val has been writing songs and performing since she was a child, her love of singing reinforced when she received the lead role in "Peter Pan" in 3rd grade.

One of New York City's premiere keyboard/vocal talents, Val has worked with reknowned artists such as Ashford & Simpson, Deborah Harry (keyboards/vocals - world tour), Dr. Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, Billy Preston, TM Stevens, Defunkt, Grayson Hugh and many others.

Ashford & Simpson: Val has worked with songwriting legends Ashford & Simpson since 1989, both onstage (keyboards/background singer) and in the studio as their ProTools engineer, recording several albums with the renowned duo. Val plays keyboards/sings on the 2009 Ashford & Simpson Live DVD, "The Real Thing" (Sony), along with Nat Adderley, Jr. (piano), Eluriel "Tinker" Barfield (bass), Bernard Davis (drums), Sherrod Barnes (guitar) and Clayton Bryant (backing vocals). Valerie recorded A&S's acclaimed collaboration with Dr. Maya Angelou, "Been Found"; a solo (unreleased) CD of Valerie Simpson, featuring Nina Simone (who Val recorded in the South of France) and Roberta Flack; a third recording was for the "Down In The Delta" soundtrack.Val also recorded and mixed live-to-air "In The Spotlight", Ashford & Simpson's live weekly radio show on WRKS-FM (New York) where she recorded over 60 well-known singers including: Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Freddie Jackson, Wilson Pickett, Chaka Khan, Stephanie Mills, Patti LaBelle, George Benson and many more. Val has performed on Rosie O'Donnell, Oprah, The Early Show, News at 10, Pat Sajak and The Byron Allen Show.

Music in her Blood: Valerie is president of her own label, West Street Records and publishing company, Cavos Music, named after her ancestor Catterino Cavos, an Italian composer from Venice who moved to St. Petersburg in 1799. Cavos later became Director/Conductor of the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg. The Cavos family went on to have great impact: Catterino's son, Albert Cavos, an architect, rebuilt the Bolshoi Theatre after a fire in 1853 and designed the Marinskii Theatre in 1859. Cavos' descendants include Alexandre Benois (artist, art critic, designer for Ballet Russes), Peter Ustinov (actor), Zinaida Serebriakova (painter), and many other artists, singers, architects and composers. Valerie's great-grandmother, Ekaterina Zarudnaya Cavos, a gifted painter in St. Petersburg, always supported other artists and students. Val's grandmother's cousin, Margaret Zarudny Freeman, documented the Zarudny-Brullov side of the family and how she and her siblings left Russia (via China) in her marvellous book, "Russia and Beyond - One Family's Journey, 1908-1935".

Composer: In addition to her own CD's, Valerie composed the music for two off-off critically acclaimed Broadway musicals: Betty and the Belrays (2007) and The Hamlet Project (2002). She also composed music for a 2002 world premiere, "Luft", by French choreographer Genevieve Pernin. Val arranged and recorded seven tracks for the independent film, Nitelife. Releases on West Street include Ghent's own Unstoppable, her father's acclaimed Songs For Children and All Their Friends and the 9/11 compilation We'll Carry On. Val also helped guitarist Bill Washer's release his guitar classic, Solitary and her own limited special release, solo piano/voice album, Velour.

"Unstoppable", was voted 'Best CD of 1998' by Belgian radio station Planete Indie (voted by listeners!) and received airplay in the US and Europe - even Latvia! Reviewed at kozmicblues.net:

"Ghent's a soulful singer, technically near-perfect, and an accomplished keyboardist in many styles, from synth-pop to blues. And though she does modulate her smoky vocals carefully, it's her bluesy foundation that gives her tunes much of their power....Ghent's understated but thoroughly confident singing ties these eleven songs together....".

Community Involvement: In 2000, Valerie began the monthly Songwriter's Beat at The Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village to support songwriting and songwriters. Val is passionate about the creative process, and especially new songs. In January 2003, she added the Songwriter's Beat NewSongs Workshop to further encourage songwriters in their creative process. In 2005, she started the annnual Songwriter's Beat Festival. In addition, Val started dedicated nights for songwriters such as Political Songs of Change, Songs of Peace and Only Love Songs . Val spearheaded a variety of monthly and weekly special events at the Cafe, creating a Latin-Jazz night with pianist Arturo O'Farrill, a widely acclaimed acoustic African music series, Songwriters in the Round with Ann Klein, Soul of the Blues with Jon Sobel, Indiegrrl concerts and many other events.

Benefit Concerts: Val's passion for social activism and community involvement combined with music early on by performing at countless benefit concerts for a variety of causes: to preserve the Greenwich Village Waterfront, support Breast Cancer Research, support women in Afghanistan, raise funds for disaster relief - WTC Recovery effort and Hurricane Katrina. Val now organizes concerts to raise funds for her own nonprofit, World Foundation for Music and Healing.

Martial Arts: In 1995 Valerie began her studies of the Chinese internal martial arts with Tom Bisio, learning Xing Yi Chuan, Ba Gua Zhang and Qi Gong. She has traveled to China to train with teachers Gao Ji Wu (Beijing Gao Family Style Ba Gua Zhang), Zhang Hua Sen (Liang Chen Pu Ba Gua Zhang), Song Zhi Yong (Song Shi Rong Xing Yi) and Lian Ke Quan (Li Cun Yi Xing Yi). Valerie is currently an assistant instructor with New York Internal Arts. Valerie was honored to take over 500 photographs of Master Gao for the 2007 book, Essentials of Ba Gua Zhang. Travels to China have fosted Val's interest in researching "healing sounds" of Chinese medicine and qi gong.

9/11 Volunteer: Ghent was an active volunteer and fundraiser for WTC Ground Zero Relief from Sept. 2001 until the closing of the WTC site in May, 2002, obtaining and distributing specific supplies for the recovery effort. On March 11th/25th 2002, Val organized over 45 performers in the Songwriter's Beat 9.11 Tribute Benefit Concerts, specifically looking for poets and songwriters among the FDNY, PAPD, NYPD, EMS and other volunteers. The concert was featured in the front page of the NY Times Metro section, and included Lou Reed, who attended the concert to hear Steve Buscemi read Reed's poem to a packed house. Val edited "word", a collection of poems and songs presented at the concerts and self-published the collection for charity. Val produced the acclaimed We'll Carry On WTC benefit CD, which features songs by FDNY, PAPD, WTC volunteers and local NYC musicians. She produced twelve benefit concert events for 9/11 charities and three television appearances for artists on We'll Carry On.

During the summer of 2002, Val produced and performed at music events for both Firefighter and Police Appreciation Weekends at the Intrepid Museum. The "We'll Carry On" CD was featured on Channel 2's 'The Early Show', Channel 9 News, and New York 1; in The New York Times, NY Daily News, Billboard, La Vie Magazine (Paris), NY Press, American Songwriter and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

Val went on to found the World Foundation for Music and Healing (WFMH), a 501c3 nonprofit organization which provides music education for children who have experienced trauma and loss. WFMH began as an idea formed while Val volunteered at the WTC site.