Valerie Sly, raised in Michigan, currently serves as the Principal Horn of the Alabama Symphony. Previously, she held positions as Principal Horn with the West Virginia Symphony and as Acting Third Horn with the Des Moines Opera Orchestra.

Ms. Sly has twice appeared as a featured soloist with the Vermont Mozart Festival, where she performed Mozart’s Second and Fourth Horn Concertos with the festival’s chamber orchestra. She has performed as Guest Principal with the Detroit and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand. In 2024, Valerie joined the Dallas Symphony for their European tour, performing in venues across Spain, Germany, Belgium, and Austria.

Her summer orchestra festival fellowships include Spoleto Festival USA, Lucerne Festival Academy, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and in September 2021, she returned to Lucerne as a member of the festival’s alumni ensemble.

Ms. Valerie holds a Doctorate of Music Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she studied under Michael Thornton. She also earned a Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, studying with William Purvis, and a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory under the guidance of Roland Pandolfi.