By Grace Mann
The opportunity to live in a foreign country doesn’t present itself too often. Musicians may tour, families may travel, but these experiences provide mere glimpses of a culture. Living in Valencia for an entire semester granted me the time to explore.
With Innovation ¡En Vivo! just a day way, here’s a sneak peek into the life of amazingly talented Valentina López:
My name is Valentina López, and I’m a 21 year old Ecuadorian singer-song writer. I started my music career at the age of 17 and since then I’ve had the great honor to open for Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Melendi and Big Time Rush back in Ecuador! I also had the opportunity to be nominated and win a few awards in Ecuador. My major at Berklee is Music Production and Engineering, and at the moment I’m a study abroad student at the Valencia Campus. For this Innovation ¡En Vivo! I will be performing a song called “La Negra Tiene Tumbao” by Celia Cruz (a Latin American music idol) featuring my Berklee Valencia band. I hope to stay in touch and see you tomorrow night if you’re in Valencia!
What made you become a musician?
I was always into playing keys, but I never considered music as more than just a hobby. After graduating as a Computer Engineer & working for 2 years, I realized that it was not the life for me. I started learning basic Electronic Music Production and started playing around with MIDI controllers and sampling techniques. Every time I created something good, I would get a crazy euphoric feeling which forced me to take this up full time.
Guitar Professor Daniel Flors has been busy putting together Berklee Valencia’s first musical theater ensemble! Daniel Flors was one of the recipients of Berklee’s fellowship this year with an aim to explore and perform Musical theater with Students on the Valencia campus this semester. Early this year students auditioned with their best “16 bars” to be part of this exciting ensemble! With a selection of ten singers, and five band members, rehearsals have been well underway. The students participating in this special ensemble will have the chance to perform at one of Valencia’s best theater venues Sala Russafa on November 30th, 8:30 pm 2015 (Free admission, Tickets available at the door).
This year at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, fellows from the Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games master’s program, and from the Music Production, Technology, and Innovation master’s program are working together with Berklee professors and the Conservatorio Profesional de Valencia, recording film and game scores with student orchestras, in an effort to bring the faculties within Berklee closer through collaborative projects, as well as integrating Berklee to other artistic institutions in Valencia.
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