TONY VALERIO
French Horn
A native Annapolitan, Tony joined the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra as Fourth Horn in 1998. He is a graduate of West Virginia University (BM) and the Peabody Conservatory (MM) and has been an active free-lancer for over thirty years, performing with various ensembles in the region, including The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony, Mid-Atlantic Symphony, Chesapeake Orchestra and numerous others.
Tony served with the U.S. Naval Academy Band from 1989-2013, performing with the Wind Ensemble, brass and woodwind quintets and other chamber ensembles. In his additional duty as Ceremonial Unit Leader, he conducted musical honors and ceremonial engagements for all levels of military and government dignitaries and organizations. He is also a founding member of the Bayfield Brass, a local chamber ensemble with more than thirty years of performance activity in the region, from concerts and community events to Midnight Madness and their 25-year run at Maryland Renaissance Festival.
In his teaching activities, Tony has maintained a regular private Horn studio and has been on the faculties of the Peabody Preparatory, Anne Arundel Community College, Salisbury University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Following his retirement from the Navy, Tony completed Maryland State Certification in Instrumental Music at Peabody and has been teaching in the AACPS system since 2016. He currently is in his seventh year as Band Director at Cape St. Claire & Windsor Farm Elementary Schools. And his most recent endeavor has been his appointment in 2023 as Music Director with the Annapolis Symphony Academy’s Aquarius Wind Ensemble, the latest in ASA’s outreach and educational ensembles.
In his spare time he enjoys fitness, hiking, sailing and spending time with his wife Kim (ASO Principal Flute), his son Christopher (currently an Undergrad at George Mason University), and other family in the Annapolis area.