THE HIGHLIGHTS OF HER LIFE JOURNEY
Valerie DeCasas Farag was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey as the only child of parents who embraced the arts. She had the gift of music from a very young age and the courage to share it. She was talented, creative, caring, vivacious, and confident. Valerie pursued her dreams with passion and she never let any obstacle stand in her way.
While her personal talent was to be admired, it was her unselfish desire to pass on to others that "music must not be forgotten" that inspires us. In teaching music to her students and grandchildren, organizing and performing in concerts or just playing her piano or listening to music by herself, Valerie found great joy and wanted to share that joy with others. Her motto was "Music Alone Shall Live".
Valerie began her career with a B.A. from Douglas College, Rutgers University with a double major in Music and French and a minor in Spanish. Her work for the Master's degree in Music started at Yale University for one year and was completed in the second year at the University of Illinois, Urbana. During her school years, she has been coached by several renowned musicians such as Paul Ulanovsky, Arpid Sandeor, Eric Dalheim, Marital Singer, and Gerard Souzay. She was able to sing in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish due to her language skills. Her voice has been cited as "clear and true" and her vocal technique was based on the method of the American voice teacher John Powell.
Valerie started her teaching career as full-time voice teacher at Tulane University, New Orleans. She adapted her work to the needs of her newly established family and so she moved to Dunbarton college in Washington, DC. After that she taught in Lebanon,Sudan and finally settling in Egypt. She joined the faculty of the American University in Cairo teaching English Rhetoric. She was quite successful in promoting interest in music and developing programs and courses supporting and sustaining that objective. This led to the creation of the Music Major at the University which Valerie is credited as being its key developer. She retired from active duty in 2007 but remained quite active with concert programs at the University and in the Cairo Opera House as a soprano.
Valerie's strong love for music was matched only by her interest in poetry as well as the presentation of outstanding student and faculty performances. Her love of poetry is exemplified in her book of poetry "Shubra lyrics" published by the American University in Cairo in 2007
Valerie passed away on May 3, 2016 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her memory, however, remains alive in the hearts and minds of all those who knew her. .
Mary DeCasas & Guss DeCasas
Parents of Valerie DeCasas Farag.
Douglas College Campus building
Yale School Of Music campus building
Valerie's Book of Poetry
A THOUSAND AND ONE POEMS
Today I wrote a thousand and one poems
Each tree I saw and all the leaves upon it
Were part of my travail.
The streets, their pavements,
The dusty sky
The blowy day
Crying rain
From happiness, I guess.
My industry had no boundaries today
So active was my pen
The words came tumbling out
And in a frenzy
Organized themselves
Before my eyes.
I was collecting, collecting
My feelings at a rapid pace.
- Valerie Farag
Music Performances
Valerie has performed more than 50 formal concerts, alongside many other informal music gatherings. Her music activities were not limited to the countries she lived in as she was invited to present concerts in countries such as Hungary & Slovania. Our attempt to compile all the recordings was constrained by audio technological advances and the passage of time.
Her most Joyful time was when she gathered with her students, sharing the love of music
Sonorities The news magazine of the university of Illinois school of music, published the following article on January, 2024.
