Music Education & Lessons

My name is Mrs. Valerie Villa-Kelly and I am a music and theatre educator with over 20 years of experience teaching music and theatre to both children and adults in Western New York.

I founded Encore Experience in 2013 after 7 years as the President and Producer for the Amherst Players, Inc., a non-profit community theater company.

My passion is educating people in the music and the arts and I love watching my students develop in many ways over time. I find my job very rewarding as I can see how each individual person learns and grows in their studies. This growth does not just occur artistically, but also socially, academically, personally, emotionally, and creatively.

My goal for my students is to guide them to become critical and creative thinkers, as well as independent learners. I pride myself on my students’ smiles and laughter, their ability to identify and fix mistakes on their own, as well as take them in stride.

Seeing the pride my music students have in themselves drives me. Watching students as they perform for their family and friends with joy and anticipation is extremely rewarding.

Students use their practice techniques for advancement (practice makes “progress”, not “perfect”!), and learn to accept praise for their hard work. My music studio provides a safe and enriching environment, with one-on-one instruction in which to learn and grow in music and the arts.

I provide instruction in piano, musical theatre voice, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, percussion, bells and xylophone.