Victoria Theodore received her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Classical Piano Performance and Computer Music from Oberlin College / Conservatory of Music (where she studied piano with Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein), and her Master of Arts degree in Classical Piano Performance from Stanford University (where she studied piano with George Barth and vocal accompaniment with Judith Bettina). As a teen, Victoria studied piano and voice in the UC Berkeley Young Musician’s Program (YMP) and sang (and began her accompanying career) with the Oakland Youth Chorus (OYC) , under the direction of Trente Morant. Through YMP, Victoria studied piano primarily with Eugene Gash (1920-1995), the first African-American concert pianist to perform a solo concert at Carnegie Hall, and a student of E. Robert Schmitz (1889-1949), a student of composer Claude Debussy. During her Stanford years, Victoria also studied Jazz Piano with Mark Levine, Bill Bell and Frank Martin.
music career highlights
While studying for her MA, Victoria performed with several San Francisco Bay Area ensembles and bands, including The Peninsula Symphony, Theatreworks, Hayward Little Theater, Oakland Youth Chorus, and jazz bands Victoria Theodore Quintet, Time Will Tell Sextet, LMNOP and 10BassT. Shortly after graduation from Stanford, Victoria toured nationally as a keyboardist for Captiol Records artists Oaktown 357 – produced by MC Hammer.
Victoria is currently working on her first solo music project, which is due to be released in early 2013. However, an EP is available for purchase now. To hear selections from the upcoming CD and learn more about Victoria, Click here.
Beginning in August, 2007, Victoria was hired to tour with legendary musical genius Stevie Wonder, playing keyboards and singing background vocals in his band. She has traveled around the world with Stevie and looks forward to more touring! (And yes, it’s as fabulous as you’d imagine!)
For more information about upcoming Stevie Wonder shows, please view the tour schedule on Stevie Wonder’s website. tour schedule
Related Posts
