Description

Valerie JoiÍs song delivery is as fluid and focused as her life. She is a minister extraordinaire and her message of unconditional love and acceptance is clear, strong and uncompromising. Listening to her perform is an artistic and healing journey in itself.

A gifted and multifaceted musician, Valerie Joi studied classical piano and jazz voice, and has worked with many recording artists as a pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger and producer. She is also a brilliant choir director. She has directed the UC Santa Cruz Gospel Choir for the past eleven years, and was recently titled a Porter College Faculty Fellow by the university.

As the former Music Director for Inner Light Ministries in Santa Cruz, CA, Valerie Joi established a music ministry renowned for its excellence, which culminated in the invitation for the Inner Light Choir to perform on the stage of Carnegie Hall in February 2012, ña clear reflection of their exceptional directorî (Dennis Loy, Conductor-inResidence). Valerie Joi received the further honor of singing the solo on her composition ñLiving Graceî at the Carnegie Hall performance.

Valerie Joi was featured as one of the DirectorÍs Top Ten Picks at the Monterey Jazz Festival and her music can be heard on the television show In the Light, and in the films JumpinÍ the Broom and God and Gays: Bridging the Gap. With an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Rice University, Valerie Joi combines her passion for music and education with expertise in business management. To this end, she also works with the Institute for WomenÍs Leadership promoting gender partnership in the workplace.

First and foremost, Valerie Joi is a music minister, teaching and preaching music as ministry and connection. Her CD of original compositions, Singing the Sacred Yes, is an invitation to deepen our relationship with the Divine. Her most recent release with the incomparable pianist Tammy Hall, Remembering to Remember: Hymns for the Soul, pays beautiful tribute to the spiritual heritage of our country.

Valerie Joi is committed to sharing her ministry of love and music with students from all walks of life, as she invites them to bless and be blessed through song. As a consummate expression of music, she uplifts her audiences and inspires them to experience their own sense of Divine Connection.