Valerie Stipcak is a native of Pennsylvania, where she grew up in the village of Black Lick. She graduated magna cum laude from Seton Hill University in May 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Music, concentrations in both organ and piano. There, she studied organ with Edgar Highberger, piano with Edward Kuhn, and voice with Shirley Huls. In addition to her studies in the classroom, she was an active collaborative pianist for many vocalists and instrumentalists, and was also employed by Maestro Minds School of Music and the Community Music Program at Seton Hill as a private teacher. Since then, she has moved to Atlanta to study organ with Dr. Timothy Albrecht at Emory University. In fall 2010, Miss Stipcak played for services at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and in spring 2012, she played at Atlanta City Hall. She has performed Lenten recitals at Redeemer Lutheran Church (Atlanta, GA) and Zion Lutheran Church (Indiana, PA). Her previous church posts include Hebron Lutheran Church (Blairsville, PA) and Norcross Presbyterian Church (Norcross, GA). She is also passionate about piano pedagogy and has a private piano studio in the Greater Atlanta area. She is currently working at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church as their Music Administrator.