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 Val Underwood is distinctive for his equal skill in the vocal arts and as a pianist. A renowned vocal instructor, he maintains a busy teaching and Master class schedule traveling between New York, London and California. His students continually take top honors in major vocal competitions and can be heard in opera houses worldwide.
Also an accomplished pianist and chamber musician, he has collaborated with principal members of the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and with such artists as Ofra Harnoy, Glen Dicterow, Mitchell Lurie, Yehuda Gilad, Jeannine Altmeyer, Eudice Shapiro, Eduardo Delgado, Jennifer McGregor and Juliana Gondek.
He was executive director of the highly acclaimed Strawberry Creek Music Festival in Malibu for several years, where he also headed the Festival's vocal program. He has been artistic director of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival since it’s inception in 2005.
He was a full four-year scholarship student at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Dora Zaslavsky. He continued piano studies in Argentina with Arminda Canteros. He studied voice with William Horner, Ernest St. John (Jack) Metz, for seven years with the legendary French baritone Martial Singher and served as accompanist in the studios of some of the great singers of our time, including Rose Bampton, Martial Singher, George London and Lotte Lehman.
He recorded the classical piano music for and appeared in the Exxon/Mobil Masterpiece Theatre production of Willa Cather's "Song of the Lark" on PBS and recently recorded the songs of Ricky Ian Gordon with soprano Jennifer McGregor.
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