Marimba / Vibes
Student Advocate
about Valerie.
Valerie is the first to graduate as a music major with a concentration Music and Wellness at Lebanon Valley College. Her instrument focuses have been snare drum, marimba, vibes, and other percussion instruments. While at LVC, she was a member of the Lebanon Valley College Marching Band, Concert Choir, Percussion Ensemble and Hand Bell Choir Ensemble.
Val competed in Drum Corps International, performing with the Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps placed in the top 10 in the finals, which took place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.Val also traveled and competed with both her award-winning high school marching band, The Susquehannock Warriors Marching Band, and The Susquehannock Indoor Drumline for four years.
Val was inducted into the National Honors Society in her sophomore year. She graduated Susquehannock High School Magna Cum Laude in 2017.
Val won first place in both the Keystone Indoor Drumline Association solo percussion competition and the Tri-M Music Honor Society Concerto competitions. .
In 2019 Valerie Kosson was invited to give a talk at 2019 TEDx Youth Lancaster. Her topic, “Invisible Disabilities: Seeing Others with Compassion” has already resonated with many people, especially students who are working to navigate the educational system while experiencing their own challenges, be it dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, pain disorders, epilepsy, or chronic illness. Valerie Kosson is committed to helping others to rise above their invisible disabilities by sharing her story, and spreading awareness about resources available to students.
Valerie Kosson was a featured guest on the recording in 2009, “Sea to Shining Sea: A Tapestry of American Music” when she was just 12 years old. She has toured as guest percussionist in the American Tapestry ensemble. In 2020, Valerie returned to the recording studio as a guest on the album “Re-Inventions.” She performed glockenspiel on both The Skater’s Waltz Re-Invented and The Blue Danube Waltz Re-invented.
Valerie is currently pursuing graduate studies at the the University of Florida’s Arts in Medicine program.
Click here for Valerie on Merit Pages.
Val loves taking on challenging pieces and wants to continue growing as a musician, percussionist and student advocate. Val lives in south central Pennsylvania with her parents and three cats. Her three cats are Tilly-lou, Carmel and Jackson.
View Valerie’s TEDx Youth Talk
Want Valerie to speak at your school? Contact
Kosson Talent
Larry Kosson, agent
717-227-0060
Larry@Kossontalent.com
email Valerie: contact@valeriekosson.com
Valerie in the news
Val was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success 2020 and the Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society in 2021 .
Delta Alpha Pi is an academic honor society founded to recognize high-achieving students with disabilities who are attending colleges and universities as undergraduate or graduate students. This dynamic organization celebrates and supports academic achievement, leadership and advocacy for post-secondary students with disabilities
“I believe that we’re seeing an increase in depression and anxiety – and even suicidal ideation in children – because they are spending much of their time learning things that they’re probably not going to use,” he says…They’re having to take standardized tests and curriculums that don’t really focus on the important qualities of a person – like kindness, love, compassion, and empathy, which is really highlighted with Valerie Kosson’s TEDX Talk…”
As Valerie Kosson Pivots to Her College Senior Year Online due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, She Embarks on Renovating Her Childhood Bedroom into an “Apartment Suite.”
Valerie Kosson was born too early and too tiny to survive, but she did. Now she has advice to the world about life after the miracle: show compassion.
Wanting to reach others with invisible disabilities and raise awareness, Kosson shared her story when she presented “Invisible Disabilities: Seeing Others with Compassion” at TEDx Youth in Lancaster this summer.
Pianist and contemporary composer Robin Spielberg comments on her eighth CD, Beautiful Dreamer, made up of solo piano lullabies that she made for her daughter, Valerie.
This segment features music from the album “Mother” by Robin Spielberg, Cathie Ryan and Susan McKeown and the story of Robin’s daughter and her miraculous recovery from a very premature birth.
NJN interviews Robin in her Montclair, NJ home about her CD, “Beautiful Dreamer”, the link between music and wellness, and the recovery of her daughter, born prematurely at 23 weeks. This interview took place in early 2000, and since then, music therapy has been proven to have positive effects on the premature infant. The use of music in the NICU is now embraced by neo-natal intensive care units nation wide.
